Home > Iraq occupation has failed; time to bring troops home

Iraq occupation has failed; time to bring troops home

by Open-Publishing - Friday 29 April 2005
5 comments

Wars and conflicts International USA

It was the last question at the first "Lincoln-La Follette" Democratic dinner in Amery, Wis. (I know what you are thinking. Hey, Abe and "Fighting Bob" were Republicans. The answer from Amery was, "True, but today they would be Democrats. So we are adopting them.") The woman asked, "Why is no one outraged by this war?"

I asked for a show of hands: "How many of you want to bring the troops home now?" Every hand went skyward but her question hung over the audience.

Where is the voice of the Democrats in Washington?

Are liberals like Hillary Clinton playing coy because they are running for president in 2008 and fear a Swift Boat attack like the one on John Kerry if they "abandon" the troops in a time of war?

Are they afraid not to be as "macho" as W?

Will no one step up on behalf of the memory of Paul Wellstone, or indeed, Fighting Bob, and demand that we withdraw and do so now?

The Progressive magazine put it succinctly: "The invasion was illegal and foolish in the first place. And the occupation has failed."

Can there be any serious argument among serious people with that conclusion? I don’t think so.

Ill-advised, reckless, illegal, foolhardy, you pick the adjective. The salient point that seems to be forgotten by those reporting on this travesty is that we are an occupying force and no one likes an occupier, particularly when the occupation has been bungled at great cost in lives, American and Iraqi. (Not to mention nearly $165 billion in tax dollars.)

Last week Milwaukee County found it would be $3 million in the red. The immediate reaction from governor-wannabe Scott Walker? Cut social services. (Why not pick on these, the least of our brothers and sisters, when he knows they won’t vote for him?)

Guess how much this Iraq invasion has cost the city of Milwaukee in tax dollars - $282 million. It has cost Madison $128 million. Our two major cities have lost nearly half a billion dollars that will never be recovered while we fret over a $3 million shortfall. If Walker was thinking, he would join in demanding we end the invasion.

With nearly 1,600 soldiers killed and 20,000 permanently injured; with tens of thousands of Iraqi civilian deaths and many more injuries, when will we come to our senses?

We cannot "win" this war. The power grid is still broken, there is no functioning government, the Iraqi army is more of a wish than a thought. The insurgency is leading to civil war while we focus on Michael Jackson and the new pope.

Admittedly this is tough stuff. Apparently it is impossible for our president to admit a mistake but the facts are in. The invasion was based on cooked books. There were no WMDs, and there was no threat from Saddam to this country’s security, and Iraq was not involved in 9/11. It was a massive mistake made by sissy hawks who wanted a war.

Since the administration is not willing to develop a plan, it is time for leadership in the U.S. Senate to demand a policy. It is time for Herb Kohl and Russ Feingold to step up to the plate. This is their Vietnam. They can be the Gene McCarthy, Bobby Kennedy or George McGovern of this travesty or hide in the Senate cloak room. They can vote for more appropriations without a quid pro quo from the administration to "support the troops" by bringing them home or they can take the lead in fighting to stop this occupation.

We have a filibuster for more reasons than stopping terrible judicial appointments. Why not use it?

The media have opted to relegate this story to Page 4 or 5 unless something dramatic happens such as the surface-to-air missile that brought down a helicopter. But nine Iraqis killed here or there, one American killed here or there, is no longer big news.

The big news ignored by the media is that this administration does not have an exit strategy now nor has it ever. We need one and we must bring our troops home. There will be no peace until we leave. Leaving does not guarantee peace but, to recall the song of another misadventure, our leaving "will give peace a chance." Remaining for five more years is not a policy, it is a shoulder shrug.

The American people are sick of this invasion and occupation. They want the National Guard troops home and they want to stop the killing. Is there a Bobby Kennedy in the Senate today or are we faced with "Profiles in Cowardice"?
Ed Garvey is a Madison lawyer, political activist and the editor of the fightingbob.com Web site. E-mail: comments@fightingbob.com

Forum posts

  • As long as the criminal element is allowed to remain in control of our government these wars for profit will be the policy. The American people need to educate themselves to what the people in government are really doing and refuse to enable them by allowing themselves to be deceived. If we continue to allow our leaders to take bribes and kickbacks and maintain off shore bank accounts and be in the business of selling weapons and nuclear components, all the while lying to us, we will be the ultimate victims of our own complacency.

    It is time for those of us that can see what is going on here to refuse to go along with it quietly. We must band together and refuse to vote for the low lifes that occupy the offices of government. This is our only voice left, the I refuse to be a pawn in your rigged system vote. They can’t force us to take part in this sham government and we should refuse to cooperate in our own rape.

    • There is no election law at the federal level that requires a minimum voter turnout in order for an election to be declared legitimate. Any percentage of eligible voters showing up for an election will be deemed lawful and binding as to the result of that election. If you really want to send a message to the republocrats, vote for a third party, any third party will do.

    • Joseph Stalin said it doesn’t matter who gets the most votes, it is who counts them that matters. So if you go vote for a third party and yet the Republicans are the ones to count the votes again, then what good was your third party vote that didn’t count. All you would have accomplished is to give validity to the rigged election...they can say 75 million people came out for the vote and Bush got 52% and Kerry got 47% and the third party got 1%.....but if only 30million people vote they will have to admit that the american people no longer believe in their fake democracy government because they do not trust the vote and therefore they do not vote, so is it really a democracy when only 10% of the people vote? Just to show up and vote is all they really want you to do so that they can use you to validate their phony numbers......NO, the answer is still not to vote and try to recruit as many people as possible to this thinking and then maybe something can change and not until.

  • I agree with your assesment whole-heartedly. What are we to do? I think all the greens and the dems need to wake up and see that the only way to take back our country is to elect people who will eliminate the "rigged" system. The dems sat by and let this happen and i’m not surprised. Our best alternative is to support libertarians and form a freedom movement. Ron Paul and Kucinich are the best representatives for us in congress. Even though one is a libertarian and the other far left democrat, they have come together to fight against the war and fight for our freedoms. The libertarians could tear down this system if they were given the chance. Libertarians are the only party who’s ideology can save us. Libertarian ideology would stop the foreign meddling, restore our freedoms, and condone personal responsibility. The government needs to stop doing things, it’s the cause of our problems. The government has no interest in downsizing, they just want to expand. oooooh what fear tactics can we use to get more power or what handouts can we give to get more power. The only people who have the conviction to stand up to the facaists and the socialists are the freedom lovers, the libertarians."necessity is the plea for every infringement of human freedom, it is the argument of tyrants it is the creed of slaves" william pitt. nate madison wi

    • Hate to remind you but the present government with few changes promised to "fix" the voting system in 2000 yet they really only voted to make it worse. They are presently not even talking about it so what makes you think anything has changed? So you see, the only way to take back our government is to refuse to take part in voting in rigged elections until only the Republicans vote and they lose the authority to say they represent the people in this country. This is the ONLY way to have a voice in government now. Look at our "representatives" if you think they represent anyone but themselves, then you are not paying attention.