Iraq is mistakingly referred to as another Vietnam. Nothing could be farther from the truth. To be sure, the WMD is apparently a ruse, just like the Gulf of Tonkin incident. Both President Johnson and Bush have exaggerated the dangers of doing nothing. There is talk of sending more troops to Iraq. There is also talk of fighting a wider war, including Syria and perhaps Iran. French journalist Patrick Foupee has written in LeMond that American special forces are already operating in Syria. Some people might conclude this is the beginning of another secret war, such as America fought in Laos and Cambodia.
Nixon had a secret plan. Bush apparently has a secret plan, too, because he is the only one who knows the details. America feared that if it didn't support a corrupt regime in Vietnam, the neighboring countries would fall to Communism. The Bush administration fears that, if we don't kill every terrorist in Iraq, the neighboring countries won't fall to democracy. The domino theory is back, but inverted.
The Bush administration's iron-fisted application of democracy in Iraq and the Middle East is complicated by the religious issue. In "Call to Arms" Bob Woodward describes Bush as believing "democracy invested with the Christian religious instinct is the right antidote to tribalism in the Middle East." Bush makes no bones about Christ being the most influential leader in his life. To that end he has ordered that all civilian contractors in Iraq be practicing Christians. The administration argues that it makes no sense to put Jews in Iraq, given the hostility towards Israel. Bush has made it clear that every Christian missionary who applies for a visa to Iraq should receive the document in a timely fashion. Bush has ordered American and coalition troops to protect the missionaries as they build churches and schools. He has strongly recommended that US soldiers contribute money to these efforts.
So Iraq is nothing like Vietnam. Vietnam was a political and military blunder based on bad intelligence, questionable ideology, and ex-patriots who sold America a bill of goods. The war in Iraq is based on the highest principles, including democracy and religion. America's only aim is to bring democracy to Iraq, even at the point of the gun. The liberated Iraqies will quickly realize that
the American president is infallible because he has learned everything he knows from his Warrior God.
Iraq will also realize that the American god has a high standard of living, clean water, and 24-hour electricity. As Secretary Rumfeld suggested to Woodward, primarily in body language "Islam doesn't have a chance when we bring in air conditioning."
Posted by Chuck at April 22, 2004 03:05 PM | TrackBack