Political Cortex: Brain Food for the Body Politic

By 1998 the Project for the New American Century, the primary Neocon think tank, had developed a policy for the removal of Saddam Hussain from power through military force if need be, the establishment of a friendly democracy in Iraq, and a platform for military operations in the region to protect our interests. Some of this is detailed in a letter from PNAC to then Speaker Gingrich and Senate Majority Leader Trent Lott. The issue presented is Saddam's eventual acquisition of WMD and the concommmitant loss of American influence in the Middle East. In other words WMD are the tools with which Saddam would pry us loose from our entrenched position in the region and create the opportunity to destroy Israel. If successful, this strategy would make Saddam top dog in the region striking fear in the hearts of the Iranians and the Saudis.  In the post 9/11 world it is possible to speculate this would have created a more stable and tractable Middle East than the one we have now. We will never know.

With Saddam out of power the US could establish military bases in sufficient number and variation to consolidate our military in the region. Bases in Iraq position the US strategically in the heart of the region, able to strike in any direction, allow withdrawal of troops from Saudi Arabia, reduce our presence in Turkey, and give us a more direct role in protecting Israel from her neighbors. Military bases in Iraq would ensure the flow of Iraqi oil and position us to control other oil pipelines in the region. They put direct pressure on both Iran and Syria while protecting Israel and the Princes in Saudi Arabia, at least until the oil runs out.

Once again, none of this is new to those who pay attention.

The merits of the PNAC plan are open for discussion. A discussion we, as a nation should have had prior to attacking Saddam, rather than now when the war has become so unpopular.

I was discussing this with my wife the other night when I realized why support for the war was losing ground. I know this will sound like a "Duh" moment to many of you, but this is not the war we signed up to fight. Either the Administration lied to us to enlist our support for a war they did not think we would be willing to fight on the merits, or they wanted this war so much they lied to themselves. I don't know which is worse.

The Neocons should never have allowed their project to be sold to the public through lies, innuendo, hyperbole, distortion, and jingoism. If they thought Saddam posed the level of threat to the Middle East that they believed, that their project was a good one on its own merits, and their response to the threat was appropriate, they should have presented their arguments to the public and fostered a debate on the issue in the Congress and thus in the nation at large. They did not do this. Instead, not trusting the American people to follow the lead of "THOSE WHO KNOW BEST" (isn't this the definition of Elitism?) they lied us into war.

If this war had been debated appropriately in the beginning we would not be where we are today. We would have either rejected or accepted it, knowing all the pros and cons with an understanding of the committment. We went into this war with none of this.

If we had a clear understanding of the committment we would be psychologically prepared for the long haul and our goals fully understood. Instead the lies disgust and disillusion us, and leave us unsure that the goals are appropriate for the nation we perceive ourselves to be. Americans don't stand up well to the self image of empire. We mostly want to exert no more control than it takes to remain safe and secure and to enjoy our lives, world hegemon is an uncomfortable position and conflicts with many of our best values.

Just as in Vietnam we were rushed into an ill-conceived, ill-considered exercise in hegemony that was eventually rejected by the American people as the wrong war in the wrong place at the wrong time. We have again been duped into war in the name of hegemony. What goals we once had for Iraq are gone, our best hope now is to leave with a false smile on our face and a prayer on our lips.

Had the Neocons been honest with us in the first place, one way or another we would not be in the situation we are in now.