It is hard to believe that nearly four years ago I sat in several smoky bars, drinking several beers, smoking several cigarettes, debating one sole issue: a potential invasion of Iraq. Many things have changed in this time, high school freshman are now seniors, some who may be entering the Military in just a few months. My girlfriend at the time who was consistently my main opponent is now my wife, and although we still find ourselves on opposing sides on a number of issues and ideas, we no longer are on Iraq.
Now when I’m talking politics I do so in smoky bars, drinking beer, and breathing in the secondhand smoke of others, I quit in the fall of 2005. The lack of a Camel Light in my hand is not the only thing that has changed, I now admit the position I held in 2003, and for a few years after was dead wrong.
You see, I was one of very few people around a college town you would find in favor, or at least who was vocal about his favor for the invasion of Iraq. I did not believe Iraq, or Saddam had anything to do with September 11. Nor did I view him or Iraq as a direct threat to America. I did believe that they possessed those three grand words, weapons of mass destruction, okay I guess technically that’s four words, and technically they never existed. I also favored the removal of a horrific dictator, but more importantly was my concern for the thirteen UN Resolutions that had been broken since the last invasion of Iraq. I saw the potential war as sending a strong message and helping legitimize the UN, (something that still needs to happen) while removing a man who has killed more Arabs than anyone in our modern time. The thought of a Democratic Iraq was a great thought, and yeah I would like to find the pot of gold at the end of the rainbow, but I’ve got the benefit of four years now that is clearly showing how unrealistic and naïve this proposal was.
Besides good friends and a good girl with a cold beer in a smoky bar, I debated the issue inside plenty of kitchens. My girlfriend’s parents kitchen with her dad and his friend, my wife’s father’s friend’s kitchen on a cold winter night. As the years passed my arguments shifted, because the situation shifted, but until a year or so ago I remained optimistic and overall in favor of the debacle in Iraq. Yes, more than a year ago I was referring to it as a debacle. Back to those kitchens though, there were quality arguments made on both sides, but the one that has stuck with me is the point that the Iraqi people showed no desire for freedom, they had not risen against a corrupt dictator and thus the argument that a free Iraq was plausible, was weak. This theory, of course, was not born inside a kitchen in Michigan and had been expressed from the beginning, but as time wore on this argument was strengthened by the actions of the people in Iraq. The second was my restating and rehashing the obvious, that plenty of Democrats voted to give the President the right to deploy troops, and no matter how they, or others tried to spin that vote, they too needed to be held accountable.
Sooooooooooooooo, fast forward to present day. Our President is by no means willing to be accountable for the failure in Iraq. During his forty-nine minute State of the Union address he said that this is not the war we started, but it is the war were in. Well genius, unless this was where you wanted the war you and our other elected officials got us involved in to go, then the war has been a failure and it is time for a change. A real change, not the proverbial band-aid on a twelve by twelve gaping wound. What we’re being offered is smoke and mirrors, it is not a new strategy and there is not a plan in place if this fails. Telling us that failure is not an option is not an option, especially from a man who has failed in virtually everything he’s ever done. Failure is an option Mr. Bush, it’s been your way of life and apparently you’ve grown quite used to it.
So how do we get meaningful change? Unfortunately I find it doubtful at best to think that the Democrats will bring about meaningful change. This coming from the Party that ran a Northeastern rich man who voted for the war, which of course wasn’t a vote for the war, and bla bla bla. Yes, John Kerry could put together coherent sentences, something our President is slowly working on, last I heard he’s at an eighth grade reading and writing level, but he could not put a consistent stance together on many an issue. Now we hear that the Democrats have been put in power to save us all. Anyone want to place a wager on how long it will take until they even attempt to cut funding for the debacle in Iraq? C’mon now, look at my past record, I argued in favor of invasion, any takers? I got never. Senator Russ Feingold is actually concerned with implementing meaningful change, and take a look at the reactions he’s getting from such Democratic favorites as Hilary Clinton.
In a recent article in The New Yorker John Edwards, who yes, basically voted for the war owned up to his vote. He said he was wrong. Wrong, just like W and his clan of Cowboys, just like Hilary and Kerry, and keep going down the list. He also said that he was not tricked, that no one was tricked, that they all had the same information they based their decisions on. As a citizen who was wrong, I am not attempting to be critical of their transgressions from four years ago. What I am asking is that for once they stop the rhetoric Americans have heard from both sides for so long, and actually take a stand. A stand that is not easy, that is not without risk, but a stand nonetheless. If worst comes to worst give this change in strategy, which is no change at all, a six-month chance, and if it follows the standard GW trend and fails, then cut funding and get us out of Iraq. Preferably that stand should start now, because cutting the funds for this war is just the first step in getting our soldiers out. Those in our government from both Parties did not have the wisdom at the time to follow the lead of Senator Feingold and others before we invaded Iraq, hopefully they, unlike our President, will learn from their mistakes.