Posted on 04/24/2003 10:14:55 PM PDT by Chirodoc
Tuesday, April 22, 2003; 12:01 a.m. EST]
We Americans must face two realities since Operation Iraqi Freedom has proved so successful. Reality #1: The world's leftists and America-haters (many of them fellow Americans) want to see us fail in Iraq. Reality #2: They have plenty of time to make sure we fail or at least give the mentally challenged worldwide the impression that we did. They will conduct a campaign against America until long after an Iraqi government takes over and Iraqi oil is lubricating the Iraqi and world economies.
The campaign began with the fall of Baghdad. The hullabaloo over widespread looting and the theft of artifacts from Baghdad's museum was the first shot fired across the bow of warship America. As the Washington Times reported: "President Bush's war to liberate Iraq was such a success that naysayers are scrambling to find any angle of criticism they can muster. For the past week, Mr. Bush's critics among Arabs, Europeans and congressional Democrats have screamed to high heaven about looting across Iraq following the fall of Saddam."
Three members of the President's Advisory Committee on Cultural Property resigned, citing the failure of the U. S. military to protect the museum's treasures. Few news outlets reported that all three were Clintonistas. MSNBC did report that fact: "Viken and Martin Sullivan, chairman of the panel for eight years, charged that the U.S. military had advance warning of the danger to Iraq's historical treasures but chose to do nothing. Member Richard S. Lanier also resigned. All three had been appointed during the Clinton administration." And all were leftist Democrats waiting for the opportunity to do their part to undermine the Bush administration.
Sullivan noted in his letter of resignation: "While our military forces have displayed extraordinary precision and restraint in deploying arms - and apparently in securing the Oil Ministry and oil fields - they have been nothing short of impotent in failing to attend to the protection of [Iraq's] cultural heritage."
They wanted the Marines and soldiers who were dodging sniper fire and under attack by fedayeen and homicide bombers to ignore those risks and guard the entrance to the museum, where they would have made good targets. Sorry, but I wouldn't endanger one American life to save all the loot in Iraq.
The Washington Times noted in an editorial: "All the ransacking of museums, libraries and markets was at the hands of the country's own people." The museum's staff left the museum unguarded and-surprise!-Iraqis who had been half-starved for years saw their once-in-a-lifetime chance to steal enough to retire to the South of France. (Where better for a group of scumbags to retire?) The looting, by the way, now appears to have been an inside job.
But never mind the facts. The looting gives our enemies around the world the chance to fire potshots at us to undermine everything we do in Iraq. Remember, they want us to fail, and distortion and disinformation are their tools. One Iraqi voices a negative opinion, and they broadcast that around the world, while the smiles and cheers and toppled statues are soon forgotten.
The Washington Times noted: "As Gen. Richard Myers, chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, has pointed out, Pentagon military planners went out of their way not to target Iraq's cultural sites, which were not hit by coalition bombing raids." Nevertheless, we will hear about the looting for a long time to come as our enemies work overtime to undermine us. Britain's Independent actually stated: "And this is 'liberation'? No, it is bloody conquest, witnessed by America's mass theft of Iraq's resources and natural wealth."
The issue of Saddam's weapons of mass destruction puts us in a no-win situation. If we fail to find significant stocks of the weapons, our enemies will portray us as a rogue nation that lied to justify the attack on Iraq. If we find anthrax or nerve gas, they will claim the CIA planted it. Hans Blix said as much when he insisted that his UN inspectors should conduct the search for the weapons. In a BBC interview, he said, "The world would like to have a credible report on the absence or eradication of the program of weapons of mass destruction." Yes, the "credible" UN Inspector-Clouseau-in-charge Blix will surely be among those leading the charge against America.
They will also use the rebuilding of Iraq against us. Whenever a company gets a contract, our enemies will take cheap shots, using such phrases as "cozy relationship" and "campaign contributions." The political cartoonists have already taken aim at Halliburton and Bechtel. (Why are so many political cartoonists leftists?)
And then there's Ali, the poor little Iraqi kid who lost much of his family and both of his arms in the bombing. The U. S. military flew him to Kuwait where he was given better medical treatment than any kid in the Middle East (except the children of dictators and their cronies). Nevertheless, the world's leftists and America-haters have used him as a symbol to "prove" to the world that we purposely killed and maimed helpless Iraqi civilians.
They're targeting our allies, too. The Independent had this to say about Ali: "Publicity has saved him. Tony Blair says he will 'do everything he can' to help him. This must be the ultimate insult to the memory of all the children of Iraq who have died violently in Blair's war, and as a result of the embargo that Blair enthusiastically endorsed."
They have dug in for the long haul. They will snipe at us continually until long after we leave Iraq. And they will sway worldwide public opinion. They will someday even convince Americans that we are the bad guys. And that is their ultimate goal, to weaken our resolve from within.
To comment on this article or express your opinion directly to the author, you are invited to e-mail Allan at acstover@comcast.net .
Boycott!!!
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