Let's Hold Bush and Rumsfield Accountable!

Daily Kos writes of Two ways to address the war



His ways:

Promoting a withdrawal



We have a lot to be proud of over the past three years. We have freed the Iraqi people from a brutal dictator and given them their first taste of freedom. Iraq held successful presidential elections earlier this year, and the nation is now run by a democratic-elected government.



We have accomplished what we set out to do — bring freedom to Iraq and rid the region of the specter of Saddam's terror.



But now it is time to let the Iraqis take charge of their own lives. The future belongs to a free democratic Iraq, but it is a future they must fight for themselves.

See also Saigon, 1973. We had won on the battlefield then, too. Let's just throw the people who put their lives on the line for us, who really believed we intended to accomplish a stable, democratic government, to the mercies of those who have a vested interest in the failure of democracy in the region. If anyone believes Syria and Iran aren't doing all they can get away with to destabilize Iraq, you haven't been paying attention. If anyone believes this role won't expand if our troops are no longer watching, please contact me. I have some land.



Boys and girls, the mullahs in Iran and Assad in Syria can feel power slipping away as you read this. They have each abused and stolen from their respective peoples, who should be wealthy but are poverty stricken, for decades. They are in fear for their lives, their power, their wealth and their families. If we could afford to do so, the kindest thing we could do for these despots would be to invade now so they would at least face a reasonable trial, like Saddam Hussein, rather than being torn limb from limb in the streets. A free, democratic government in Iraq is a threat of incredible potence to them, just by existing. But that free democratic Iraq does not yet have the tools to defend itself against them. Battles aren't really won by generals. They are won by corporals and captains and training and equipment. The Iraqi Army has got about 30,000 men, last I checked, many of whom are half trained by any standard and all of whom are led by green officers up to at least field grade. They have almost nothing in the way of modern major battlefield equipment. Leaving now would be roughly like expecting Luxembourg to defend itself against Nazi Germany in 1940.



Nor is the strategic situation any better. There's a reason the terrorists keep targeting the oil production and distribution machinery. Actually there are many reasons. That gets going and stays going, and the Iraqi government now has money. Money with which they can build their country. Money with which they can get their economy going. Money to help their people live healthier lives. Money which they can use for development. Money which they can use for repairs. Money which they can use to recruit, train and equip a real army, all of which takes time. All of this gives the Iraqis a voice and a stake in the well being of their country. Once they've got it, it'll take conquest to take it away.



Externally, the pipeline is just as important. Let it get secure and let the oil start flowing again, and all of the euro-weenies and other powers who above all don't want their nice comfortable world disturbed will suddenly switch sides. Let the price of oil drop just a little with more in the offing, and watch terrorist sympathy become less popular with populist politicians across the world with no stomach for telling their constituents something they don't want to hear.



The Iraqis are in charge of their own destiny already. But they're not ready to defend it on their own yet.



Mr. Kos' other suggestion?

Afraid to call for withdrawal? Hammer on "accountability".



We are facing a crisis in Iraq, and yet no one is being held accountable. Our troops don't have enough men, equipment, or armor to effectively and safely do their job, yet those responsible for these deadly miscalculations remain at their jobs. They claim, as they always have, that Iraq is about to turn yet another corner, pass yet another milestone on the road to peace and prosperity. But the reality on the ground mocks those assertions.



We must have accountability in order to win this war. Those responsible for so many catastrophic mistakes must replaced by more competent, more effective, people.

That's it! Hold all the politicians who led the war accountable! That sounds like a good schtick! Anything to get the opposition.



Me? I think I'll hold Mr. Bush accountable for eight million voters fingers stained, stained I say, with purple and held up as badges of honor. I think I'll hold him responsible for a constitution that's eighty percent written in a country with no democratic traditions. I'll hold him responsible for a Provisional Government that handed power over to an elected Interim government which is doing a heck of a job. I'll hold him responsible for scheduling elections for sticking to his guns about deadlines for democratic actions, like writing a constitution and holding two complete rounds of elections. I'll hold him responsible for getting the Sunnis to join the government as power sharers rather than the old dictators or the new victims. Rumsfield I'll hold accountable for an Army that routed an entrenched power in days at the end of logistical lines ten thousand miles long. For an Air Force and Navy that no one can challenge on an even basis that provided that logistical support. I'll hold him accountable for equipment and training and procedures so good that in over two years of insurgency, our fatalities are less than 1.5 percent - far below those of any comparable power in any comparable situation at any time in the history of the world. I'll hold him accountable for policies that are training the Iraqis to handle foreign terrorists themselves. I'll hold them both responsible for the fact that the Iraqi terrorists appear to an increasing degree to be fighting each other.



Problem is, I haven't got the faintest idea what we can actually do to hold them accountable thus. Mr. Bush can't run again and Mr. Rumsfield isn't interested in the Presidency. We can't declare them kings or give them titles of nobilty, it's unconstitional. A national day of celebration with ticker tape parades just doesn't seem to cut it. Another national holiday might turn us into France, and I don't think either one of these fine gentlemen would want us to risk that.



Anyone?



Hat tip: Little Green Footballs



UPDATE: Slight editing change to remove duplicate sentence.