Sorry We’re Late
April 11th, 2003 - 11:50 am
I can’t find a single word to disagree with in this Goldberg File. Jonah argues that Bush should apologize for America taking so long to finish the work left undone in ’91:
An apology from Bush would have huge a huge impact. The quickest way to prove your sincerity is to make it clear that you are acting out of contrition for something you did wrong in the past. Obviously, we aren’t in Iraq merely to atone for a past wrong, but there’s nothing wrong with telling this to the Iraqi people, since it is in effect one reason why we are there. Moreover, a properly phrased apology could make this war less of a blow to the pride of the Iraqis. The stunning humiliation of the Iraqi army is already a major
The question that never gets asked is what was Bush Sr.’s mistake exactly?
Was the mistake in pulling the troops back, or in not defying the Arab segments of the Coalition and the UN?
“The question that never gets asked is what was Bush Sr.’s mistake exactly?
Was the mistake in pulling the troops back, or in not defying the Arab segments of the Coalition and the UN?”
Both, I’d say. Iraq was an unrepentant aggressor nation, and going in and toppling Saddam right then and there would have been an object lesson for the future for any other Third World thug with similar ambitions. Giving him twelve more years to defy the rest of the world while his people suffered created a humanitarian catastrophe (though it was still preferable to letting him rebuild in peace), and allowed the usual gang of idiots to claim finishing the job was illegitimate–not to mention making sure that it would take longer for the Iraqi people to believe that we were really going to do the job this time. Bush allowed the fear of world opinion and the threat of Iran and Syria moving in to fill the power vaccuum to get in the way of what should have been done.
> Was the mistake in pulling the troops back, or in not defying the Arab segments of the Coalition and the UN?
I’d say that it was the latter because that apology puts the screws to the UN.
The Iraqi people WERE a major factor. Clearly, the people were thrilled to see Saddam dead: and, more to the point, casualty rates were only so low on both sides because people REFUSED to fight for Saddam one more time. America would hardly be wrong if we said that this war would have gone much, more more poorly if the Iraqi army had chosen to fight us.
The big mistake was the intifada that was promoted by Bush snr in Iraq after the first gulf war.
They were ancouraged by the US administration to rise up against Saddam and that they would be supported. They did but the US stood by and watched as the rebellion was brutally put down and thousands were rounded up and executed in reponse. There are countless videos of people being tortured and beaten prior to death by just about every means known to man.
For that there should be an apology.
No, actually the largest mistake by far was Gen. Schwartzkopf allowing the Iraqi military to fly armed helicopters in the no-fly zone. These were instrumental in putting down Iraqi insurgents; very likely tipping the scales against them.
Unfortunately, Bush Sr. learned nearly the very same lesson that JFK learned about four decades ago. Different circumstances, yes, but the not-going-to-the-wall part is the same.