Iraq intervention unwarranted

By Blair Thedinger

In order to justify an invasion of Iraq, the American public was deceived and is now being forced to watch as the coalition authority blunders through a guerrilla war. Vice President Cheney boldly announced on Aug. 26, 2002, "there is no doubt that Saddam Hussein now has weapons of mass destruction."

On April 10, former White House press secretary Ari Fleisher addressed the White House press corps, saying, "We have confidence that [Saddam's military] has weapons of mass destruction. This is what this war was about and is about."

The interim report released by the inspection team states that they have failed to find any chemical, biological or nuclear weapons. The Bush administration is now making a scapegoat of the intelligence community; however, the obvious blame lies in the White House.

In light of the complete absence of weapons of mass destruction, the Bush administration is focusing on the "liberation" of the Iraqi people. What sort of liberation does the US have in store? In May of this year, Paul Bremer postponed talks of creating an interim government and instead brought together a twenty-five member Iraqi advisory council, carefully selected by the U.S. coalition authority, and subordinate to "coalition interests." Meanwhile, the U.S. instituted a complete reform of the Iraqi economy with virtually no input from Iraqis themselves.

All major sectors, besides oil, have been or are scheduled to undergo the "economic shock therapy" of privatization. As valuable state industry is being sold off to foreign-owned corporations, the coalition governing authorities has been unable to secure the electrical grid or provide basic services such as trash pick up.

Throughout the 1980s the U.S. had a formal relationship with Saddam Hussein involving direct military aid to Iraq in its war with Iran. Donald Rumsfeld met with the "beast of Baghdad" in 1983 as a member of a special envoy pitching a proposal for the construction of a major oil pipeline. Enthusiastic American support of Saddam continued well after Saddam had committed grave human rights abuses, namely initiating the 1988 Anfal campaign against the Northern Kurdish population. It was not until Saddam committed acts of aggression and destruction without U.S. permission that he was sanctioned.

Unsubstantiated rhetoric, such as the claim that Saddam was attempting to get Uranium from African nations, and flat out lies, like the supposed connection between Saddam and al-Qaeda, were used to manufacture a case for war. The real motivations for war are eloquently explained in the memorandums and journals of the current administration's most conservative elements. The plan is to maintain "full spectrum" dominance by exerting its control over threats-real or imagined-anywhere in the world. The invasion of Iraq was an example of this irrational philosophy of control.

A heavy price has been paid for these imperial ambitions. According to a compilation of media reports posted on iraqbodycount.net, Iraqi casualties have numbered been between 7,768 and 9,578 reported civilian deaths and at least 20,000 civilian injuries.

Each death or injury comes with a heartbreaking story that FOX News conveniently does not report.

And Iraqis are not the only ones who suffer. Soldiers, many the age of the average Santa Clara student, are being attacked by a highly organized yet decentralized resistance force made up of Saddam Loyalists, foreign militants, and frustrated Iraqi citizens. This stressful situation has taken its toll.

Almost three hundred soldiers have been killed and, according to The Guardian, 478 troops have been removed from duty because of mental health issues, and 13 soldiers have committed suicide in recent months. Parents of loved ones are being flooded with e-mails and letters describing a wholly different situation than that portrayed by the Pentagon.

Jane Bright, mother of Evan Bright, a member of the 101st Airborne, made this statement just after her son was killed: "I don't care what the administration says about flag-waving and children throwing flowers-All [my son] told me was that he had seen and done some horrible things, that they had all done and seen some terrible things." (The Guardian, Oct. 25, 2003)

As of Wednesday, Oct. 29, more U.S. soldiers have died in "postwar" Iraq than during the official period of hostilities. On May 1, from aboard the USS Lincoln, Bush declared that "major combat operations in Iraq have ended. In the battle of Iraq, the United States and our allies have prevailed'.' With a banner declaring "Mission Accomplished" carefully positioned over the deck of the ship, he praised the Navy personnel for a job well done. Since that speech, the attacks on our troops have increased in intensity and sophistication, bringing the number of combat deaths to 353.

The Oct. 26 missile attack on the Rashid Hotel, where Deputy Defense Secretary Paul Wolfowitz was staying, and the recent bombings of the Iraqi police stations and Red Cross center, demonstrate a new level of organization and determination. Administration officials have irrationally declared that an increase in attacks demonstrates that the terrorists are becoming "weak" and "increasingly desperate."

This sort of anti-logic make one wonder how many young men and women need to die before Bush can realize his errors.

The Bush administration has lost all credibility and cannot be trusted to manage security and reconstruction in Iraq. The public and the international community must demand a full apology from the government and complete reorientation of US foreign policy from imperialism to respectful cooperation. Iraqis-Shia and Sunni-are registering their voice of dissent through massive street protests, and so should the world.

Conservative elites forecasted that there would be little trouble in Iraq, and now dismiss the continuing strife as a consequence of irrational hatred. If the U.S. public does not reject this simplistic analysis, the downward spiral of suffering and violence will continue.

Blair Thedinger is a senior Santa Clara student.