Will Americans Make The Same Mistake In Iran?

The government’s posture in Iraq is reminiscent of that old routine where one comic turns to another and says, “We’re lost, dear, but don’t worry, we’re making good time…” This seems to paraphrase what we’ve seen in two years of misdirection, obfuscation and deliberate lying.

What we are privy to is a government committed to setting “objectives,” but unwilling to face up to the details necessary to achieve its ends; or what’s worse, even being introspective enough to examine whether such objectives are realizable.

Okay, this government seems to be saying, we blew it with bin Laden when we’re this close to capturing him by refusing to realize that the Pashtoon’s loyalty was not to us but to Al Qaeda. Left to twiddle its thumbs, this administration was caught up in an embarrassing vacuum just prior to the ‘mid-terms.’ What to do? The answer was easy. You create a convenient new crisis that accomplishes two objectives: It gets people’s minds off the old goal and it allows you to achieve the next oil grab. God forbid if this cabal couldn’t exercise its macho prerogative.

But as it is with most things this government gets involved in, nobody planned beyond the original “Shock and Awe.” And when the Iraqi troops did not stuff roses in our soldiers’ gun barrels when they learned we were bringing democracy with us, the government just became paralyzed with inertia.

The question has now become “what do we do?” The same old arguments don’t seem to fly any longer. The people are not buying the idea that “we are winning” when every day we see new examples to the contrary. Now, one little lady sitting in Bush’s backyard may be signaling that the game is over; that it is time to fold our tent.

But let us not forget, our administration does not take no for an answer.. And we are now facing another upcoming mid-term. And the third largest reserve of oil is in the hands of the ‘bad guys.’

What to do?

Well, I’ll give you just two guesses and the first one doesn’t count. First, we want to keep our majority in Congress. Secondly, we want to be able to resolve the oil shortage. And, thirdly, we know that a country at War supports its president.

At this point, you don’t have to practice brain science to realize that you have the perfect scenario for trotting out all of the reasons for a new War (since we’ve so badly botched up the other two). We know that the Iranians are not exactly our best friends… We know that they have recommitted to their nuclear energy program. And we know that it is within reason that they may divert enriched materials to the building of weaponry.

So, when the discussions start, we don’t waste a moment telling everyone who will listen that all of the options are on the table. Immediately, German Chancellor Shroeder disagrees. He says that we should move War off the table “because it hasn’t worked before.” Wow, plain talk from a world leader. Off with Shroeder’s head.

But what Shroeder has inadvertently done is shine a spotlight on the grievous errors that defined our experience in Bora-Bora and Baghdad. Increasingly, even those who weren’t paying attention the first time or were too busy waving the flag may choose not go down this road again. Now, it’s becoming increasingly hard to ignore this bumbling administration that doesn’t mind distorting the facts for its own ends. It may be instructive for our present leadership to consider that old adage that goes: “fool me once shame on you; fool me twice and shame on me.”

Submitted by

Les Aaron
Armchair Curmudgeon