Behind W's Disastrous Actions

In order to move forward I believe it necessary to at least examine what exactly got us in the mess we find ourselves in. And by mess, since it can be broadly defined given that you can point to almost anything happening right now in our country and find fault, will for this discussion focus solely on foreign policy (I look forward to discussing the various domestic policy messes we have to get out of in future posts).
Trying to understand the ideas behind the actions taken by our current leaders is a good starting point. Now I do not pretend to have the capability of reading the minds of W, Cheney, et al. But one redeeming quality of individuals so extremely stubborn and set in their ways is that you can somewhat glean some sense of what they are thinking. I am convinced, for example, that 9/11 irrevocably changed W's world view (as it did for most of us). Now I know there are many of you out there that believe in the various conspiracy theories that he either knew and/or planned the attacks, etc. A simple rebuttal to any conspiracy argument along this line is this: Just think of the sheer magnitude of coordination and planning that would have been necessary to not only pull off the attacks, but to then make it appear that it was the work of Islamist terrorists and cover your tracks so thoroughly that only crazy left wing conspiracy nuts would believe it. I find it ironic that those who criticize W for his ineptitude can give him the benefit of the doubt of pulling off such a major operation as this conspiracy would inevitably entail. But I digress.

I see it as a perfect storm. 9/11 altered the shallow and dim view W had of the world (I once saw a clip where a Canadian comedian posing as a journalist asked candidate W how he would get along with the prime minister of Canada, Pomme Fritte (French Fry in french). W said that if elected he would look forward to working with Prime Minister Pomme Fritte), and combined with the influence of a few powerful and ideological individuals, the course was set for cleaning house in the broader Middle East. Of course Afghanistan would have to be changed. Iraq would be next and, after completing the classic pincer movement on Iran, it would fall third. Imagine if the Iraq invasion would have gone swimmingly...I have no doubt that Paul Bremner would be sitting right now in a Tehranian Green Zone wondering what to do with the Revolutionary Guard. That was the big prize, the revenge dreamt of and sought after by various foreign policy intellectuals from both sides of the aisle since the fall of the Shah.

Was 9/11 known by W administration officials? I highly doubt it. But did they take full advantage of the leverage the attacks gave to their ideas and did they use it as cover to pursue policies that otherwise would have just sat on the shelf? Absolutely. The only thing that stopped this advancing assault has been the massive tactical blunders commited in Iraq.

So that is what happened. A weak and feeble-minded president, shocked by the attacks and determined to not look weak in the face of terror, swallowed hook, line and sinker the argument that pre-emptive action against rogue nations with ties, however vague, to terrorism was absolutely necessary. There was no stepping back, no clear thinking of the consequences and implications of military actions taken - a point of significant importance because it was pushed by a cabinet notorious for its lack of military experience. It had to be done. Plain and simple. After shoving the threat down the throats of the nation, easily washed down by a compliant mainstream media and the political thumbs up from Karl Rove (after all, a war-time president is always more popular), W decided to go to war. He was told that it would be a cakewalk, that both Afghanistan and Iraq could be done on the cheap (without inconveniencing the country to make sacrifices a la WWII) and that he would be enormously popular at home and abroad. For someone who thought the leader of our neighbor to the north was a hamburger's side order, it appeared to be a pretty good idea.

So note to the country: Doubt what our leaders say. If not outright, at least take it with a grain of salt. The more sure they are about a course of action they want to take, the more we have to push back. Apathy and compliance for the sake of inaction is unacceptable. Granted most of us were scared breathless on 9/11 and it took a while for the shock of that horrible day to dissipate, we can never let our leaders ride roughshod over us again. The consequences, as we painfully see every day, are just too dire. As Wendell Phillips once said, "Eternal vigilance is the price of liberty." That not only applies to our country's actions abroad; it is essential that citizens apply it to their own government.