January28, 2007:
Top 10 Myths of the Iraq War. In no particular order. There are more,
but ten is a manageable number.
1-No
Weapons of Mass Destruction (WMD). Several hundred chemical weapons were found,
and Saddam had all his WMD scientists and technicians ready. Just end the
sanctions and add money, and the weapons would be back in production within a
year. At the time of the invasion, all intelligence agencies, world-wide,
believed Saddam still had a functioning WMD program. Saddam had shut them down
because of the cost, but created the illusion that the program was still
operating in order to fool the Iranians. The Iranians wanted revenge on Saddam
because of the Iraq invasion of Iran in 1980, and the eight year war that
followed.
2-The
2003 Invasion was Illegal. Only according to some in the UN. By that standard,
the invasion of Kosovo and bombing of Serbia in 1999 was also illegal. Saddam
was already at war with the U.S. and Britain, because Iraq had not carried out
the terms of the 1991 ceasefire, and was trying to shoot down coalition
aircraft patrolling the no-fly zone.
3-Sanctions
were working. The sanctions worked for Saddam, not for Iraq. Saddam used the
sanctions as an excuse to punish the Shia majority for their 1991 uprising, and
help prevent a new one. The "Oil For Food" program was corrupted with the help
of bribed UN officials, and mass media outlets that believed Iraqi propaganda.
Saddam was waiting out the sanctions, and bribing France, Russia and China,
with promises of oil contracts and debt repayments, to convince the UN to lift
the sanctions.
4-Overthrowing
Saddam Only Helped Iran. Of course, and this was supposed to make Iran more
approachable and open to negotiations. With the Iraqi "threat" gone, it was
believed that Iran might lose its radical ways and behave. Iran got worse as a
supporter of terrorism and developer of WMD. Irans clerical dictatorship did
not want a democracy next door. The ancient struggle between the Iranians and
Arabs was brought to the surface, and the UN became more active in dealing with
problems caused by pro-terrorist government of Iran. As a result of this, the Iranian
police state has faced more internal dissent. From inside Iran, Iraq does not
look like an Iranian victory.
5-The
Invasion Was a Failure. Saddam's police state was overthrown and a democracy
established, which was the objective of the operation. Peace did not ensue
because Saddam's supporters, the Sunni Arab minority, were not willing to deal
with majority rule, and war crimes trials. A terror campaign followed. Few
expected the Sunni Arabs to be so stupid. There's a lesson to be learned there.
6-The
Invasion Helped Al Qaeda. Compared to what? Al Qaeda was a growing movement
before 2003, and before 2001. But after the Iraq invasion, and especially the
Sunni Arab terrorism, al Qaeda fell in popularity throughout the Moslem world.
Arab countries cracked down on al Qaeda operations more than ever before.
Without the Iraq invasion, al Qaeda would still have safe havens all over the
Arab world.
7-Iraq
Is In A State of Civil War. Then so was Britain when the IRA was active, and so
is Spain today because ETA is still active. Both IRA and ETA are terrorist
organizations based on ethnic identity. India also has tribal separatist rebels
who are quite active. That's not considered a civil war. This is all about
partisans playing with labels for political ends, not accurately describing a
terror campaign.
8-Iraqis
Were Better Off Under Saddam. Most Iraqis disagree. Check election results and
opinion polls. Reporters tend to ask Iraqi Sunni Arabs this question, but they
were the only ones who benefited from Saddams rule.
9-The
Iraq War Caused Islamic Terrorism to Increase in Europe. The Moslem unrest in
Europe was there before 2001, and 2003. Interviews of Islamic radicals in
Europe reveals that the hatred is not motivated by Iraq, but by daily
encounters with hostile natives. Blaming Islamic terrorism on Iraq is another
attempt to avoid dealing with a homegrown problem.
10-
The War in Iraq is Lost. By what measure? Saddam and his Baath party are out of
power. There is a democratically elected government. Part of the Sunni Arab
minority continues to support terror attacks, in an attempt to restore the
Sunni Arab dictatorship. In response, extremist Shia Arabs formed vigilante
death squads to expel all Sunni Arabs. Given the history of democracy in the
Middle East, Iraq is working through its problems. Otherwise, one is to believe
that the Arabs are incapable of democracy and only a tyrant like Saddam can
make Iraqi "work." If democracy were easy, the Arab states would all have it.
There are problems, and solutions have to be found and implemented. That takes
time, but Americans have, since the 18th century, grown weary of wars after
three years. If the war goes on longer, the politicians have to scramble to
survive the bad press and opinion polls. Opposition politicians take advantage
of the situation, but this has nothing to do with Iraq, and everything to do
with local politics in the United States.