Wednesday, February 18, 2004

Iraq invasion defenders are ‘pompous twits’; Israel should have invaded

Pompous Twits

Well, they’re finally coming out of the closet in support of the shifting series of reasons for this war. Fascinating credentials for Mr. Poffenberger. Perhaps he was among the group telling us and the President what a huge threat Iraq posed to us, their massive stockpiles of illegal weapons, their development of delivery systems, their ties to al Qaeda, their acquisition of nuclear material from Africa, and numerous other falsehoods.

As for the good Capt Barbour’s assertions. Abu Abbas was murdered in Iraq, probably by Saddam Hussein’s secret police murderers before the war started. We don’t know why, and any speculation is merely that.

Al Qaeda training camps have not been found anywhere in Iraq, and if the captain would read the papers now and then he would realize that the U.S. government admits to that fact.

We have deposed a tyrant, and foisted on ourselves the massive responsibility to rehabilitate an entire country. We’re getting little help because we chose to operate outside of the UN and international community, and much of the rest of the world is now thumbing their nose at us.

Saddam did in fact support terrorism against Israel, undoubtedly paying the families of suicide bombers. Perhaps Israel should have invaded Iraq.

Mr. Poffenberger makes much of STRATFOR. Well, I agree with their assessment that al Qaeda has been hurt (but not by our military operations in Iraq), that our military is reducing the insurrection in Iraq, and that the Islamic world is afraid of us.

However, if Mr. Poffenberger bothers to read a little recent history, none of these were presented by the President as reasons to invade Iraq.

The President spoke of imminent and growing danger which never existed, and were not part of the ill-informed pre-war intelligence assessment.

Is it Mr. Poffenberger’s assertion that we now hand the President a blank check? That the President is no longer accountable, or that he can tell us anything he likes as long as he has our best interests at heart? Where is Thomas Paine when you need him?

The STRATFOR paper doesn’t mention the effect of this war on our long-term relations with our main allies, nor the perceptions we have created around the world that we think we can do whatever we want because of our power. It doesn’t mention the cost, either in lives or treasure.

If the end result is the defeat of al Qaeda, then no cost is too high. There were no al Qaeda in Iraq (besides Abu Musab al Zarquawi, and he has never been linked to the Iraqi government) until we invaded, which makes you wonder what effect this operation has had on al Qaeda at all.

On the other hand, how much do we pay to rid ourselves of petty tyrants while operating outside of the world’s approbation. Your blood-sucking beltway bandit head sheds and double-dipping civil servants don’t normally address that aspect.

And as for the young captain: I was over in Europe flying fighters to protect his diapered rear end long before he gained rank, title, or nonsensical insight. My father saw hundreds die on Omaha Beach. I have had more than 30 friends and classmates killed in aircraft training accidents over my career, and I know the cost of defending freedom.

Furthermore, the President promises to protect and defend the Constitution, and he’s been doing a damn lousy job of it. For starters, check out the part about habeas corpus being suspended only in time of National Emergency.

The next time the young officer decides to flirt with the Hatch Act, he should take the Republican sticker off his forehead, and get his facts straight.

Resume: 1978 Graduate USAF Academy, BS Civil Engineering. A-10 pilot, 1980-84, 510TFS; 1987-98, 118FS (CTANG). MBA Florida Tech, 1987. LTC (Ret) CTANG. And I’ve done a lot of reading, sort of on my own (you know, like Lincoln). Happy now?

Timothy Parker

Peachtree City, Ga.