John Kerry apologized to the troops in Iraq. Will Bush?

John Kerry apologized to the troops in Iraq. Will Bush?


Sen. John Kerry, as you well know, spoke at a college in Southern California. With bitter humor he told the students that he had been in Texas the day before, that President Bush used to live in that state, but that now he lives in the state of denial.

He said the trip had reminded him about the value of education — that “if you make the most of it, you study hard, you do your homework, and you make an effort to be smart, you can do well. If you don’t, you can get stuck in Iraq.”

The senator, in essence, called Mr. Bush stupid.

The context was unmistakable: Texas; the state of denial; stuck in Iraq. No interpretation required.

And Mr. Bush and his minions responded by appearing to be too stupid to realize that they had been called stupid.

They demanded Kerry apologize to the troops in Iraq.

And so he now has.

So now John Kerry has apologized to the troops; apologized for the Republicans’ deliberate distortions.

Thus, the president will now begin the apologies he owes our troops, right?

This president must apologize to the troops for having suggested, six weeks ago, that the chaos in Iraq, the death and the carnage, the slaughtered Iraqi civilians and the dead American service personnel, will, to history, “look like just a comma.”

This president must apologize to the troops because the intelligence he claims led us into Iraq proved to be undeniably and irredeemably wrong.

This president must apologize to the troops for having laughed about the failure of that intelligence at a banquet while our troops were in harm’s way.

This president must apologize to the troops because the streets of Iraq were not strewn with flowers and its residents did not greet them as liberators.

This president must apologize to the troops because his administration ran out of “plan” after barely two months.

This president must apologize to the troops for getting 2,815 of them killed.
This president must apologize to the troops for getting this country into a war without a clue.

And Mr. Bush owes us an apology for this destructive and omnivorous presidency.

We will not receive them, of course.

This president never apologizes.

Not to the troops.

Not to the people.

Nor will those henchmen who have echoed him.

Taken from a monolauge by Keith Olbermann
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Shawn Denny Wrote To Me:

Are you that stupid?!? Anyone in the military knows that at any point in time there can be a war and that they might die in that war. They know that they have to protect and serve for your freedom to speek poorly of your countries leader. If you knew anything then you would know that it is not the people of Iraq bombing the troops. It is the insurgents from other countries. Our troops know what they singed up for and they still give 100%. Enjoy your freedom.

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My Reply:

Shawn,

The note I posted is not an original work but a condensed monologue from an opinion journalist that I think embodies how many people feel about the war in Iraq. The writing does not criticize that George Bush sent people into war but that he sent them into a war that was based on falsehoods and that that war has been poorly managed.

Of course the United States must sometimes use military force in the world. Thank god they did against the Nazis and the Japanese Empire.

The vast majority of Americans who do not feel as though the war in Iraq was the best idea believe this because we have seen every rationale for this conflict since discredited.

First, administration officials wanted Americans to believe that Saddam Hussein had a role in the attacks of 9/11. This is a hugely erroneous assertion as demonstrated by the bipartisan 9/11 commissions

Second the administration made the assertion that the threat of being attacked by the Iraqi regime by chemical, biological and nuclear weapons was immanent. No WMDs have been found in Iraq or anywhere since. Attack was not imminent.

Third they want us to believe that Iraq was a training ground for terrorists and that it was a safe haven for Al Qaeda as protected by Saddam Hussein. The truth is Iraq didn’t become a training ground for terrorism until Saddam Hussein was deposed from power and about a dozen-hundred insurgent factions developed violent means to seize power in a Saddam-less Iraq.

We also believe that he owes an apology to the armed forces for the poor planning of the war. While George Bush bared responsibility for the decision to go to war, Donald Rumsfeld is most responsible for its poor management. It was just plain stupid for the soon-former Secretary of Defense to go into this conflict with tragically low troop levels, to have gone in without the proper supplies, and to not have anticipated the extremely viral insurgency. These are just the very worst of his decisions and poor planning.

Also, I am of the belief that George Bush owes not just an apology to those fighting in this war, but the American citizens whom on behalf he sent them to fight.

It is the blood guts and tears of the armed forces whom bare the most brutal brunt of the bad decisions made by the Bush administration. While each of us back home does not bare the sacrifice of previous generations, we do have reason to be miffed.

The conflict has cost the U.S. about 100 billion dollars per year which is about 20 billion more than we spend on education every year. It is more than the U.S. spends on Veterans benefits and unemployment assistance combined. It is about 100 times what our leaders spend on achieving energy independence.

These would be tolerable sacrifices if this were a just war with real goals and real achievements. These sacrifices would be fine if benefits of having started this war outweighed the costs.

Do not take this as a belief that we want a catastrophically disadvantageous pullout. The result of the recent elections means that we back home want the leaders in Washington to set real goals in Iraq and to make the Iraqi government there understand that continued American support comes with conditions that indicate success.

I do not know what your role in the military is but I commend your willingness to serve and sacrifice on behalf of others. It is what I think everyone who is active in public affairs hopes to do.

Take care, and God bless.

David Tibergien