Civil Wars

The new year is marked by numerous civil wars (not so civil actually) including Lebanon, Iraq, Syria, South Sudan, Afghanistan, Egypt, and Indonesia that the U.S. is powerless to contain.  So much for Bush's shock and awe.

Syria

I think Thomas Freidman has it right.
"Many Americans also understood that when it came to our record in the Arab/Muslim world since 9/11, we were 0 for 3. Afghanistan seems headed for failure; whatever happens in Iraq, it was overpaid for; and Libya saw a tyrant replaced by tribal wars. I also think a lot of people look at the rebels in Syria and hear too few people who sound like Nelson Mandela — that is, people fighting for the right to be equal citizens, not just for the triumph of their sect or Shariah."

British Colonial Failures

The Brits “retained significant control (over Iraq) … until the late 1950s. Yet by repeatedly putting its faith in unpopular rulers who could be depended upon to ensure a steady supply of oil, London inadvertently set off several nationalist explosions. A string of army coups, starting in 1958, eventually led to Saddam Hussein.”

In Nigeria, Britain distrusted educated natives “and decided to grant resources and autonomy to more traditional tribal chieftains, who were intent on pursuing local, not national interests. Britain’s decision to join the Islamic north of the country with non-Muslim settlements in the south fed tribal conflicts and insurgencies that have lasted to this day.”

In the Sudan, “British authorities ruled the north and south separately, ultimately to calamitous effect. Southern Sudan has recently become a separate country after decades of bloodshed, and the last 10 years have seen unconscionable war and genocide in the Darfur region, which was mindlessly tacked on to Sudan during World War I.”

Quotes from Isaac Chotiner’s review of Kwasi Kurateng, Ghosts of Empire in the New York Times, March 4, 2012.

Financial Crisis Policy & Iraq

There is a connection between the depressed economy and the Iraq War. The best economic policy for the financial crisis is to get out of Iraq as soon as possible. The economy can't recover while we are throwing billions down the bottomless pit of Iraq. The bailouts can't do the job alone. Just think of all the research and development on energy we could be doing with this money. For just one thing, We could build a modern national train system like the Europeans already have.
For those who are still thinking of nothing less than victory in Iraq, my advice is to get over it. It is vainglory at this point. Victory in the usual sense is impossible and even if possible in x years, we can't afford it. Redirecting our economy from war to development is our best road to National Security.

War Profiteering

"KRB, the largest private contractor for the Pentagon in Iraq, has two shell companies in the Caymans.... Because the companies are offshore, neither KBR nor the workers must pay Social Security and Medicare taxes ... according to (the Boston Globe)." "When KBR set up the second of its two shells in the Caymans, it was still owned by Halliburton. Halliburtons's chief executive then was Mr Cheney."
Source: Toledo Blade, March 14, 2008.
Why do we put up with this? Is it because any criticism of the administration's Iraqi policy is subject to the charge of being unpatriotic?

Iraq Policy Failures

Bush supposedly attacked Iraq to improve life of Iraqi citizens.
But, what is the evidence?
1. American soldiers dead—4,000.
2. Iraqi citizens dead—180,000 as reported by Iraqi Ministry of Health (other estimates are considerably higher.
3. Internal citizen displacement—2 million.
4. Refugees fled to other countries—2 million more.
5. Dollar cost to date-- $3 trillion. (And electricity and water are problematic.)
We have done much more harm than good, and staying only makes it worse.