No Easy Exit
By Mowahid Hussain Shah
Ten years after the ‘war on terror’ declared in the aftermath of the 9/11 attacks comes a new book detailing the impact of the Bush-initiated dual wars in Iraq and Afghanistan. The book, “Bush’s Wars”, published by Oxford University Press, is by Terry H. Anderson, who is professor of history at Texas A&M University.
It substantiates how an agenda-driven group – the neo-con lobby – in effect, hijacked the Bush White House and entrapped the gullible 43 rd US President into disastrous conflicts. In doing so, the American writ has been heavily hit. The so-called ‘war on terror’ has drained the American economy by costing over 1 trillion dollars.
Arrogant assumptions were made how US troops would be welcomed as liberators. The benefits of invasion were praised sky-high while the repercussions were not weighed and vetted.
When it mattered, Democrat stalwarts in the Senate like Hillary Clinton and John Kerry were enablers of the invasion of Iraq.
What, however, has not been adequately scrutinized in Western media or in this book by Professor Anderson were the motivations of the neo-cons. Simply put, the neo-cons were basically the pro-Israeli lobby operating under a new name. The unstated core objective was to make the region safe for Israel.
The escalation of anti-American fever in the region is a tale of miscalculations, derailed ambitions, and anarchy. Iraq became a full-blown insurgency and Afghanistan remains a quagmire.
The humanitarian costs to Iraq and Afghanistan have been horrendous. But the US-led misadventures have not been cost-free to the US itself. CBS News detailed on its “60 Minutes” program on July 10 how, after leaving service, a new generation of homeless military veterans returning from Iraq and Afghanistan have been created. Also, there has been a huge escalation in mental health problems, including suicide, among the more than 2.5 million US military personnel who have served in Iraq and Afghanistan.
It is an indictment of the US political culture wherein the clearly unsuited George Bush could become the democratically elected leader of the West.
It is also a reflection of the crushing failure of the moneyed Muslim elites who, through their cruelty and greed, have made their nations an easy prey for outside predators.
The neo-cons may have been quick in trying to cut off the branches of global militancy but they have been slow to search for its root. On page 77, the book states on Osama bin Laden: “When he was 14 he experienced a political and religious awakening. He became very concerned about the plight of Palestinians, even weeping during the televised news about Palestine.” And on page 215, there is a direct quote from Osama himself: “Our attacks against you will continue as long as US support for Israel continues.”
So what was the scorecard in the final analysis? It is on page 211 of the book: “Bush failed to win his war on terror.”
Neo-cons gloated when America was on verge of invading Iraq that military action would not last more than a week. Well, come September, it would have lasted more than 500 weeks.
There is no easy exit.
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