[ Gary-Wright.com ] [ The Wright Perspective Blog ] [ The Wright Perspective Blog 2007 Archives ] →
The Wright Perspective℠
Social Commentary from the C-Suite to Main Street℠
A Blog by Gary Wright II
Bush painted into a corner in a new video by Al Qaeda #2 man Ayman al-Zawahiri
Saturday, May 5, 2007
Saturday a video tape was posted to the Internet by Al Qaeda 2nd in command Ayman al-Zawahiri. The video taunts Bush, Shiites, and Iran. When asked about the recent legislation that tied funding of the war with timetables for withdrawal, al-Zawahiri said, "This bill reflects American failure and frustration. However, this bill will deprive us of the opportunity to destroy the American forces which we have caught in a historic trap. We ask Allah that they only get out of it after losing 200 to 300 hundred thousand killed, in order that we give the spillers of blood in Washington and Europe an unforgettable lesson, which will motivate them to review their entire doctrinal and moral system which produced their historic criminal Crusader-Zionist entity."
Now Bush is painted into a corner, and there is no way out. If he pulls out the troops, he loses. If he keeps sending the troops into a slaughter, he loses. America has been placed into a lose - lose situation.
Al-Zawahiri further taunts Bush by saying, "And lest Bush worry, I congratulate him on the success of his security plan and I invite him on the occasion for a glass of juice -- but in the cafeteria of the Iraqi parliament!" This is a reference to the failure of the troop surge, failure to maintain security in the "green zone", and by the suicide bomber getting into the Iraqi Parliament building.
I am a disabled veteran, so I understand completely what is at stake. I don't like to criticize without offering constructive criticism. My advice would be to bring home the troops ASAP and use them to protect our borders. What would I have done differently? I would have made the march to Baghdad, and immediately start setting things up for a free election. I would have supported the new Iraq government, but I would have still left the "ball in their court." As soon as Saddam Hussein was captured and brought to justice, there was no reason to stay there a day longer.
When Bush Sr. didn't march to Baghdad during the Gulf war after freeing Kuwait, there were actually good reasons. Those reasons still hold water today: 1. What would be the exit strategy? 2. What do we do with the vacuum of power? 3. How do we prevent a civil war between religious entities? 4. What would be the effect on the stability of surrounding Middle East nations? 5. How would we transition the war from open desert warfare into urban combat?
When you start a war, you have to clearly define the enemy, clearly define the definition of success, and plan for the possible outcomes. Bush didn't do any of these things. He said it was a "war on terror" which is abstract. Just compare it to the "war on drugs." Drugs are still just as abundant on the street as they were before the war. Same goes for terrorists, only now we have motivated even more people to become terrorists.
An unforgivable mistake was how our troops and veterans have been treated. We started a war but gave no thought to the equipment we would need. More importantly, there was no changes made to the already failing and overburdened military hospitals. We should have added more doctors and other people to support the troops, but we did nothing.
A fact that not many people know: Veterans are promised lifetime health care. Because the system failed so badly at delivering quality health care, veterans became excluded from the system by the creation of "Priority Groups." Basically, a veteran must now be below the poverty line in order to receive the medical benefits that they were promised. The right thing to do would be to fix the system, not eliminate the services that had been promised.