US Congress Dog and Pony Show

The following is my op-ed published in the local paper last week. They picked the title.


Congress holds dog and pony shows on Iraq war while Americans keep dying
July 20, 2005

Last month, while in Washington, D.C., I sat through a Senate Armed Services Committee meeting. It struck me as a dog and pony show, with pointless political posturing by nearly all the senators. It seemed they were mainly concerned with declining public support for the ongoing war in Iraq and what impact that might have on their future reelection prospects. There was considerably less concern expressed for the U.S. troops in Iraq, and I heard no concern whatsoever expressed about the welfare of the Iraqi people.

In front of the senators were Defense Secretary Donald Rumsfeld and Gens. George Casey, John Abizaid and Richard Myers. Casey said that the insurgents in Iraq would be defeated when they see the political process as more viable. Several of the generals did express that they thought the insurgency was getting stronger, but that we are making progress and victory is certain. They commented on how pulling out of Iraq would plunge the country into chaos. From my perspective, chaos seems to be the ongoing state of Iraq since 2003.

Sen. Levin pointed out that not meeting timetables in Iraq's political processes could have negative repercussions for U.S. troops. He suggested that consequences be lined up for the Iraqis for not getting things done on time. I hope those Iraqis realize that they not only have to "do" democracy the way the senator wants, they had better be prompt about it too.

Sen. Edward Kennedy, D-Mass., ripped into Rumsfeld, reminding him of his many mistakes. This really struck me as useless, although it had some entertainment value. Sen. Robert Byrd, D-W.Va., mostly followed Kennedy's example and sharply criticized Rumsfeld.

I do appreciate Byrd saying that not enough questions were asked before the war, and that Americans have not heard enough of the truth.

One of the generals claimed that terrorists want chemical, biological and nuclear weapons and that they will not hesitate to use them against us. I think it is odd that we know so much about the terrorists, except who they are, where they are, what they have planned, when they will attack, how they will attack and why they are interested in killing us. This general also stated that our enemies want people to believe that we don't respect Iraqis and that we are there to steal their resources. I would say that showing a total lack of concern for the suffering we've caused them does show disrespect. And I do not believe we are there to bring "freedom and democracy" to the Iraqi people any more than we are there to secure the invisible weapons of mass destruction.

Sen. McCain asked about how many Iraqi troops were ready, without anyone mentioning that a good number of the Iraqi troops are actually insurgents. He went on to say that the generals and Rumsfeld gave him hope and confidence. So, starting an optional war for bogus reasons and then totally bungling the aftermath inspires hope and confidence. Well, I guess you go to war with the politicians you have.

The military guys presented data on how they started paying Iraqis for "tips" this past April to catch the insurgents and terrorists, causing the number of tips to go up significantly. The number of attacks has also gone up significantly. They did not comment on (nor were they asked) how many of these tips were actually helpful. The day after this meeting, I read an Iraqi blogger's report that people are given money for tips even if the tips are useless.

Sen. Elizabeth Dole commented on the "Terrorism in the Hands of Justice" TV program in Iraq. This program shows men confessing to terrorist acts after they have clearly been beaten. There is no evidence, no judge, no jury and no trial, just tortured confessions, which are probably bogus. Dole also commented on the reconstruction in Iraq and how the good news isn't getting out. (And here's why, Sen. Dole: because the death rate keeps going up and up and up).

There were no calls to withdraw from Iraq, nor where there calls to increase U.S. troop numbers. This Senate dog and pony show was a sequel to the "Everyone but ME is responsible for this mess" positioning which followed the "How could we know that he got rid of the weapons of mass destruction?" posturing, which came after the "Let's vote for optional war! It's patriotic!" game.

Meanwhile, on the day of this dog and pony show, eight U.S. troops were killed. More than 700 Iraqi civilians, army and police were killed in the month of June alone, and life in most of Iraq has been turned into a living hell. It seems to me that the senators have their priorities, and a lot of their information, wrong.

Susan Oehler has lived in Asheville for the past eight years. She is an audiologist with more than 22 years experience. She is also a member of the WNC Peace Coalition.


And the link to the op-ed:
http://www.citizen-times.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20050720/OPINION03/507200307/1058/OPINION01