Fool Me Twice, Shame On Me!
A Vietnam Vet Shares His View On Bush's War Of Choice

September 27 2004
Counterbias.com
by Jack Dalton

Listening to Bush, Cheney, Rumsfeld, and their cadre of cheerleaders attempt to convince us—the American voting public—that “progress” is being made in Iraq, I can only wonder what episode of Fantasy Island they are talking about. They certainly aren't describing the reality on the ground in Iraq. At least not according to what I have been reading. And not according to the letters I’ve received from veterans of this war! They tell a story of chaos, instability, death and destruction, and a lack of everything from equipment to food and water.

Bush tells us that “freedom” and “democracy” in and for Iraq is on the way—with the up-coming elections offered as proof positive of future success, at least according to Bush and the spin provided by his teams of perception managers. I remember years ago when Nixon, General Westmoreland and the rest of their “marvelous mob” kept telling the American public how well things were going in Vietnam. That, yes, there were a lot of people being killed, but we must not let that deter us from achieving victory. After all, better to fight the Vietnamese there than let them come here to the U.S. to wage war. Sound familiar? Different war of “choice” but the same deceptive language is being employed.

Fool me once—oops—fool me twice, shame on me!

The truth of what is happening on the ground in Iraq, and here in the U.S. as a result of this Bush/Cheney war of choice, is in direct contradiction to their badly written Fantasy Island episode. People are dying and being killed in wholesale numbers and all Bush does is to pontificate on how we must “stay the course.”

Over 1,037 dead U.S. troops—60 dead so far this month alone, with the month not over yet—how many more? The wounded and those medically evacuated out of Iraq are over 24,000—how many more?

Bush has yet to show any loyalty or respect for those he sent off to die in Iraq. While he talks about honoring the troops, Bush still refuses to attend even so much as one funeral for those that have been killed in his war of choice.

This Bush war of choice has turned Iraq into what it was not: ground zero for fools and fanatics—theirs and ours. This war of choice is rapidly becoming a meat grinder for all that are there, and is driving Iraq closer and closer to fractionating. Or, simply put, tearing apart into three very distinct and separate regions or states.

In the meantime, tens of thousands of innocent Iraqi’s, over half of whom are women and children, are paying the ultimate price—their lives.

But, Bush tells all how “freedom” and “democracy” is on the march in Iraq. Oh really? At the rate people are being killed, Iraq will become free—free of much innocent life.

All of this death is a direct result of an invasion based on lies and deceptions. No WMD’s, no Saddam-9/11 or Saddam-al-Qaeda connection,  nothing: just a continuous stream of “trust and obey” from Bush and company.

Forty years ago this nation was deceived into the Vietnam War. We now know, thanks to the Pentagon Papers, how bad and deep the deception was. Even after the expose it still took another two to three years before it was finally over—with over 58,000 dead Americans and over 2 million Vietnamese dead as a result of that bogus war.

Today, we hear the same catchphrases from the Vietnam War days being repeated by Bush and company: “better to fight them there than here”, “we must stay the course”, “our safety depends on it”, “promote freedom and democracy”, “if we cut and run our credibility will be at stake”, and “winning the hearts and minds”. The list is seemingly endless.

In the meantime the bodies are piling up like cordwood—like some kind of grotesque monument to the Bush war of choice in Iraq. Will we sit back in silence as another 58,000 names are written on another wall?

Bush refused to listen to anyone prior to the Iraq invasion. Many attempted to explain that invading Iraq would open a Pandora’s Box of insurgency and urban warfare; it would in effect destabilize the region. Bush would not listen and now Iraq is an unmitigated disaster. He still refuses to listen and continues pontificating on how “progress” is being made. He is either brain dead, on drugs, or both if he really believes his rosy claims.

The Iraqi people are being decimated, as are the American troops that Bush sent to Iraq. Bush and company do not care how many die. What they do care about is control over Iraq's oil reserves and the bases the U.S. will have there so as to better “control” the entire region, with the aid of Israel. Look out Iran.

Wake up America! The barbarians are no longer at the gate—they’ve taken over the “house.” And in the process, they're bankrupting our national treasury as a result of Bush's war of choice—which has become more a war on poor people by the rich power brokers than a war for freedom and democracy.

Jack Dalton is a disabled Vietnam veteran and freelance writer living in Portland, Oregon. He has a website and a blog, and can be reached at jack_dalton@ommp.org .