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Bush, Osama and Iraq

Bhuwan Thapaliya - 6/15/2007

In 1991, when the American- led coalition force drove Iraq ’s ramshackle army out of Kuwait, it could have easily brought Saddam Hussein on his knees by invading Iraq . But American troops chased Iraqi forces from Kuwait back into Iraq and left Saddam Hussein untouched. Why America left the dictator untouched? Probably because, Senior Bush was worried that Iraq might descend into the land of chaos, mayhem and anarchy or that America might be left with a permanent mess there upon its victory.

Looking back today, amidst the latest series of violence going on in Iraq , one can conclude that it was a correct American diplomacy then. Instead of war, Senior Bush yearned to contain Saddam’s military strength through UN inspections and sanctions.

It looked good on papers, but on the contrary, both of his methodologies were partially successful given that Saddam remained in power and the sanctions moreover allowed him to maneuver Muslim’s hate against the United States of America by labeling them as the child killers.

The debate, whether senior Bush should have attacked Iraq and dethroned Saddam is debatable even today. But in the midst of this all, suddenly September 11 happened. And as expected, it was more than enough to bring most of the American allies’ together under the same umbrella, putting aside their old differences and resentments.

Armed with the global support, and the bitter memories of those attacks on New York and Washington DC , Junior President Bush, and his cabinet, waged a war against terror. Most importantly to dismantle al- Qaeda network and finish its leader Osama bin Laden.

America countered attacked al- Qaeda with fire and destroyed their networks and shells all over the world. But even after six whole years, though diminished, al- Qaeda still prevails and it still remains the number one threat to the United States of America .

For all that, however, this doesn’t mean that al- Qaeda has won. Al- Qaeda has suffered both physical and psychological blow. Yes, it has because they are undeniably against the mightiest military power in the world. But to make the matter worse for America , Osama Bin Laden was nowhere to be found.

Frustrated and probably ashamed with himself for not being able to find Osama, President Bush rolled his coil and made Iraq his target, probably as analysts say to drag the mind of the American public away from Osama.

Analysts say, it is here junior Bush made a grave diplomatic error and in doing so changed the course of American diplomacy. Without considering why his father left Iraq untouched after driving the Iraqi forces from Kuwait , he attacked Iraq as if it was his only business. The result has been disastrous.

Shortly after, Saddam Hussein was hanged. That brought smiles on the President’s face. But now the smiles have vanished and the Americans are perplexed. They have killed the Iraqi dictator but they are yet to bury him. Iraq has turned into a living hell. Yet Bush finds one excuse after another to help his government to keep their critics at bay. Analyst say, Mr. Bush learned a lesson from Iraq . The lesson is, if you fight a war, you have to be willing to deal with the consequences of the uncertainty.

Meanwhile, the road ahead is tough for America . With an eye on what might happen if America leaves Iraq , many are saying again that if might be better not to go that far. The risk of uncertainty is too great. The Iraqi lesson, though points the other way. Leave Iraq to the Iraqis.

The risk of not leaving Iraq now looks much higher than the risk of leaving Iraq .
“It will in time turn the war against you,” most observers are saying. They are right. In Iraq , the United States has so far been quite unsuccessful. The appalling scale and natures of attacks on various parts of Iraq , almost on daily basis stains the American presence in Iraq .

The task now is how to phase out from Iraq . This must be done quickly because public opinion in America voices in favor of leaving Iraq to Iraqis. However, it is not easier for America to pull back at this juncture of time because Iraq ’s neighbors, its government, and some countries in the Arab world, however, are nervous about America ’s hasty return. They are concerned about the powerful factions and the rise of warlords in Iraq . This argues for caution, and for careful preparation.

Other thing remaining constant, the United States need to retain the Muslims support, especially Arabs to be able to fend off their own critics and enemies. And it must show them that whatever it is doing in Iraq , they are assisting in a noble cause, rather than merely planting the seeds of the American hegemony. America will now need to do more to succeed the insurgency and sectarian violence in Iraq . For the task, it needs to win the hearts and minds of Muslim world.

Critics of America says that America must wash its hands off Iraq because, both within the Muslim world and in the West, it is widely believed that American presence in Iraq have directly led to the deaths of hundreds of people in Iraq daily. But pro- American argues by saying that the true cases of those deaths are insurgency. May be, perhaps. But for now, America must pull back its weapons and soldiers from Iraq .

The diplomatic work is making progress in Washington . What remains is to find the right moment and take a U- turn back home. In addition, America it seems has forgotten Osama Bin Laden. Where is he? And why the greatest military powerhouse in the world, is not able to find him is a myth. A myth that owes public an explanation.

For the past six years America and its allies has been fighting al- Qaeda, but there are yet no signs of Osama Bin Laden. America has let loose Laden. How dangerous would that be? To judge by the reaction of Mr. Bush’s critics, the magnitude of the threat looms much larger than al- Qaeda’s Sep 11th assault.

None of this is to argue that America ’s war on terror should be undertaken lightly. If al- Qaeda were provided an iota opening, the casualties this time- especially the innocent civilian casualties – could be much larger that they were before.

It is little wonder, given this, that Bush administration is focusing its energy more in Iraq , Iran , Cuba , Venezuela , and to some extent North Korea , Syria and Sudan . Hence, most argue that the only choice before America is to find Bin Laden before he strikes again. He is America ’s number one enemy. This is why it is vital that Bush administration do all it can to prevent a repeat of the recent past.

His fight against terrorism must be directed against the terrorist and not the Muslims and the campaign against Bin Laden and al- Qaeda will have to continue beyond Afghanistan and Iraq . If it does not, Mr. Bush will go down in American history as just another president who promised more than he could deliver and who used war against terror to remain in the power.