Support Our Troops (BBA XIII)
A little while back, having read an interesting piece about Bush's imperial dreams and his place in history (which he's imagining a little differently from the rest of us), I realized the place of his own hubris in invading Iraq. ("To Be Seen as a Great Leader (BBA X)".) The conclusion then — and I still believe it — is that he manufactured the war fundamentally so that he could be seen as a "great president". In his analysis, to be seen as a great leader means to be seen as a great commander-in-chief, which obviously calls for a war.
I am pleased to see evidence that I'm not alone in thinking this.
America's founders knew all too well how war appeals to the vanity of rulers and their thirst for glory. That's why they took care to deny presidents the kingly privilege of making war at their own discretion.
But after 9/11 President Bush, with obvious relish, declared himself a "war president." And he kept the nation focused on martial matters by morphing the pursuit of Al Qaeda into a war against Saddam Hussein.
In November 2002, Helen Thomas, the veteran White House correspondent, told an audience, "I have never covered a president who actually wanted to go to war" – but she made it clear that Mr. Bush was the exception. And she was right.
[Paul Krugman, "The War President", The New York Times, 24 June 2004.]
Of course I'm cynical, of course I'm liberal, of course I support our troops by wanting to see them taken out of harm's way and only used — truly — as a last resort. Forget the insurgents, I think, but save them from their commander-in-chief. With so many lives and so much money being wasted, opposing a war provoked by the president (see the Downing Street Memos) as a boost to his ego is the only patriotic way I can think of to support our troops in a way that honors our constitution and pays more than lip service to our shared values of liberty and democracy. Alas, there is no magnetic "ribbon" for the back of my car that expresses my sentiments.
The closest I've seen to a suitable groundswell (and appropriate response!) of democracy in action is Jesus' General's "Yellow Elephant" campaign. In the words (more or less) of one of my favorite, fictional characters, the General has a bold and cunning plan, audacious in its simplicity, outrageous in its poetic perfection:
The objective of OPERATION YELLOW ELEPHANT is to recruit College Republicans and Young Republicans to serve as infantry. They demanded this war and now viciously support it. It's only right that they also experience it.
I support our troops by demanding an end to the way; Young Republicans enthusiastically call for more blood and guts — shouldn't they show their support in ways that affirm their principles with appropriate action? The fiasco in Iraq (now becoming known as "The Quagmire") is clearly not an American War so much as it is a Republican War.
Krugman's point, Jesus' General's point, my point and the point of all those in the Big-Brass Alliance (and other collectives) who demand answers to the questions posed by the Downing Street Memos, is that there should indeed be accountability for this war, and now is a good time to start the accounting. Far from accepting the President's assertion that "the accountability moment" passed with the last election, we believe that the accountability moment is just arriving.
I think I'll end with another short quotation from Krugman's piece, just because I like his calling it their "splendid little war":
On one side, the people who sold this war, unable to face up to the fact that their fantasies of a splendid little war have led to disaster, are still peddling illusions: the insurgency is in its "last throes," says Dick Cheney. On the other, they still have moderates and even liberals intimidated: anyone who suggests that the United States will have to settle for something that falls far short of victory is accused of being unpatriotic.
[This continues my series of posts concerning the pre-Iraq-war actions of the US administration, aimed at increasing awareness of those activities, as part of the Big Brass Alliance (or BBA) and it's support of AfterDowningStreet.org. For more information from me, see my first posting on The Downing Street Memo: "Worth Remembering"]
on Monday, 27 June 2005 at 22.39
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I thought I was alone in feeling the feelings that you are expressing. For the life of me I cannot comprehend anyone in this country, especially other Vietnam vets, supporting any othe the things now being done in the name of "patriotism". Did we learn nothing from Vietnam? Do we forget so quickly?