Predictably simplified

The Herald printed a ridiculous editorial this Saturday: http://www.heraldnet.com/stories/05/07/08/100edi_editorial001.cfm

I couldn't help but write a lengthy response, which I sent to them and encouraged them to print as a guest editorial since it is far too long for an LTE.

"Your editorial in this Saturday’s Herald (We must keep resolve in war against terrorism) was entirely oversimplified. It is precisely this dumbing down of intensely complex issues that has led us into our current dilemmas, and will ultimately prolong the “war on terrorism,” if it can be called such, with increasingly dire results.

Churchill’s declaration of steadfastness against the Nazis is inappropriate for our situation with Islamic extremists. The Nazis were aggressors who sought to dominate Europe and subjugate or exterminate entire peoples. We, however, are in Iraq illegally. With all of the recently exposed information from our ally’s intelligence agencies, any argument counter to this conclusion is pointless, much as the Bush administration would like to ignore it. These insurgents are no less “freedom fighters” than were the death squads that the US supported in Central America. They want us off their sovereign soil, soil that we had no right to be on in the first place. What we should have learned from Vietnam is that no sovereign nation will stand long for occupation.

You then claim that the Taliban was “quickly ousted” after our invasion. You neglect to identify what has happened to the Taliban since we diverted our attention to Iraq. They have regained territory and authority in many places in Afghanistan because we do not have enough troops there to maintain an authoritative presence, nor is the replacement government in Afghanistan capable of successfully fighting a civil war to eradicate the Taliban influence. We may well have missed a vital and singular opportunity to capture Osama bin Laden (remember him – the one that actually attacked us?) by diverting our military to Iraq unnecessarily.

You state correctly that diplomacy is a key to “lasting solutions” but when has this administration ever exercised diplomacy. This is a “git the varmints” Yosemite Sam-style foreign policy if ever there was one. I remind you that the Republicans were essentially willing to scuttle 200 years of Senate operations in order to stack our circuit courts with their own “extremist” judges. If diplomacy is truly a key to progress in the Middle East, then it is doomed because Bush refuses to even compromise with his own political rivals (and, I might add, he is much supported within his own party for his ‘no compromise’ attitude.)

A continued presence in Iraq will only serve to prolong the war against these particular terrorist entities. We must realize that by our own definition of terrorism (using violence to achieve political goals) we too fit that bill. I wish I were joking. In doing so we have neglected security in vital areas in our own country, particularly our cargo transportation infrastructure and chemical and nuclear plants, which are daily undermanned in terms of necessary protections.

Finally, and perhaps most importantly, we have mired our military in a conflict that was built on lies, has no foreseeable end, and has undeniably served to swell the ranks of the terrorists who see the United States and her allies as the aggressors and invaders in a war for resources and empire. As Bush continues to bomb Iraq, so will the terrorists continue to retaliate as we saw this week in London. As Bush ‘strengthens his resolve’ so will the terrorists strengthen theirs. What do they have to lose? We have left our own homeland unprotected as our fighting men and women serve halfway around the world. The obvious injustice of the war is taking its toll on military recruitment as the public slowly wakes to the reality of enlistment under this current administration.

If we are ever to come out of this conflict we must be realistic and honest with ourselves about the reasons for our involvement in Iraq, and attempt to understand their complexity. We must also be willing to accept their harsh realities, such as we might not always be on the right side of world events. It’s a hard pill to swallow, but sooner or later we will have to take that medicine."