Under the Radar

While most of American is being entertained and diverted by the more trivial and mundane aspects of the election campaign, President Bush, VP Cheney, and Sec. State Rice are busily stirring up as much controversy as possible in eastern Europe and the middle East. Arguing for an immediate admission of the Ukraine and Georgia into NATO, they are creating the most volatile instability imaginable, a bold faced neocon attempt to re ignite the cold war and bring us back to a scenario where the next minor episode in the region will necessitate NATO and all of its members, to meet their treaty obligations by going to war against Russia. Not content to let things cool during their last three months in power and leave the future to the next duly elected government of the U.S., the Bushicons are setting as many traps as possible, limited the choices of the next administration and committing the world to yet another period of impending disaster, despite the fact that our forces are at a perilous low.

We are now on the verge of regressing into the same “balance of powers” diplomacy which prevailed in 1914 and precipitated the world into World War I after the assassination of a minor official set into motion a series of treaty commitment which brought the major powers into immediate armed conflict.

Added to the mix is the heightened tensions with Iran caused by years of Bush’s refusal to engage in any dialogue whatsoever, unless as a precondition, Iran agrees to capitulate on all issues. A sure formula for diplomatic success.

Now some of the surrounding circumstances of the much ballyhooed “surge” are coming to light. How Bush advised only by his coterie of civilian experts and the policy wonks at the American Enterprise Institute, decided to ignore his generals on the ground, the joint chiefs and others who urged caution and committed the entire reserve force of the U.S. Military into a grand push in Baghdad. Browbeating Maliki into acceptance. he next went cherry picking for a military front man settling on an under gualified divisional commander, Petreus, promoting him over the heads of more experienced officers, so long as he remained in lockstep with Bush’s policies, reminiscent of the way Alexander Haig was jumped over the entire senior general staff to provide the precise coloration required by the politicians. What was overlooked in all of this was the extreme jeopardy created by leaving the military totally devoid of any significant reserves; leaving our forces in Afghanistan slowly twisting in the wind, undermanned and undersupplied while pouring 30,000 troops into policing a city which by now should be largely an Iraqi responsibility. Clearly, Bush’s only concern was to assure the success of the centerpiece of his middle east policy, the “jewel in his crown” so to speak. Regardless of the great risks involved in committing the entire reserve, Bush was “doubling down” , in gamblers parlance, doubling his bet, without regard to Afghanistan and other vital interests. Once again concern for his personal legacy trumped the country’s vital interests

The current crisis climate in Pakistan is a direct result of our untimely undermining of General Musharaf, failing to recognize the precarious nature of his position and promoting the reintroduction of Behazir Bhutto into the volatile politics of Pakistan. Rather than improving our attempts to quell the Taliban on the Afghan border, we have lost ground and placed our forces in Afghanistan in further jeopardy.

Now, despite the alleged success in Iraq, Bush and Petreus now announce that due to the fragility of the surge success, we can only bring home 8,000 troops out of Iraq to beef up our forces in Afghanistan, and that our force of 150,000 troops is still required in Iraq. It would appear that the purpose of the policy is to make Bush’s judgments appear to be correct rather than to forward the interest of the United States.

Certainly as the senior generals of the joint chief’s retire and are thusly relieved of their current inability to speak the truth will come out, unfortunately by then, Bush will have painted us into a corner, with the world’s largest embassy ever in Baghdad, and miles and miles of concrete runways poured in Iraqi airfields. A so-called “status of forces” agreement, really a long term treaty commitment to Iraq is being negotiated and will not be submitted to the Senate as the constitution requires. The final Bush’s thumbing his nose at our laws and traditions.