ÿþ<html> <head> <meta http-equiv="content-type" content="text/html;charset=iso-8859-1"> <title>OnlineColumnist®.com: Putin Punishes Georgia</title> <meta name="generator" content="Adobe GoLive 4"> <style type="text/css"> .style3 { height: 68px; } .MsoNormal {} h1 {margin-bottom:.0001pt; page-break-after:avoid; font-size:12.0pt; font-family:"Times New Roman"; font-weight:normal; text-decoration:underline; text-underline:single; margin-left: 0in; margin-right: 0in; margin-top: 0in; } .style4 { font-size: large; font-weight: bold; font-family: Arial; } .style6 { height: 69px; } h2 {margin-bottom:.0001pt; text-align:center; page-break-after:avoid; font-size:12.0pt; font-family:Arial; margin-left: 0in; margin-right: 0in; margin-top: 0in; } .style7 { width: 285px; } .style8 { font-size: x-large; font-weight: bold; } </style> </head> <body bgcolor="white" vlink="black"> <center> &nbsp;<table cool width="624" height="2719" border="0" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" gridx="16" showgridx gridy="16" showgridy> <tr> <td height="118" rowspan="2" valign="top" align="left" xpos="0" class="style7"> <a href="aboutdiscobolos.html"><img height="110" width="62" src="images/discobolos.logo.transp.gif" border="0"></a></td> <td width="7" height="118" rowspan="2"></td> <td width="482" colspan="2" valign="top" align="left" xpos="140" class="style6"><img height="75" width="450" src="images/banner.GIF"></td> <td width="1" height="118" rowspan="2"></td> <td width="1" class="style6"><spacer type="block" width="1" height="79"></td> </tr> <tr height="39"> <td width="182" height="39"></td> <td width="300" height="39" valign="top" align="left" xpos="322"><a href="aboutdiscobolos.html"><img height="14" width="267" src="images/divisionofNEW.GIF" border="0"></a></td> <td width="1" height="39"><spacer type="block" width="1" height="39"></td> </tr> <tr> <td width="624" colspan="6" valign="top" align="left" xpos="0" class="style3"> <table border="0" width="100%" bgcolor="black" cellspacing="0"> <tr> <td> <table border="0" width="100%" bgcolor="#99ffcc" cellspacing="0" cellpadding="4"> <tr> <td align="center"> <div align="left"> <a href="index.html"><font face="Arial,Helvetica,Geneva,Swiss,SunSans-Regular" size="2"><strong> HOME</strong></font></a><font face="Arial,Helvetica,Geneva,Swiss,SunSans-Regular" size="2"><strong> &#8226; <a href="articlesindex.html">ARTICLES</a> &#8226; <a href="books.html">BOOKS</a> &#8226; <a href="teflon.html"> THE </a><a href="teflon.html">TEFLON</a><a href="teflon.html"> REPORT</a> &#8226; <a href="mailto:letters@onlinecolumnist.com"> REACTIONS</a> &#8226; <a href="aboutdiscobolos.html">ABOUT DISCOBOLOS</a></strong></font></div> </td> </tr> </table> </td> </tr> </table> </td> </tr> <tr height="2"> <td height="2" class="style7"></td> <td width="489" height="2576" colspan="3" rowspan="2" align="left" xpos="133" content valign="top" csheight="2573"> <p class="style4">Obama Sugarcoats Iraq Disaster</p> <p><b><font face="Arial,Geneva,Helvetica">by John M. Curt</font></b><font face="Arial,Helvetica,Geneva,Swiss,SunSans-Regular"><b>is<a href="books.html"><br> </a></b></font><font face="Arial,Helvetica,Geneva,Swiss,SunSans-Regular"><b> (310) 204-8700</b></font></p> <p><font size="2" face="Arial,Helvetica,Geneva,Swiss,SunSans-Regular"><i>Copyright Sept. 3, 2010<br>All Rights Reserved. </i></font>&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; </p> <bAbout the Author</u> <bAbout the Author</u> <bAbout the Author</u> <bAbout the Author</u> <bAbout the Author</u> <bAbout the Author</u> <bAbout the Author</u> <bAbout the Author</u> <bAbout the Author</u> <bAbout the Author</u> <bAbout the Author</u> <bAbout the Author</u> <bAbout the Author</u> <bAbout the Author</u> <bAbout the Author</u> <bAbout the Author</u> <bAbout the Author</u> <bAbout the Author</u> <bAbout the Author</u> <bAbout the Author</u> <bAbout the Author</u> <bAbout the Author</u> <bAbout the Author</u> <bAbout the Author</u> <bAbout the Author</u> <bAbout the Author</u> <bAbout the Author</u> <bAbout the Author</u> <bAbout the Author</u> <bAbout the Author</u> <bAbout the Author</u> <bAbout the Author</u> <bAbout the Author</u> <bAbout the Author</u> <bAbout the Author</u> <bAbout the Author</u> <bAbout the Author</u> <bAbout the Author</u> <bAbout the Author</u> <bAbout the Author</u> <p class="MsoNormal"> &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;<span class="style8"> S</span>peaking from the Oval Office, President Barack Obama told the American public that it s  time to turn a new page on the seven-year-old war costing 4,416 lives and nearly $1 trillion from the U.S. Treasury.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes">&nbsp; </span>Obama fulfilled a campaign promise to mercifully end an ill-conceived war, based on the paranoia following Sept. 11.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes">&nbsp; </span>Former President George W. Bush insisted that Iraq s late dictator Saddam Hussein, a former U.S. ally in the 10-year long Iran-Iraq War, presented an implacable danger to U.S. national security.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes">&nbsp; </span>Bush ignored former U.N. weapons inspector Dr. Hans Blix, insisting that Saddam possessed a dangerous arsenal of biological and nuclear weapons.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes">&nbsp; </span>When the dust settled after waging war March 20, 2003, there were no weapons of mass destruction, only a toppled regime creating the power-vacuum that left Iraq vulnerable to bloody civil war and a magnet for terrorism.</p> <p class="MsoNormal"> <![if !supportEmptyParas]>&nbsp;<![endif]><span style="mso-tab-count:1">&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; </span>Obama s speech extended an olive branch to Iraq war supporters whose continued adherence to Bush s feeble rationale divides Republicans and Democrats.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes">&nbsp; </span>While there are many reasons for Obama s 2008 landslide victory, voters punished Republicans for a wasteful misguided war. <span style="mso-spacerun: yes">&nbsp;</span>Obama s bold opposition to the Iraq War won him the lion s shared of independents and crossover Republicans.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes">&nbsp; </span>Barack s continued support for a failed Afghan campaign has cost him those same independents and crossover Republicans hoping he d take the same stand on Afghanistan.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes">&nbsp; </span>Telling a national audience that the country  has paid a huge price for Iraq, Obama minimized the extent of the damage to the U.S. economy. Barack s decision to escalate the Afghan War has come with a heavy political price.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes">&nbsp; </span>More weak economic news and deaths in Afghanistan cost him precious approval ratings.</p> <p class="MsoNormal"> <![if !supportEmptyParas]>&nbsp;<![endif]><span style="mso-tab-count:1">&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; </span>Barack s somber speech highlights the glacial progress in Iraq, where political squabbles and incomplete infrastructure makes life difficult in Baghdad and around the country.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes">&nbsp; </span>All of Bush s promises of a better life in Iraq without Saddam were not redeemed.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes">&nbsp; </span>Since the March 7 presidential election, Iraq s U.S.-backed prime minister Nouri al-Maliki has been in a bitter power struggle with his chief Shiite rival Ayad Allawi, with Allawi narrowly besting al-Maliki by only two seats.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes">&nbsp; </span>With suicide bombings by rival Sunni groups, former Saddam loyalists and remnants of al-Qaeda, the fragile peace shows signs of disintegrating.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes">&nbsp; </span>All the U.S. deaths, permanent injuries and nearly $1 trillion in U.S. tax dollars hasn t resolved political divisions once ruled with an iron fist by Saddam.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes">&nbsp; </span>Obama s decision to finally end combat operations was met with sour grapes by Bush s loyal minions.</p> <p class="MsoNormal"> <![if !supportEmptyParas]>&nbsp;<![endif]><span style="mso-tab-count:1">&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; </span>Throwing a bone to his GOP critics, Obama praised former Bush for his effort, sincerity and patriotism.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes">&nbsp; </span> Barack highlighted the differences with his predecessor over Iraq, in no small part responsible for his historic victory Nov. 4, 2008.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes">&nbsp; </span> It s well known that he and I disagreed about the war from the outset, Obama said.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes">&nbsp; </span> Yet no one could doubt President Bush s support for our troops, or his love of country and commitment to our security, going over the top.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes">&nbsp; </span> Barack himself, and many of Bush s left wing critics before, during and after the  08 campaign, believe Bush and Vice President Dick Cheney conspired to rig fraudulent intelligence on which to justify going to war.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes">&nbsp; </span>Few from the left believe Bush supported our troops by putting them into a dangerous shooting gallery or, for that matter, helped U.S. national security by wasting valuable manpower and tax dollars.</p> <p class="MsoNormal"> <![if !supportEmptyParas]>&nbsp;<![endif]><span style="mso-tab-count:1">&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; </span>Bush hyped the Iraq War as necessary to U.S. national security, calling it  the central front in the war on terror. <span style="mso-spacerun: yes">&nbsp; </span>While all that seems like water under the bridge, Obama s praise reflects the kind of insincerity bound to backfire.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes">&nbsp; </span>Bush s critics wanted to initiate impeachment proceedings for taking the nation to war under false pretenses.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes">&nbsp; </span>His narrow victory over Sen. John Kerry (D-Mass) in the 2004 attested to a deeply unpopular war, costing painful U.S. blood and treasure.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes">&nbsp; </span> Over the past several months, we ve heard about ending the war in Iraq not much about winning the war in Iraq, said House Minority Leader John Boehner (R-Ohio), taking a shot at Obama.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes">&nbsp; </span>If everything goes according to the GOP plan, Boehner stands to replace Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-Calif.) Nov. 4.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes">&nbsp; </span>Boehner can t explain what he means by  winning, only slogans and platitudes for extending U.S. losses.</p> <p class="MsoNormal"> <![if !supportEmptyParas]>&nbsp;<![endif]><span style="mso-tab-count:1">&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; </span>Barack s decision to end the Iraq War was long overdue, over a year-and-a-half since taking office.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes">&nbsp; </span>His decision to escalate Afghanistan carries political risks, especially among antiwar independents and crossover Republicans.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes">&nbsp; </span>Praising Bush rings hollow for Obama who ran a strongly against the Iraq-war.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes">&nbsp; </span>Whatever Bush s intentions, he weakened U.S. national security by stretching the military and U.S. Treasury to the breaking point, sending the country into the worst recession since the great depression.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes">&nbsp; </span>Nothing hurts national security more than a weak economy, where defense and domestic budgets must be slashed.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes">&nbsp; </span>Boehner and other GOP partisans know that sending more young Americans to their graves in Iraq and Afghanistan doesn t add to U.S. national security.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes">&nbsp; </span>Bush betrayed his promise to not use the military and sacrifice U.S. lives for nation-building.</p> <p class="MsoNormal"> <b>John M. Curtis </b>writes politically neutral commentary analyzing spin in national and global news. He&#x2019;s editor of OnlineColumnist.com and author of <a href="books.html">Dodging The Bullet</a> and <a href="books.html">Operation Charisma</a>.</p> <p class="MsoNormal"> &nbsp;</p> </td> <td width="1" height="2576" rowspan="2"></td> <td width="1" height="2"><spacer type="block" width="1" height="2"></td> </tr> <tr height="2574"> <td height="2574" valign="top" align="left" xpos="0" class="style7"><img height="172" width="111" src="images/johninframe3.jpg"></td> <td width="1" height="2574"><spacer type="block" width="1" height="2574"></td> </tr> <tr height="1" cntrlrow> <td height="1" class="style7"><spacer type="block" width="133" height="1"></td> <td width="7" height="1"><spacer type="block" width="7" height="1"></td> <td width="182" height="1"><spacer type="block" width="182" height="1"></td> <td width="300" height="1"><spacer type="block" width="300" height="1"></td> <td width="1" height="1"><spacer type="block" width="1" height="1"></td> <td width="1" height="1"></td> </tr> </table> <table border="0" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="2" width="597"> <tr> <td><font size="1" face="Arial,Geneva,Helvetica"> <hr noshade size="1"> </font><a href="index.html"><font face="Arial,Helvetica,Geneva,Swiss,SunSans-Regular" size="2"><strong> Homecobolos> p><font size="2" face="Arial,Helvetica,Geneva,Swiss,SunSans-Regular">©1999-2005 <a href="aboutdiscobolos.html"> Discobolos Consulting Services, Inc.</a><br> (310) 204-8300<br> All Rights Reserved. </font></td> </tr> </table> </center> </body> </html>