7.01.2005

say no. say it loudly.

It's time for our weekly dose of Krugman.
A majority of Americans now realize that President Bush deliberately misled the nation to promote a war in Iraq. But Mr. Bush's speech on Tuesday contained a chilling message: America has been taken hostage by his martial dreams. According to Mr. Bush, the nation now has no choice except to keep fighting the war he wanted to fight.

Never mind that Iraq posed no threat before we invaded. Now it's a "central front in the war on terror," Mr. Bush says, quoting Osama bin Laden as an authority. And since a U.S. withdrawal from Iraq would, Mr. Bush claims, be a victory for Al Qaeda, Americans have to support this war - and that means supporting him. After all, you wage war with the president you have, not the president you want.

But America doesn't have to let itself be taken hostage. The country missed the chance to say no before this war started, but it can still say no to Mr. Bush's open-ended commitment, and demand a timetable for getting out.

I know that this argument will be hard to sell. Despite everything that has happened, many Americans still want to believe that this war can and should be seen through to victory. But it's time to face up to three realities. First, the war is helping, not hurting, the terrorists. Second, the kind of clear victory the hawks promised is no longer possible, if it ever was. Third, a time limit on our commitment will do more good than harm.
Hundreds of thousands of Americans will gather in the nation's capital to say no Saturday, September 24. Join them. Say no. Say no loudly and say it often. Say no in such great numbers that we cannot be ignored.

6 comments:

barefoot hiker said...

It strikes me as a colossal waste, the war in Iraq. I honestly believe Iraqis were no threat to and no ememy of the United States before 2003, but that they've got to be from now on. Resentment is going to simmer in some quarters for generations. I can't see GWB as much more than a kid with a big stick whacking a hornets' nest.

laura k said...

A kid with a stick, and with a money-making machine for all his friends.

zydeco fish said...

What I find amazing is that it took so long for the American people to figure out that Bush deliberately misled the nation to promote a war in Iraq. There must be some sort of mindset that the president is always right. Can that be?

laura k said...

Well, millions of us knew all along, and were desperately trying to tell everyone else. We were branded us unpatriotic, paranoid, disloyal, blah blah blah. Most of our elected representatives ignored us. The media ignored us. But there have been deep, deep divisions in the US over the war from the very beginning.

Re "the president is always right" mindsent, there is definitely an authoritarian streak in the US. It runs exactly counter to the anti-government streak. America is full of proto-fascists who act like the president is a military dictator, not to be questioned, especially during wartime. As long as he's Republican.

Anonymous said...

Check this out.

Liz at Library Tavern recently posted regarding the most influential library association's recently (and quietly) passed resolution regarding their position on Iraq. As a superhero, er, librarian I am compelled to act on this via making people aware of this information (I'm a librarian - what else am going to do? Throw a book at someone?)

The American Library Association has passed its own resolution requesting an immediate withdrawl of the troops in Iraq.

The superhero stronghold that is the ALA has added its weighty name to the growing list of those pressuring for a troop withdrawl.

Will it make a difference? I think so. The important thing is their voice is heard, their position is known, their message is out there. If anything hopefully it inspires thought among information professionals - those who work with information management, seeking, and dissemination daily - and that is huge. That and it helps dispel the myth that librarians are passive and uninvolved when it comes to the real world.

Rock on, ALA!
(although they sadly contribute to the lazy librarian myth by not having it updated on their site yet 2 days later - for information professionals, that is embarrasing!)

More about resolution at Library Journal
(where is the full text, LJ? WTF? Another contribution ... sigh ...)

Full text at Library Tavern (at least one librarian has it! NextGen strikes yet again!)

Anonymous said...

Oops, left out the LJ link. Here it is.