Text 17581, 103 rader
Skriven 2006-01-27 09:49:18 av BOB SAKOWSKI (1:123/140)
Ärende: Bush Bullshit Analysis
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Bush and the War Red Herring

Larry C. Johnson

When President George Bush is feeling political heat generated by questions
about illegal domestic spying, secret overseas prisons, or prisoner
torture, he seeks refuge in the solemn proclamation, "we are at war." The
war excuse, which is usually accompanied by the elaboration that these
excesses are necessary to protect the American people, does not hold water.
If President Bush was serious about his insistence that we are at war, his
Administration would be on a war footing. But, we are not.

If we were serious about this war there would be a supreme commander in
charge of tracking down Bin Laden and the remnants of the Al Qaeda network.
Instead, the NSC job for coordinating the war on terror has been held by
seven different people since the President assumed office. General Wayne
Downing, who held the post from October 2001 until September 2002,
ultimately resigned in frustration after being repeatedly sand bagged and
undercut by Secretary of Defense Donald Rumsfeld. Rather than impose order
and discipline, President Bush has allowed the coordination function to
atrophy.

Today there is no one individual or agency in charge of finding Bin Laden
or dismantling Al Qaeda. This fact was highlighted by the recent attempt to
kill Ayman al-Zawahiri, Al Qaeda's real number two honcho, with a military
strike inside Pakistan. That attack was carried out under the direction of
the CIA. US military forces operating in the area were not directly
involved. Instead of a single, focused effort to destroy Al Qaeda, the CIA
and the Department of Defense are pursuing separate tracks. A case can be
made for having either organization in charge. I have no dog in that fight,
notwithstanding my previous employment with the CIA. President Bush,
despite his tough war talk, is sadly disengaged and has been unwilling to
organize his Administration to win the war.

Let us compare George W. Bush to Franklin D. Roosevelt. During World War II
President Roosevelt named General George C. Marshall to manage the war effort
that defeated the Germans in three years and five months and conquered the
Japanese in three years and nine months. Marshall put General Dwight Eisenhower
in charge in the European theatre and put Douglas MacArthur in command of the
Pacific. Unity and clarity of chain of command are key elements of a successful
war. It allows you to marshal resources, devise strategies, and execute
effective campaigns. Such unity and clarity do not exist in the Bush war on
terrorism. George Bush has not chosen his George Marshall. We have been
"fighting" this war for four years, four months and counting and there is no
end in sight.

If we were serious about fighting the war on terror, we would mobilize our
society to achieve victory and ensure that the citizenry shared the burden.
Instead of universal sacrifice, however, only a few are being asked to pay
the price. Instead of a draft, the U.S. Army is lowering educational and
intelligence requirements for signing up recruits. In addition, the Army is
raising the maximum age for new enlistees from 36 to 40. Stocking the Army
with recruits who are either of substandard intellect or who are forty
years old is not a recipe for building an elite, professional military.

It is not just the Army that is suffering. Good friends in the CIA tell me
the Agency continues to hemorrhage people. My career trainee class in 1985,
for example, had fifty plus students and was considered large. Today the
CIA is running career trainee classes with one hundred students and the
training cycle is compressed. Instead of an 18 month cycle students are
being pushed out the door in 12 or less. While the influx of new blood
seems good on the surface it masks the fact the many "new" trainees are
leaving the CIA after one tour overseas. The glamorous world of Tom Clancy
is not the reality. Moreover, my cohorts--those folks between 45 and 54
years of age--are abandoning the place in droves. During World War II the
CIA's predecessor, the OSS, did not have a problem recruiting and retaining
quality personnel.

Perhaps it is time to acknowledge that we cannot fight and win a war
against an ideology or theology relying primarily on military tactics and
resources.. There is no doubt that Bin Laden and other Islamic extremists
share a vision of creating a new world where people will be governed by the
laws of God as contained in the Quran. They are pursuing a religious
crusade. Fortunately, the vast majority of muslims, both Shia and Sunni,
have not embraced this vision. At least not yet.

An exclusive military response would make sense if the Islamic extremists
congregated in mass formations and drilled at fixed installations. They do
not. which ensures that a narrow military strategy is doomed to failure.
The Islamic terrorists intermingle in civilian populations. They do not
wear uniforms and are not easily identified. We may have killed some senior
Al Qaeda personnel in Pakistan earlier this month, but we also killed some
women and children.

This much is certain, when the United States uses military forces and kills
innocent civilians (we excuse it with the euphemism, "collateral damage")
Al Qaeda's public support increases. Similarly, when Al Qaeda operatives
kill muslims in a prominent attack, such as the hotel bombings in Jordan
last year, their popularity wanes. Recent polls in Jordan show that support
for Al Qaeda has slipped from almost 80% to around 20%. There is a lesson
here for us. In the long run we are better off if we win the hearts and
minds of people rather than alienating civilian populations and inflaming
grieving relatives.

The road to a more realistic policy starts with language. If President Bush
insists on calling the effort to quash Al Qaeda a war then his actions and
policies should reflect this fact. However, to call it a war while treating
it as a political prop does nothing to rally the public nor isolate the
Islamists. It simply creates cyncism that eats away at the body politic

http://noquarter.typepad.com/my_weblog/2006/01/bush_and_the_wa.html#more
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