by John M. Curtis
(310) 204-8700

Copyright March 28, 2008
All Rights Reserved.

alling the recent Shiite uprising in Iraq “a defining moment in the history of a free Iraq,” President George W. Bush, completed yet another back flip, of reinventing the enemy. Last week it was Al Qaeda in Iraq that threatened “genocide” to plunge Iraq into chaos, should the U.S. follow the “liberal” prescription of finding an exit strategy. GOP presumptive nominee Sen. John McCain (R-Ariz.) promised to stay the course, blaming Democratic presidential hopefuls Sen. Barack Obama (D-Il.) and Sen. Hillary Rodham Clinton (D-N.Y.) for “surrendering,” vowing to fight till victory, no matter what costs to the U.S. military and economy. Today's Shiite uprising, making up 70% of Iraq's population, indicates the vast majority of Iraqis reject Bush's handpicked government of Nouri al-Maliki and want the U.S. out. Al-Maliki's regime does not enjoy Iraq's popular support.

      Bush wants a democracy in Iraq as long its players suit U.S. interests. Al-Maliki knows that growing numbers of Iraqis want charismatic cleric Moqtada al-Sadr to eventually lead Iraq. Free elections and democracy didn't turn out the way the White House wanted in neighboring Iran, electing anti-American firebrand President Mahmoud Ahmdadinejad. When the dust settles in Iraq, Iraqis will opt for al-Sadr whose populism and fierce opposition to U.S. occupation make him a national hero. While he has his detractors, including Abdul Aziz al-Hakim's National Council for Islamic Revolution, he vies to control Shiite Iraq. “It's going to take awhile, but it's a necessary for of the development of a free society,” Bush said at a White House Rose Garden press conference with Australian Prime Minister Kevin Rudd, calling the events in Iraq “dangerous and fragile.”

      After five bloody years of war, spending nearly $1 trillion and sacrificing over 4,000 U.S. soldiers, Bush characterizes Iraq as “dangerous and fragile,” precisely because the U.S. can't pick Iraq's leaders or government. Bush won't admit his mistakes and will continue the same mission until he leaves office. Taking the baton, McCain insists, as Bush and Vice President Dick Cheney have on many occasions, that it dishonors the war-dead to find an exit strategy. Creating more deaths and wasting more U.S. tax dollars somehow honors fallen U.S. soldiers. Obama and Clinton have it right that the U.S. must cut its losses and learn from Bush's mistakes. Bush gave the military an untenable mission and put the U.S. into an un-winnable war. Iraqis don't want U.S. occupation or al-Maliki's government. After Saddam, they want to pick their own leaders and form of government.

      Al Sadr's Shiite revolt indicates he's losing patience with Sunni and Al Qaeda mischief, splitting Iraq at the seams. Bush can't account for how suddenly it's not Al Qaeda but Al Sadr's Shiite rebellion that threatens to spiral Iraq into chaos. “There have been other defining moments up to now, but this is defining moment, as well,” said Bush, whose theory about an Al Qaeda takeover shattered like a broken windshield. Bush's central premise for continuing the war hinges on Al Qaeda taking over Iraq. McCain insisted that Obama and Clinton “don't get it,” that Iraq is indeed the “central front in the war on terror.” Al Sadr controls a 10,000-plus-man Shiite militia, heavily supported by Iran, that won't let Al Qaeda or any foreign group seize power. Al Sadr has waited incognito, rumored hiding in Iran, to reassert control, rejecting U.S. occupation and the al-Maliki government.

      Bush bashed Congress for daring to suggest an orderly plan for troop withdrawals. Five years into the war, he's still insisting al-Maliki needs more time to reach political, economic and security goals. “This argument makes no sense,” Bush said, refusing to admit he's put the U.S. military into an impossible mission. “They're trying to build a modern democracy on the rubble of three decades of tyranny, in a region of the world that has been hostile to freedom. And there doing it under assault from one of history's most brutal terrorist networks,” Bush said yesterday, not realizing that al-Sadr, not Al Qaeda, now threatens the al-Maliki regime. While everyone knows there are a lot of moving parts in Iraq, they also know the U.S. can't impose its own brand of democracy. Bush doesn't dishonor fallen U.S. soldiers by changing the mission and finding an exit strategy.

      Bush did Iraq a favor by getting rid of Saddam Hussein. He did no one a favor by failing to fill the power vacuum, provide necessary stability and find a timely exit strategy. Watching al-Sadr return from the shadows shatters Bush's myth that a responsible exit strategy would hand Iraq to Al Qaeda. Al Sadr and his followers won't allow any foreign power—including the U.S.—to control Iraq raising the impossibility of the current mission. Unlike other parts of the world where the U.S. retains troops, Iraq promises an endless guerrilla war, making “victory” impossible. Iraqis want to pick their own leaders and government without foreign interference. While Bush and now McCain won't face mistakes and change course, the U.S. can't afford to waste more blood and treasure. With Iraq breaking the economy, nothing threatens the U.S. more than making the same mistakes.

About the Author

John M. Curtis writes politically neutral commentary analyzing spin in national and global news. He's editor of OnlineColumnist.com and author of Dodging The Bullet and Operation Charisma.

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