The fat lady has not sung in Iraq

In Iraq there is still a song to be sung before the curtain is closed. The Bush Administration used every reason they could to justify the invasion and occupation of a sovereign nation.

Their arguments were that there are weapons of mass destruction, an argument the world did not buy, but it was the urgent one the White House pushed on American people; there was the regime change argument because of the harm Hussein has done to his own people (as if this Administration is concerned one iota about the Iraqi people.) and along with that was the liberation of the Iraqi people, as they were surely begging us to liberate them. Of course, there was the war on terrorism argument, and Hussein was hiding terrorists and had a connection to Osama bin Laden and al Quida. Finally, there was the stabilization of the region argument and bringing Democracy to the region. Did I miss any?

Since there were so many arguments made and some obvious arguments not made, we look to the ones made to see how many of those arguments hold water. Let's see:
1.) No weapons of mass destructions were used or have been found. Hhummm! This was the biggy; this was the direct threat to our national security.
2.) We love Iraqis and want to liberate them. Well, there is no Saddam and there is no government; there is plenty chaos, but we accomplished a regime change--or have we? Where is Saddam Hussein? Why can't we catch these biggies, like Osama and Saddam?
3.) We have walked and driven all over Iraq, and there is no sign of a connection to bin Laden. Humm! We thought these terrorists were conferencing in Iraq. What happened to them?
4.) We have, of course, won the military war; Hussein was no military match for our trillion dollar military. We knew that, but we needed to show this military off and scare the world. That scare may come back to bite us. Is there stability of that region? Hardly.

The region is unstable still, and we may eventually long for the day of Saddam to stabilize things there. There is no Democracy in the land, and those who are free to speak are speaking about Islamic rule, which is totally anti-American .

All in all, the fat lady has yet to sing: there are more things uncertain in Iraq than there are things certain. ; while on the one hand America is talking about bringing our God-ordained Democracy to that backward nation, the people are voicing their opinions toward Islamic Law and the Bush Administration, in prayer with Rev. Franklin Graham, [these juniors won't stop and are dangerous people!] is saying Islamic Law will not be allowed.

What was that noise about not an occupation but a liberation; about we are not fighting against a religion; this isn't a crusade, but a liberation from a tyrant; about bringing Democracy to Iraq?

Talk about credibility and steadfastness! We are a two-tongued and dangerous nation, and our brand of a Christian, prayerful president and a Christian nation scares many in this nation. Save us from junior Bush and junior Rev. Graham who pray to God and then calculate how many Iraqis will die in a needless war that is not, they say, for oil. All can see that this crusade into Iraq is dangerously close to this nation doing the bidding of Ariel Sharon!

There was never any debate about winning the war--we have a trillion-dollar military; who can compare their military to that? The debate was how many Americans and other people would be killed. But we have found a way to neutralize that concern as well: This nation, under this Administration, is quickly recruiting a military of mercenaries--soldiers who are not citizens but will fight our wars, and if they live through them, they will be given citizenship. AND, these mercenary soldiers fighting our wars will be paid hazardous pay for their combat duties. Some could come out of the military with $50-100,000+, plus veterans' benefits and citizenship. Furthermore, we have embedded reporters who only show the parts of war our administration wants shown--not those horrible dead bodies; that is so repugnant! War is glorious and heroic.

An army of mercenaries is a dangerous precedent. It allows an administration like the Bush Administration, a cabal of warmongers, to project American mercenary power anywhere and terrorize the world with that might. And our embedded reporters show the American people only our smart weapons and brave soldiers. When I look closely at what we are doing around the world and hear the rhetoric coming from this Administration, I am scared.

We have hawkish extremists in this Administration who are causing this nation to become a terror to the world, and many Americans love it because they have little idea what and how a great people behave in the world. Yet the wisdom of Nelson Mandela should be heeded: "The history of nations shows us that no people will remain on top forever, and when our turn comes and we occupy a lower position, those on top will remember how we behaved when we were on top."

Things are not at all settled or clear in Iraq; the fat lady has not sung, so why is this Administration singing victory? []

Frank A. Jones