The post war story

MISSION accomplished, Mr President? Since George Bush made that triumphant declaration last May, some 61 US soldiers have been killed in Baghdad, more than the number who lost their lives in the five week invasion of that Middle East country. How embarrassing this death toll has become for the world's only superpower can be seen in the deliberately poor coverage by the American press, particularly the television news channels, of the dead soldiers returning home in body bags and their subsequent funerals. In spite of the high praise which Bush and his team of White House hawks lavished on the invading soldiers after the toppling of Saddam, we have not seen any of them commiserating with the families of the dead servicemen or attending any of their final rites. We have the distinct impression that this is an aspect of the magnificent victory which Bush and his lieutenants claimed to have achieved in Iraq that they would now conveniently prefer to ignore.

But the guerrilla counter-attack on US soldiers and the violent reprisals being inflicted on those seen as supporting the US occupation of Iraqi stem from the horrible morass which Bush and the British PM Tony Blair have created by their illegal and destructive invasion of that unfortunate country. Indeed their ill-conceived attack has turned out to be a monumental blunder, since their soldiers are now virtually trapped in a country growing increasingly hostile to their continuing occupation. Very little that Bush and Blair had predicted about their massive attack on Iraq has come true, and such is their inability to control the chaos they have created that they are now appealing to other nations to send troops to Iraq to help in "the rebuilding process" but which is clearly intended to ease the violent reprisals now being exacted on their own soldiers. Of course there are countries with dependent economic ties to the superpower and those seeking its favours which would respond in some limited way. But the plight of the US administration and their now convenient quest to win the support of the international community for their effort in "rebuilding" Iraq is an act of hypocrisy that is amazing for the apparent earnestness with which it is being pursued. Believe it or not, Bush is now seeking to achieve this by moving a resolution in the United Nations Security Council, the same Council and its members whom he contemptuously dismissed when they opposed his ill-conceived and reckless plan to attack Iraq and rid that country of its weapons of mass destruction.

Well the world now knows the truth, that the intelligence which both Bush and Blair used as a pretext to justify their foolish Iraqi adventure was a colossal hoax, almost laughable in the case of the British PM whose declaration that Saddam could deploy nuclear missiles in 45 minutes was patently ridiculous. But in their superpower arrogance, Bush and his warmongers cannot accept or admit to the atrocity they have committed on the Iraqi people who, more than three months after the invasion, are still suffering from a lack of security and the destruction of its civil amenities. Among the US and UK press, it seems that only the BBC has had the courage and independence to deal impartially with this horrible episode, exposing for example, the plight of Iraqi children who have been maimed and mutilated by the "coalition" bombardment and who now lie in hospitals without the equipment and expertise to treat them properly. Bush and his lieutenants now talk about "expanding the coalition" and "a key role for the UN" but does anybody believe they plan to give up ultimate control of that oil-rich country? Never happen.