M
Max Power
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http://www.thenewamerican.com/artman/publish/article_1995.shtml
There's much more to the article, but as per the board's policy, I'm not posting it. Please read the whole thing before posting replies.
Members of the Bush administration have repeatedly told Americans that Iraq is becoming a free and democratic society, but that claim is proving to be false.
"Our mission in Iraq is clear," stated President Bush before a military audience at Fort Bragg during his nationally televised address on June 28. "We're hunting down the terrorists. We're helping Iraqis build a free nation that is an ally in the war on terror. We're advancing freedom in the broader Middle East. We are removing a source of violence and instability, and laying the foundation of peace for our children and our grandchildren."
"The work in Iraq is difficult and it is dangerous," continued Mr. Bush. "Like most Americans, I see the images of violence and bloodshed. Every picture is horrifying, and the suffering is real. Amid all this violence, I know Americans ask the question: Is the sacrifice worth it? It is worth it, and it is vital to the future security of our country."
Roughly two weeks after the president offered that assessment, Iraqi Prime Minister Ibrahim al-Jaafari made a pilgrimage to Iran, where he laid a wreath at a shrine to the late, unlamented Ayatollah Khomeini, the revolutionary theocrat responsible for the abduction and imprisonment of U.S. citizens for 444 days in the late 1970s. Ibrahim al-Jaafari, a Shiite Muslim who lived in Iranian exile during the 1980s, heads the radical Islamic Dawa Party, which is closely aligned to the Iranian regime. Iran, recall, was famously described by Mr. Bush as a key player in an "axis of evil."
The Dawa Party's spiritual leader is Iranian-born Grand Ayatollah Ali Sistani, a near twin of Khomeini in both appearance and ideology. Prior to being named prime minister last April, al-Jaafari told the German magazine Der Speigel that "Iraq should become an Islamic state." Asked if his government would institute harsh Islamic Shari'a law, al-Jaafari replied: "Yes that is only natural in a country that is populated mainly by Muslims."
During his visit to Iran, al-Jaafari signed several bilateral accords. One accord was a military alliance wherein Iran will provide arms to Iraq; Iran will provide border security between the two countries; and the two countries will share intelligence. "This is a new chapter in relations with Iraq," enthused Iranian Vice President Mohammad Reza Aref during al-Jaafari's visit. Agha Panayi, an Iranian intelligence official, has offered a similarly enthusiastic assessment: "Throughout Iraq, the people we supported are in power."
"The Islamic Republic of Iran, Iraq's next-door neighbor, has benefited in every way from President George W. Bush's decision to overthrow Saddam Hussein," observes BBC News Baghdad correspondent John Simpson. "It's probably the best thing that has happened to Iran since the Islamic Revolution there in 1979."
Roughly 1,800 American military personnel have died to date in Iraq. Thousands of others have been wounded, many of them left invalids. Tens of thousands of Iraqis, including countless innocent civilians, have been killed. And in exchange we see that Iraq, rather than becoming a free, pro-Western society, is falling into the hands of a radical Muslim government aligned with Iran, a terrorist state hostile to the United States.
"Worth it"? To Iran, obviously. Americans who have lost loved ones in Iraq will likely differ with the president's accounting.
Elevating Terrorists to Power
There's much more to the article, but as per the board's policy, I'm not posting it. Please read the whole thing before posting replies.