For example, on the eve of his address before a joint session of Congress in September 2004, Interim President Ayad Allawi was heralded as the “Abraham Lincoln of Iraq”. But, despite delivering an address that seemed written by a pro-war spin doctor, just months later he defied Bush by decrying the war effort as floundering in the face a civil war, which threatened the Iraqi union American soldiers were dying to preserve.
Now comes duly-elected President Nouri al-Maliki this week who – even before making yesterday’s obligatory plea to Congress for more aid – defied Bush by declaring more common cause and solidarity with Hezbollah and its patron Iran than with Israel and its patron the U.S. In fact, his remarks on this other war in the Middle East smacked of such indignation and ingratitude that both Republicans and Democrats threatened to boycott his address. And, this international embarrassment was averted only after Bush administration officials prevailed upon Maliki to meet in private with incredulous U.S. politicians to assure them that he was not an “anti-Semite” Hezbollah sympathizer – as Howard Dean, Chairman of the Democratic Party, charged.
But no matter how rosy, reassuring or collaborative his words, a dark cloud hovered over Maliki’s head during his adddress. Moreover, his dour countenance inspired little confidence when he delivered the silver lining – paraphrasing Bush’s war on terror casus belli – as follows:
Do not imagine that this problem is solely an Iraqi problem because the terrorist front represents a threat to all free countries and free people of the world.
So members of Congress listened politely. But I doubt anyone, especially Bush, was terribly encouraged by anything Maliki said during his visit. And given yesterday’s opinion polls, which essentially made a mockery of his photo ops, Bush has good reason to wonder why he staked his presidency on liberating a people who now seem more allied with America’s enemies than with America itself…..
NOTE: To be fair, even though Maliki’s refusal to publicly condemn Hezbollah ruffled some feathers in Washington, some politicians understood and appreciated why it would have been suicidal for him to do so. After all, he owes his life to the countries most invested in Hezbollah’s political Jihad: namely, Syria – where he spent years in exile during Saddam Hussein’s reign of terror and Iran – where most of his supporters look to for political (and religious) guidance.
Nevertheless, most politicians now souring on the Iraqi war cite the apparent fealty of Maliki and his fellow Shiites (who comprise the majority faction in Iraq’s government of national unity) to a burgeoning Shiite axis (stretching from Iran through Iraq to Syria) as the reason for their disllusionment….
ENDNOTE: Referring to the war in Iraq as another Vietnam has already become cliché. Therefore, the only uncertainty that remains about this war is whether it will take another 58,000 American lives before U.S. politicians cut their losses and run.
Moreover, just as it is clear that the world will do nothing to stop Iran from developing nuclear weapons, it is also clear that America can do nothing to stop Iran from wielding decisive influence in Iraq, Syria and Lebanon. (After all, U.S. Secretary of Defense Donald Rumsfeld has been whining about Iranian incursions in Iraq, with apparent impunity, for years now.)
Finally, no matter their good intentions, what America is doing in Iraq and what Israel is doing in Lebanon will only increase Iran’s power and influence in the Middle East. And, the only way to checkmate its hegemonic plans is to bomb Iran now (as former Defense Secretary William Perry and former VP Walter Mondale advised) and drop a few on Syria for good measure.
O, what a tangled web….
Iraqi Prime Minister, Nouri al Maliki
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