One Big Confession

I know Lent has already passed, but now is as good a time as any to confess that I believe in 1991 the biggest mistake former President George Bush, "Bush the Elder", ever made was not going all the way to Baghdad and ending the tyranny of Saddam Hussein. I thought letting Saddam Hussein stay in power is as stupid as letting Adolf Hitler remain Fuhrer of Germany after driving German troops out of occupied Europe at the end of World War Two. For years, I have advocated that history will not forgive the old Bush for his failure to convince the international community and, especially, the Arab World of the necessity of removing Saddam Hussein and holding him and his generals accountable for the terrible atrocities that was committed during the 6 month occupation of Kuwait.

Today, 8th May 2007, as US causalities in Iraq soars past 3,300 dead and a majority coming after President George Bush, aka "Bush the Younger" declared an end to major hostilities on the deck of an aircraft carrier. I now believe that history will remember the wisdom of Bush the Elder in not taking Baghdad and going after Saddam Hussein and his cronies. After all, retired US Army General Norman Schwarzkopf, commander of Allied Forces during the Gulf War, said in his book, It Doesn't take a Hero, the United States would have been like a dinosaur in a tar pit. Keep in mind that the book was published more than a year and half after the Gulf War had concluded, Schwarzkopf believed that the United States would still be in Iraq at the time of the publication of his book had the international community pursue the course of action I had advocated at that time. The United States and her "allies", principally Australia and Britain, are still in Iraq more than four years after the fall of Baghdad and three years after the arrest of Saddam Hussein. I am thankful that Schwarzkopf's words still has a great of relevance in the modern world and to current and future historians in the examination of this war.

Everyday this situation in Iraq remains unresolved and potentially a country that could be a heaven for extremists bent on world destruction, the Administration of the elder Bush will be and should be commended and remembered as one of the great Presidents of the 20th Century and for a brilliant decision. James Baker, Secretary of State during the Presidency of the elder Bush, said that any decision to going after Saddam and his regime should be contingent on Saddam's decision to use weapons of mass destruction against Allied troops. This was clearly stated in Baker's book, The Politics of Diplomacy, and I believe that Saddam, at that time, understood that the use of nuclear, biological or chemical weapons would have brought the full wrath of the international community upon his head. More importantly, he would be held solely accountable for the huge loss of lives on the Allied side.

Now that a policy of containment has proven to be the wiser policy compared to a policy of active regime change, Harry Truman should also be remembered for pursuing the correct course of action at the start of the Cold War until more favorable circumstances arises. A policy of regime change requires several different factors, which are clearly lacking in the current circumstances; firstly, the backing of the international community, next the willingness to put a very big army in the country one intends to occupy, lastly a lot of money. To prove this point, during World War Two, the Allies deployed at least 2 millions troops on German soil after the fall of the Nazi Reich with the Western Allies, like the United States, Britain, France and several other nations, sending at least a million soldiers to secure the Western portion of Germany with the Soviets sending a similar number to the Eastern portion, probably more to secure and set up the satellite states in Eastern Europe. That shows many countries had a vested interest in seeing the defeat of Nazi Germany and was willing to bear some of that cost in terms of manpower. The Marshall Plan amply demonstrates the need for vast amount of money. The Marshall Plan doled out US$ 12.741 billion from 1948 until 1951. I doubt President Bush can match that sum of money in today's terms given more destruction and suffering that existed.