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The Decision-Maker "I'm the decision-maker," President Bush declared as he drew a line in the sand against congressional leaders and others opposed to an escalation of troops in Iraq. The president seems to think that sending a mere 21,500 additional troops to Iraq will turn the tide there and hasten an end to this ill-conceived war. He's wrong, just as he's been wrong on just about everything else concerning Iraq. His own military advisors- those honest and brave enough to confront him- and an increasing number of members of his own Republican Party are seeing more and more that the solution to Iraq is more political than military. Iraq is an artificial nation, like so many in the Middle East, and was carved out to be an ally of Great Britain after World War I. It has never worked well as a nation because the region is made up of radically diverse ethic and religious factions. Allegiances are to this or that disciple of Muhammad, to family and region ties or to strong individual personalities. The concept of democracy and of national unity as we understand it in the United States is completely foreign to most Iraqis. The current government, although it pays lip service to democracy, is not and probably cannot be a true proponent of democracy. Their old biases, prejudices and hatreds are too hard to throw off. So we continue to try to booster a hapless government, throwing lives (nearly 3,100 U.S. soldiers have died in the current war) and money ($362 billion or so and rapidly climbing) into an experiment that won't work and can't work. President Bush was wrong on weapons of mass destruction in Iraq and he was wrong on Saddam Hussein being directly involved in the 9/11 attacks. He is wrong to think that our continued presence in Iraq will bring peace and he is wrong that 21,500 additional troops is going to change the course there. Our actions have made a mess out of Iraq and further destabilized an already unstable part of the world to no good conclusion. What is the solution...do we cut our losses and leave or do we stay and try to correct ad improve the situation?
President Bush says he is the decision-maker. His decisions can only get better. We don't see how they can get any worse.
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