Wes Clark: War didn't and doesn't bring democracy. Washington Monthly

[Crunchy Frog]

May 2005
War didn't and doesn't bring democracy
By Gen. Wesley Clark

Operating on the theory that if you say something enough times people will believe it, the Bush administration and its allies have in the last few years confidently put forth an array of assertions, predictions, and rationalizations about Iraq that have turned out to be nonsense. They've told us that Saddam's regime was on the verge of building nuclear weapons; that it had operational links with al Qaeda; that our allies would support our invasion if we stuck with our insistence about going it alone; that we could safely invade with a relatively small number of ground troops; that the Iraqi people would greet us as liberators; that Ahmed Chalabi could be trusted; that Iraq's oil revenues would pay for the country's reconstruction; and that most of our troops would be out of Iraq within six months of the initial invasion.

Now, they tell us that recent stirrings of democracy elsewhere in the Middle East are a direct consequence of our invasion of Iraq, that the neoconservative vision of contagious democracy has been realized. Given the administration's track record, we would be wise to greet this latest assertion with suspicion.

It's understandable that the administration would want to make this claim. After all, by any honest accounting, the Iraq operation has been a mess. The U.S. military has performed brilliantly for the most part. But we invaded the country for the express purpose of removing weapons of mass destruction that turned out not to exist. That effort has cost $200 billion and more than 1,500 American lives. It has strained our alliances, damaged America's reputation in the world, pushed the all-volunteer military to the breaking point, and left our troops exposed in a hostile country with an open-ended exit strategy. It would be convenient to be able to say that the intent all along was just to bring democracy to the region and that this was simply the necessary price. Convenient, but not true.

-snip-

Democracy can't be imposed—it has to be homegrown. In the Middle East, democracy has begun to capture the imagination of the people. For Washington to take credit is not only to disparage courageous leaders throughout the region, but also to undercut their influence at the time it most needs to be augmented. Let's give credit where credit is due—and leave the political spin at the water's edge.

http://www.washingtonmonthly.com/features/2005/0505.clark.html

And just as a little side note. A statement by Wes about being asked to write an article for the Washington Monthly.

"... the guy who runs Washington Monthly... Paul Glastris called me. His aide did. Said, 'How'd you like to write a paper, um, for the Washington Monthly, under the banner headlines of, 'What If Bush Was Right'?" (pause for laughter) I said, "I'm not writing ANYthing that George Bush might have been right. Bush was WRONG!' "

[sharonking21]

1. Really good article-Thanks

Thanks for posting this. I sent it to all the people I know who have bought into the Bush meme about the supposed spread of democracy at the end of a gun--the same ones who were sending me emails saying something like "Do you think Bush was right after all?"

[Jai4WKC08]

2. This interesting

Clark's article is part of a collection from a "panel of experts," run under the COVER title "Middle East Democracy: Who Gets the Credit? What Are the Lessons?"

http://www.washingtonmonthly.com/features/2005/0505.forum.html

But they had originally planned to entitle this month's edition "What If Bush Was Right?" Seems our good Democratic general made a bigger contribution than just this most excellent column. :)

[Robert Murphy]

3. Thinking Ahead to 2008...

Clark was an ineffectual candidate in 2004--he started late and was obviously very new to the game. Yet one thing that even his detractors readily concede is that he is very, very bright and learns fast. Clark's actions have also answered those critics who accused him of being a 'Democrat of convenience'; he has remained active in the party, now many months after he failed to win the nomination.

Don't count him out for 2008...

Robert

[Number9Dream]

4. A Wes Clark candidacy strikes fear into Repuke's hearts...

...like no other Democratic candidate can. I'd love to see the debates between the General and any of the Repuke chickenhawks (J Bush, Frist, Cheney, etc.)