Bush / Kerry’s Tortured Logic Tortures Iraq

One recently released Italian hostage went on record last week as supporting the Iraqi insurrection, despite her own victimhood by it. She said that Iraqis had every right to fight the illegal occupation of their land by foreign powers, including the U.S. She said that Iraqi insurgents were not to be considered as "terrorists", but as freedom fighters. This is the view of much of the civilized world.

Apparently, the civilized world does not include either President George W. Bush of the United States of America, or his wannabe successor, Senator John Kerry. President Bush, as usual, finds partial truth in almost every situation, while missing the critical truth. Bush rightly states that Iraqis crave freedom, but the freedom they crave, and which fuels the insurgency, is freedom from occupation by the U.S. and the coalition devised by the U.S. Bush’ tortured logic says that any partial degree of freedom is freedom in totality; that freedom from Saddam Hussein is total freedom and Iraqis should consider freedom from Saddam to be the only sort of freedom that matters. Iraqis craved freedom from their former dictator (whose rule was actually imposed by foreign powers, including the U.S.), and now they crave freedom from occupation and control of their affairs by all foreign powers. Partial freedom is not freedom, and George W. Bush just does not get it.

Unfortunately, neither does John Kerry get it. Kerry says the Iraq War was a catastrophic decision by George W. Bush, a colossal error in judgment. On this, Kerry is correct. Yet, you do not correct a colossal error by perpetuating it, yet just last night Kerry said that the U.S. must not fail in Iraq! As any schoolchild in California might say, "Duh… Mr. Kerry, we have ALREADY failed in Iraq". Instead of perpetuating the error, as John Kerry’s own tortured logic asserts, we should correct our error by giving the Iraqis their freedom from our occupation and withdrawing forces immediately. The presidential candidate who was not invited to the debate, Ralph Nader, has a six-month plan, a rational plan, for withdrawing, not only America’s military, but also its corporate presence, from Iraq within six months.

The fact that both Kerry and Bush have used tortured logic to perpetuate an international crime bodes poorly for the Iraqi people at present and for the American people and the world at large for the indefinite future. Kerry wants to "lead" the world with his bad plan, but apparently the world does not care to be led in this dangerous direction, and has already said so. Bush wants to punish the world for not accepting his leadership, and has thus alienated historic friendships and alliances.

Iraqis want freedom to work out their own affairs without illegitimate elections manipulated by the U.S., without leadership whose sole power comes from their foreign sponsors, and without foreign troops killing their children and razing the country with massive destruction and loss of life. Even the rule of Saddam Hussein, while brutal in critical aspects, offered more to more Iraqis than American occupation has offered or can offer.

Perhaps, John Kerry or George W. Bush should hold a town hall-style meeting in Fallujah or Najaf and (without military escort or intimidation) sit down with the Iraqi people and ask them what they really want, instead of telling them what we expect them to want. Perhaps Bush and Kerry are not ready to accept the reality that Iraqis’ first and foremost desire is for Americans to leave their country immediately and give them their freedom.