"Democracy" No Longer A Goal In Iraq

Do you remember when Republican senators and representatives proudly painted their thumbs purple and declared Bush successful in creating a democracy in Iraq? Well, it now seems that "democracy" is not quite working out the way they planned. In fact, many U.S. officials are ready to give up on the idea of a democracy in Iraq.

The government installed by Bush seems totally incapable of ruling the country. It cannot control the violence. It cannot deliver basic services. In fact, the only thing it does well is argue among itself. Many U.S. officials are so disappointed that they would be happy with a non-democratic government that could offer some security.

Brig. General John Bednarek says, "Democratic institutions are not neccessarily the way ahead in the long-term future." Even Ambassador Crocker and General Petraeus admit that they are "now engaged in pursuing less lofty and ambitious goals than was the case at the outset."

I can't believe they ever thought that puppet government would work in the first place. No matter how much they claimed it was, the current government was never a truly democratically-elect government. The only candidates allowed to run for office were those approved by the U.S. -- the occupying power. If all of your candidates must be approved by a foreign power, then you do not have a democracy. You have a puppet government.

The Iraqi people know this government is nothing more than a puppet controlled by the Bush administration. That is why they don't support it, and will get rid of it as soon as we leave.

But since the Bush administration has failed at installing a sham democracy, it now seems they want to re-install a dictatorship. If they is what they want to wind up with, then they should have just left Saddam in power. But at this point, even that won't work. The Iraqis will never accept any government we try to impose on them.

The only thing that will work at this point is to withdraw our troops and let the Iraqis determine for themselves how they will be ruled. Anything else is destined to fail.

Iraqi Officials Try To Pressure U.S. Congress

Representatives from the Iraqi government are in Washington right now. They are starting to understand that America's patience is wearing thin on Bush's war. They are trying to put pressure on politicians to continue their support of the war and the Maliki government.

I understand their dilemma. They are little more than a puppet government, installed by the Americans to give the illusion of a freely-elected democratic government. But it is just an illusion, and the Iraqi people know that. Every single candidate on the ballots that elected this government had to be approved by the U.S.

If the candidates on your ballot had to be approved by the invaders who are occupying your country, then you did not have a free election, and you certainly don't have a democracy! The Maliki government understands this, and they know the Iraqi people understand it also.

When American troops leave, this government will fall in a very short time. The Iraqi government officials are telling congressmen that if the American soldiers leave there will be "disastrous consequences". But they are not talking about what would happen to ordinary Iraqis - that situation is about as bad as it can be, and even some White House officials admit privately that little would change with the civil war when our troops leave.

No, the "disastrous consequences" would be the immediate fall of the puppet government Bush has installed in Iraq. They are just lobbying for their own survival, so they can continue to profit from American aid while doing nothing for Iraqi citizens.

It is obvious that this war in Iraq is no longer America against Saddam's supporters. It hasn't been that for a long time. It is now a civil war between Iraqi factions - with our soldiers stuck in the middle and hated by both sides.

The only reasons I can see for our continued participation in this war are Bush's reputation and protection of the Iraqi puppet government. Neither one is worth the life of a single American soldier.

We should immediately withdraw all American troops from Iraq.