Abstract

Iraq and US Leadership

The author criticizes the Bush administration's decision to lead America into war with Iraq. A year ago, the United States went to war, although Iraq was not an imminent threat and had no nuclear weapons, no persuasive link to Al Qaeda, no connection to the September 11 terrorist attacks and no stockpiles of weapons of mass destruction. In the months leading up to war, President George W. Bush failed to keep the fundamental bond of trust between the American people and the President by misusing the facts in the push toward war and depriving citizens of an honest debate on the wisdom of that war. The Bush Administration has broken faith with the American people, who expect their Presidents to give them all the facts--not just the convenient ones--as the nation decides on war. In few election years have voters faced a more important choice than in 2004. When they go to the polls in November, they will be offered not only competing candidates but also fundamentally differing visions of how, when and why America will send its sons and daughters into danger. Aided and abetted by the Republican majority in Congress, President Bush imposed his agenda on America and the world. The debacle cannot all be blamed on flawed intelligence. President Bush and his advisers should have presented their case honestly, so that Congress and the American people could have engaged in the debate our democracy is owed, above all when the issue is war or peace. We all agree that the Iraqi people are safer with Saddam behind bars. But the Iraq war has not made America safer. It has made us more hated in the world, and it has made the war on terrorism harder to win. The war in Iraq has given Al Qaeda a new recruiting tool and strengthened those who support and encourage terrorists.