“Heil, Bush??”

By Tim Gibbons: Published by High Plains View, August 29, 2008.

“I believe today that my conduct is in accordance with the will of the Almighty Creator,” -Adolf Hitler
“Those who fight in God's cause will be victorious.” - Saddam Hussein
“If any foreign minister begins to defend to the death a ‘peace conference’, you can be sure his government has already placed its orders for new battleships and airplanes.” -Joseph Stalin
“I just want you to know that, when we talk about war, we're really talking about peace.” -George W. Bush.
Peaceful war? Preventive war? Holy war? Government Intelligence?! Can we stop contradicting ourselves!?!
Despite the questionable aspects and characteristics of a peaceful, preventive (preemptive) war, President Bush and his administration maintain that American's have been waging such wars since our beginning as a nation. The Indian wars and massacres are a perfect example of American led preemptive strikes. So was the questionable Mexican War in 1848 which led to a, what would be considered today, 'unpatriotic' statement by a United States Representative by the name of Abraham Lincoln:
“Allow the president to invade a neighboring nation, whenever he shall deem it necessary to repel an invasion, and you allow him to do so whenever he may choose to say he deems it necessary for such a purpose - and you allow him to make war at pleasure.”
Preemptive strikes have long been the unquestioned domain of the ruthless, the desperate and the tyrants.
“A preventive war, to my mind, is an impossibility today. How could you have one if one of its features would be several cities lying in ruins, several cities where many, many thousands of people would be dead and injured and mangled, the transportation systems destroyed, sanitation implements and systems all gone? That isn't preventive war; that is war.
I don't believe there is such a thing; and, frankly, I wouldn't even listen to anyone seriously that came in and talked about such a thing.... It seems to me that when, by definition, a term is just ridiculous in itself, there is no use in going any further.
There are all sorts of reasons, moral and political and everything else, against this theory, but it is so completely unthinkable in today's conditions that I thought it is no use to go any further.” -Dwight D. Eisenhower.
Both President Eisenhower and President Harry S. Truman ruled out preventive war against Stalin in the years following World War II. Even more spectacular was the refusal of President John F. Kennedy to launch a preemptive strike on Soviet forces in Cuba during the Cuban Missile Crisis of 1962. Despite strong recommendations by his Joint Chiefs of Staff, President Kennedy preferred to rely upon diplomacy to resolve the issue. It was later discovered that Russian forces in Cuba had tactical nuclear weapons and the authorization to use them on invading Americans. Kennedy's refusal to resort to warfare probably averted a nuclear disaster.
There have, however, been those individuals in history who have had no qualms about preventive warfare.
“When Barbarossa commences, the world will hold its breath and make no comment.” - Adolf Hitler
Operation Barbarossa was the code name given to the German invasion of the Soviet Union during the early part of World War II. German propaganda reported that the Russians were planning an attack on Hitler's Third Reich and the only way to stop it was a preemptive strike against the sub-human Russians.
The reports of Russian aggression were false, a pretext invented by the Germans to justify their violation of their Non-Aggression Pact with Russia. Along that same vein, consider the 935 false statements issued by the Bush administration between 2001 and 2003 regarding the build up of arms and terrorist activities in Iraq (Center for Public Integrity). Then as now, false reports and propaganda are still the best way to start a war.
“Make the lie big, make it simple, keep saying it, and eventually they will believe it.” -Adolph Hitler
“You know, one of the hardest parts of my job is to connect Iraq to the war on terror,” -George W. Bush, interview with CBS News' Katie Couric, Sept. 6, 2006.
Legal scholars generally agree that preventive war and aggression are virtually the same. And aggression is considered, “the supreme crime” in international law. Even commentators as diverse as Dwight Eisenhower and Noam Chomsky have argued that accepting one preventive war would open the floodgates to all preventive wars, thereby reducing the world to “the law of the jungle”, where the strongest wins. Critics argue this 'war-at-will' society creates an environment where war can be easily justified.
Already we can see the effects, most notably among power hungry tyrants, such as Saddam Hussein, and religious fanatical groups like Al Qaeda. Hussein had no problems invading Kuwait in 1990, Al Qaeda rejoiced when their attack against the Trade Centers and Pentagon succeeded. Now the question comes, has our American government stooped to their level?
Our American soldiers have a long and proud history of defending our freedoms since that historic day in 1775 when the American Minutemen fired “the shot heard round the world”. While our soldiers might not have always been the best trained and/or armed, especially during the first part of our nation's history, the argument could easily be made that they were by far more tenacious than their foes.
The immortal cries of, “I have not yet begun to fight!” “Remember the Alamo!” “Retreat! Hell we just got here!” “Come on you sons-of-bitches, you want to live forever?!”, still echo through the halls and barracks of our American fighting men and women.
“But, in a larger sense, we can not dedicate – we can not consecrate – we can not hallow – this ground. The brave men, living and dead, who struggled here, have consecrated it, far above our poor power to add or detract. The world will little note, nor long remember what we say here, but it can never forget what they did here. It is for us the living, rather, to be dedicated here to the unfinished work which they who fought here have thus far so nobly advanced.” - Abraham Lincoln, Gettysburg Address.
Our American soldiers have never failed to give their all for their country. Even in Vietnam, despite the incompetence and war mongering of the politicians, our American soldiers fought the communist threat to a standstill and it wasn't until three years after the last American left Vietnam that the communists attacked again.
Now we see the same thing happening in Iraq, the muddled goals of the politicians squandering the fighting talent of our soldiers. Take away the deserts and add the jungles and it's starting to look like Vietnam all over again.
The body count for our forces in Iraq is 4,143 and climbing, and for what purpose? Weapons of Mass Destruction have not been found and there is strong evidence that they never existed. An Iraqi democratic government and constitution have been in place since 2006. And in April of 2008, the Iraqi Prime Minister informed President Bush that the Iraq security forces were capable of handling the security of the nation and that American troops could begin withdrawing.
Our troops are still there and now there are moves by the Bush camp to extend our stay in Iraq past the 2008 deadline imposed by the United Nations.
Politicians started a war they had no business starting. Politicians have willingly sent American soldiers to their death without explaining why they are doing it, other than some vague references to the war on terror and our Christian duty. That our forces have made any progress is due entirely to the bravery and abilities of our American soldiers and not the desk driving politicians that sent them there.
“The welfare of the people, in particular, has always been the alibi of tyrants.” -Albert Camus
It's time to bring our soldiers home, Mr. President. Or, is there something else we should know about?