While the Bush administration, the media and nearly all the Democrats still refuse to explain the war in Iraq in terms of oil, the ever-pragmatic members of the Iraq Study Group share no such reticence.
It’s Still About Oil in Iraq
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Iraq
Can’t Stay the Course, Can’t End the War, But We’ll Call it Bipartisan
Despite the breathless hype, the Baker-Hamilton Iraq Study Group (ISG) report did not include any dramatic new ideas for ending the war in Iraq. In fact, it did not include a call to end the war at all. Rather, the report’s recommendations focus on transforming the U.S. occupation of Iraq into a long-term, sustainable, off-the-front-page occupation with a lower rate of U.S. casualties. Despite its title, it does not provide “A New Approach: A Way Forward.”
Think We’re Leaving Iraq? Not So Fast
The Iraq War dominated the electoral landscape during the recent mid-term elections. Voters swept in candidates across the nation who vowed for change in Iraq. But making good on his pledge that “I will not withdraw even if Laura and Barney [his dog] are the only ones supporting me,” President George W. Bush is readying the largest request for funds so far to continue the war. Even worse, he’s on the cusp of actually increasing troops.
Curb Unilateral Decisions Regarding Iraqis
The Iraq Study Group, led by former Secretary of State James Baker and former Rep. Lee Hamilton, is being portrayed as a magic wand that will conjure up a solution for Iraq the same way rabbits jump out of empty hats.
The Democrats’ War
With power comes responsibility. Once they take over both houses of Congress on January 3, the Democrats will have the responsibility to get American troops out of Iraq as soon as practicable.
Iraq After November 7
The recent U.S. election was an exercise in redemption. At a time when many throughout the world had written off the American electorate as lifeless putty in the hands of Karl Rove, the voters woke up to deliver the Republican Party its worst blow in the last quarter of a century. Not only independents and centrists voted to repudiate Republican candidates, but a third of evangelicalsÂBush’s fundamentalist Christian baseÂvoted for Democrats.
Elections Offer Hope for a Change in Course in Iraq
Back on February 15, 2003 millions of people across the globe made headlines as they protested against the impending Iraq War. While that mass mobilization failed to stave off that unpopular and tragic war, it’s hard to believe that President George W. Bush will miss the message voters delivered on Election Day–it’s time to change course in Iraq.
Iraq, Elections, and the Costs of War
For the first time in recent history, a foreign policy issue is at the top of the electorate’s mind as they head to the polls. Clearly the Iraq War loomed over the mid-term elections before October rolled around, but with the U.S. death toll reaching its highest mark since November 2004, reports arguing the Iraqi death toll now tops 655,000, new estimates on the cost of the war reaching 1 trillion dollars, and Bush’s PR team quickly putting window dressing on his vow to “stay the course”, the elections are being called a referendum on Iraq.
What Has Invasion Unleashed in Iraqis?
What has my new country, the United States, done to my old country, Iraq?
Breaking Up That Old Gang of Mine
George Bush’s most steadfast backer in the March 2003 preventive war invasion and occupation of Iraq has been British Prime Minister Tony Blair. The Bush-Blair Âdynamic duo act is, however, about to end. Blair is soon to resign his post in favor of the Chancellor of the Exchequer Gordon Brown.