Reporter Column

The good people of the United Methodist Reporter have published one of my blog posts.

Click here to see it online. Here is the original post.

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In other news: frequent commentor here (and my cousin), Patrick, is on his way home from Iraq this week. Prayers for safe travels and a happy, happy reunion when you get home, Patrick!

Bring Them Home

I want to bring a previous comment thread to the forefront here, so it doesn’t get lost in the shuffle. Responding to my remarks about the Iraq War, Larry B. asked, and was seconded by Joseph, “GW may have made a serious mistake entering war, but how moral is it to make two mistakes?” His question echoes the classic parental admonition, “Two wrongs don’t make a right!”

In response, I wrote

Here's an analogy, Larry B and Joseph (read this in a letter to the editor today): I want my friend to stop gambling, because he is losing money. He says, but if I keep playing, I might win. My desire for him to stop gambling is not because I don't want him to perhaps win eventually, but because I want him to stop losing his money right now.

I think this metaphor is very helpful in explaining my position on Iraq. I want this war over, not because it is my desire that the U.S. “lose” and the region fall into chaos, but rather because the war cannot be “won” in any reasonable sense of the word, and the region is in chaos right now, anyway. Using the analogy, gambling will continue after my friend leaves the boat!

My larger point was (and still is) to decry the culture of deception in our government that says it is okay to change the definition of success to match what is happening now, whatever that might be. As if, when I say to my friend, “You are going to go broke if you keep gambling like this,” my friend responds, “But I am losing fewer quarters than ever before, which means things are getting better!” which is true, but the reality is that he is losing more and more dollars all the time.

It’s like Kansas Bob commented, we are “powerless” in Iraq, and it is time to bring them home.

Increase is Decrease

I haven’t written anything “political” for a while. But this time I couldn’t let it go by. I read a story in the KC Star today that is simply astonishing. If it is accurate, the current administration has been intentionally deceptive about a matter of great importance.

The story, written by Nancy Youssef of McClatchy Newspapers, is that the Bush administration is reporting a decrease in sectarian violence in Iraq as a result of the recent troop increase. Great news, right? They are citing a decline in the number of unidentified bodies dumped in the streets as evidence of this assertion – but they have apparently not been counting victims of car bombings and suicide bombings, which has skewed their numbers to the positive.

There were 323 bombing victims in March, and 365 in April as of the 24th, according to the story. And April, obviously, isn’t over yet.

The current administration has taken hits from smarter people than I with regard to a culture of deception and dishonesty. I don’t want to laundry list that any more than it already has been done. But this time, it sure seems to me that they are just redefining what success means in order to claim that we are achieving it. It is a bizarre, elementary school, “I meant to do that” approach to leadership that leaves me scratching my head in utter confusion. It is positively Orwellian, to insist that there is a decrease in violence when there is an increase. Failure is success! If we just don’t count the bombings, they never happened! Perfect!

President Bush told Charlie Rose, “If the standard of success is no car bombings or suicide bombings, we have just handed those who commit suicide bombings a huge victory.” Which means (I think) that if we count the bombings in our figures, that means we are acknowledging the bombers, and to acknowledge the bombers is to give them power, which we do not want to do. However, I am pretty sure that each of the 688 victims of bombings between May 1 and April 24 and all of their families and friends have acknowledged the bombers, big time. What are we communicating to them when the U.S. conveniently leaves out any mention of their deaths?

I don’t like “stay the course” without knowing that the course is actually getting us somewhere. We could “stay the course” for years and years and end up pretty much right where we are now. Should we “stay the course” even if the course is horrible? Sometimes the response is – “To set a date for pullout is to lose the war.” But there are two gigantic questions that response begs to be asked – 1) What are we doing currently, if not losing the war? and 2) What exactly would winning the war look like? First we thought victory would be deposing Saddam Hussein. Then we thought victory would be finding and destroying WMD. Then we thought victory would be setting up a new government, complete with elections and a constitution. Well, check, N/A, and check, respectively – and yet, no victory.

And no sign of an end to violence any time soon, no matter how we try to make it seem. I know that there is anecdotal evidence of progress in Iraq, which is wonderful. But to paint Iraq with such a rosy glow when the reality is so starkly not rosy is dishonest and deceptive. It is not okay to change the definition of success to match our failure.