_____________
__________________COMMENTARY _
CHICAGO 
SUN-TIMES
FRIDAY
AUGUST 29,
____2003___
 

PAGE 49

U.S. sinking in Iraq quagmire

ANDREW GREELEY
 
 
 
 
 
 

Faced with persistent sabotage
      and an increase in guerrilla
     violence, the Bush adminis-
tration faces unpalatable options 
in Iraq, especially as the country 
approaches the beginning of the 
>year before the election. Real im-
perial powers ought not to be dis-
tracted by elections.
    It can send more American
troops, either National Guard or
Reserve units, or new units drawn 
from  recruits  or  eventually per-
haps  from  a  draft. This choice is 
unpalatable because it would be an
admission that the administration 
had made  serious mistakes in its
calculations   about   how   many 
troops were needed. Moreover, it
would give  the  lie  to  the  presi-
dent's claim on the aircraft carrier 
that the war is over. 
    It can invite the United Nations 
to send in troops. However, the 
other Security Council countries 
are not  likely to approve such ac-
tion unless the United States eats 
humble pie, admits that it was 
mistaken in its confidence, and 
permits the UN to take charge of 
Iraq. It is virtually unthinkable 
that the president could accept 
that humiliation in an election 
year. 
    It can withdraw from Iraq. If the
army  ever  manages  to  capture 
Saddam Hussein, it can claim vic-

tory and say in effect to the Iraqis, 
we know you don't want us here. 
We don't want to be here either. 
Rebuild your country yourselves. 
Fight the swarming Saudi berserk-
ers yourselves. We're out of here. 
But such a strategy--probably the 
wisest--would also be an admis-
sion of failure. 
  It  can  continue  the  present 
strategy, at the cost of $1 billion a 
week, hoping that the United 
States can muddle through and 
that, as was said in Vietnam, there 
seems to be light at the end of the
tunnel. Eventually, the Iraqis may 
settle down and the neighboring 
countries can stop the flow of 
Saudi and Palestinian crazies. In 
another six months things might 
be a lot better. However, at the
present rate, they may be a lot
worse. American soldiers may still 
die every day and truck bombs

__________
This paradigm is so
similar to Vietnam as to
be frightening.


may explode every other week. 
The military would be tied down 
in a seeming never-ending war.
    This paradigm is so similar to
Vietnam as to be frightening. 
    Yet, the administration might
well decide, that if the ''sacrifices''
in Iraq can be portrayed as neces-
sary to win the ''war on terrorism,''
Bush may keep his eclat as an able
wartime president and win the 
election despite being trapped in 
the big muddy. He might be suc-
cessful in situations that doomed 
both Harry Truman and Lyndon 
Johnson.
    One recalls what Sen. George 
Aiken said of Vietnam: The best 
strategy would be to claim victory
and go home. The present admin-
istration has proven itself very 
skilled at spinning reality so that 
truth becomes invisible. Does any-
one remember ''compassionate''
conservatism? Or ''no nation 
building''? Or more recently, the 
president's claim that his energy 
bill would solve the problem of  the 
nation's erratic electric grid? 
Everyone knows, don't they, that 
Alaskan petroleum is just what the 
grid needs? The spinmasters could 
fool the majority of the American 
people into believing that defeat 
was really victory. Having been 
clever enough to steal an election,
the administration may well be 
able to pull off an imaginary vic-
tory in Iraq. What's the point in 
being a Teflon president unless 
you can do that? So far, most
Americans still dismiss criticism of 
the administration's Iraq policy as
''politics.''
    Finally, God,  who apparently 
advised Bush to invade Iraq, might 
well intervene with a miracle be-
cause everyone knows that God is 
on our side, isn't He?
    The American public  grows 
skeptical of prolonged wars rather 
quickly. But this is a special time 
in the nation's history. The savage 
jolt to American self-confidence 
and self-esteem caused by the
World Trade Center attack has 
played into the hands of the spin-
ners. They got us into the war by 
playing games with the truth. 
They may also be able to spin a 
coverup that will persuade the
public that the Iraq situation is 
not as bad as it seems. Can they 
get away with it? Maybe they can 
also pretend that unemployment is 
not serious.
    I wouldn't bet against them.