Rationale for war dead wrong

ANDREW GREELEY

_T here is yet another illogical
and immoral argument in
support of the Iraq war. It
has emerged from that hard
line group -- little more than
a third of the American people --
who approve of President Bush's
handling of the war: We must sup-
port the troops fighting in Iraq. To
support the troops means to sup-
port the mission. Therefore we must
support the mission. The argument
has a certain appeal to the red state,
especially to the poorest segment of
the population that is the presi-
dent's "base" -- and whose children
incidentally are the most likely
white people to be fighting the war.
Think of Jessica Lynch and
Lynndie England.
It is not surprising therefore that
the president, perhaps at the urging
of his gray eminence Karl Rove,
seizes this argument: We must con-
tinue to fight till we win, he says, in
order to validate the sacrifice of
those who have already died. More
must die in defense of those who
have already died.
The moral assumption behind the
argument is "America, our country
right or wrong!" This is an American
war, a war entered at the order of
our commander-in-chief. It is un-
thinkable that it would not be a just
war. Thus wave the flag, don the yel-
low ribbon, shout "USA!," sing "God Bless America!," and support the
troops. Therefore if you don't sup-
port the mission, you have aban-
doned the troops. Our country, right
or wrong!
To be fair, Stephen Decatur, one
of the great American naval heroes,
was much more nuanced: "Our
country, in its intercourse with other
nations, may it always be in the
right. But right or wrong, our coun-
try." There is a possibility of con-
cluding from that formulation that
our country might sometimes be
wrong and that those who continue
to revere the country must struggle
to make it right. The fact that there
are troops fighting and dying in Iraq
does not mean that the war is right.
Rather, it began for trumped-up
reasons and has been run by stub-
born and incompetent men and now
clearly is wrong. To support the
troops means to get them out of

___________________
To support the troops
means to get them out
of harm's way as soon
as possible.

harm's way as soon as possible.
Bush's contention that, because
some men and women have died,
others must continue to die demon-
strates just how morally bankrupt
the war is and he himself is.
The fractious constitutional con-
vention in Iraq shows how absurd
the war is. The likely outcome,
whatever the words of the document
may say, is a theocratic Shiite state,
ruled by mullahs and under Islamic
law in which women and religious
minorities have no rights, a state
torn by civil war between the Shiites
and the Sunnis. Bush apparently
has not noticed it, but such a civil
war is already going on. Not having
been able to settle it thus far, there
is no reason to think that America
can ever put an end to that ancient
religious conflict.
As Colin Powell wisely put it, "if
you break it, you own it."
Only about a seventh of
Americans favor immediate with-
drawal. However, if the Bush ad-
ministration is unable to establish a
credible timetable for getting out of
Iraq -- and it's hard to see how
given their goals they can do that --
then a tidal wave of opposition will
sweep the country just in time for
the 2006 elections. Given its track
record, the administration may be
able to steal that election, too. They
may be able to sweep Iraq under the
rug and make "patriotism," "free-
dom" and the ''war on terror" the is-
sues. The president may continue
to persuade many people that Iraq is
"central to the war on terror."
John Kerry lost in 2004 because
he was unable to propose a credible
alternative to the administration on
national security. He lacked the for-
titude to say that, even though he
had voted for the war, he was mis-
taken. If the Democrats wish to win
by running against the war, they'll
have to be more ingenious in their
slogans and their spin.
Then, perhaps one house of Con
gress will be independent of the ad-
ministration, and there will be com-
prehensive investigations of Iraq.
Then, the American people will un-
derstand why so many troops died
unnecessarily in an unwise and inept
conflict. That would be the proper
way to support the troops and to as-
sure that others would not die in the
future because of ignorant and
reckless diplomacy.