President Bush is often blamed for the gigantic Iraq fiasco. But the president, who was essentially Vice President Cheney's puppet, could not have done it alone. It took a whole gang of politicians from both parties and numerous contractors to take Americans and Iraqis to the cleaners. There are few families in Iraq without a dead or seriously injured close relative. Millions are displaced, Iraq's infrastructure is a shambles, and our cost in blood and treasure is huge.
Osama bin Laden and the Iranians are loving it as their plan to have the U.S. dissipate its resources in futile wars against insurgents succeeds. They eagerly wait as President Obama appears to be headed for the same mistake in Afghanistan.
Obama may be spared this decision as the Taliban, apparently aided by Pakistan's intelligence service and by the Russians, is blocking supply routes into landlocked Afghanistan. The Taliban has destroyed a crucial bridge leading to the Khyber Pass which carries 75 percent of the war supplies for the U.S. and NATO. And Russia's ally, Kyrgyzstan, has announced a final decision to deny our use of the Manas Air Base in the Kyrgyz Republic, from which we bring 500 tons of material into Afghanistan every month.
Insurgencies, which cause our bugles to sound, are cheap. Sending our military forces to remote parts of the world is not. We are letting bin Laden set the rules of the game.
Rolf Westgard
St. Paul
