The price of folly

Posted By Stephen M. Walt Monday, July 5, 2010 - 12:06 PM Share

I hope that all of the people who helped push the UnitedStates to invade Iraq in 2003 read the front-page story in Sunday's New YorkTimes about a courageous soldier, Specialist Brendan Marrocco. It is heart-breaking. He lostboth arms and both legs to a roadside bomb in Iraq and is now in rehabilitation. Tens of thousands of others havesuffered or died in that unnecessary and foolish war. Marrocco's story, however, brings us face-to-face with war's horrible consequences and reminds us of the price that is paid when policymakers blunder into war.

I can't help but wonder what George Bush, Dick Cheney, Paul Wolfowitz, Condoleezza Rice, Donald Rumsfeld, William Kristol, James Woolsey, and Doug Feith will think when they read about the damage done to Specialist Marrocco's life and his family? Do they feel a secret shame, which they are too proud or afraid to voice? Do they have any regrets for the pain that they have caused him? Do they still believe they were right, even though so many Iraqi and American lives have been shattered, and Iraq is still a wreck of a country? Or do they simply turn the page without reflecting on the consequences of their actions, and hope that the rest of us will forget the role they played?

Wars are sometimes necessary, but that was certainly not true of the Iraq war. War should always be a last resort, because many of those who get caught up in the maelstrom suffer and die. The decision to send our armed forces into combat should never be made in a half-baked way. The decision should only come after there has been a vigorous and serious public debate about the costs, benefits, and possible alternatives to fighting.

Of course, that is not what happened in the run-up to the Iraq war. Instead, we went to war on March 19, 2003 because a narrow clique of neo-conservatives dreamed up a bizarre scheme to "transform" the Middle East by spreading democracy across the region at the end of a rifle barrel, and eventually managed to sell that idea to a naïve and gullible president. We went to war because the Bush administration and its friends in the media and Congress deceived us about the dangers Iraq posed, and because they misled us about how easy it would be to win a decisive victory and exit Iraq. We went to war because the mainstream media, which is heavily into cultivating favor with influential policymakers, hardly ever asked our leaders hard questions about the case for war.  Indeed, many influential pundits became enthusiastic cheerleaders for the invasion. We went to war because many politicians in both parties were so worried about their careers that they were afraid to raise doubts about the war, even though some of them had serious reservations about whether we would succeed. And we went to war because experts who craved influence in Washington or future careers in government wanted to show how tough and resolute they were. 

The United States is a remarkably powerful and sheltered country, which is why it can afford to fight stupid wars in places like Iraq and Vietnam at only modest cost to its overall security. But we should never forget the human cost of these follies, which are paid by brave patriots like Brendan Marrocco as well as the 58,000-plus names on the Vietnam Memorial. And when the same people start telling us we need to attack someone else, we should remember just how foolish and ignorant their advice was in 2002 and remind ourselves that they show no sign of either learning or remorse.

EXPLORE:MIDDLE EAST, BUSH ADMINISTRATION, BUSH'S LEGACY, CORRUPTION, DISASTERS, IRAQ, MEDIA, MILITARY, U.S. CONGRESS
 

DEPETRIS@WORDPRESS.COM

6:52 PM ET

July 5, 2010

Doug Feith in the spotlight

Well Doug Feith obviously doesn't feel any remorse. He's bracing us with his presence once again, this time telling Americans that decreasing the U.S. nuclear stockpile is destabilizing for national security.

I'm beginning to think that the neoconservative camp is just oblivious to today's strategic environment, or perhaps just obvious to reality at large.

http://www.depetris.wordpress.com

 

KENNETH SORENSEN

7:02 PM ET

July 5, 2010

Produce websites that expose them

Steve wrote:


And we went to war because experts who craved influence in Washington or future careers in government wanted to show how tough and resolute they were.

I would welcome websites which exposes all these "experts" and what they are doing now. I myself see the Iraq War as a litmus test; if you supported that, your ability to formulate any credible opinions concerning foreign policy issues cannot be reckoned with and you deserve to be ridiculed -- and vilified -- for the rest of your life.

 

NICOLAS19

1:14 PM ET

July 6, 2010

Next wave?

1.1. Very well put article. What in reality horrifies me is the exploitation of the great wave of ignorance. US goes to war, a flood of rallying cries erupt from the media (like terrorist, WMD, Al-Quaeda, Taliban, rogue state, Islamism, etc) and the crazed people embrace them in a heartbeat. Does anyone really know what “rogue state” stands for? What WMDs were they talking about? I’d bet a modest sum that the average American wouldn’t even know what WMD means. Still, as two unjustified wars could be easily hid behind the curtain of ignorance – for 9-7 years! – a third one can be started just as seamlessly. Afghans die, Iraqis die, Persians will die. Yet all you hear about are the US’s difficulties in maintaining their wars. Nice touch.

 

GOLDHOARDER

3:42 PM ET

July 6, 2010

Lol... Are you kidding me?

Lol... Are you kidding me? They couldn't care less. People who wield this type of power do not concern themselves with the little people. As Kissinger told Haig... "military men are dumb, stupid animals to be used as paws for foreign policy". If that lowife without the limbs were anybody important he would be in DC.... Toasting the latest round of military contracts rather than hobbling around some VA hospital

 

NUR AL-CUBICLE

4:33 PM ET

July 6, 2010

No remorse

Condi's more worried about her boot size than any wounded vet.

 

EXTERNAL

1:29 AM ET

July 7, 2010

Warmongers

It is the folly of thinking that they can bomb their way out of trouble.
May be this would make them think twice about Iran but Nah ! they don't give a penny because they ( including their loved ones) won't suffer. Look at that poodle Blair - he said that he would do it again -yep may be he should send his owns sons.

 

NOFFAR

2:01 PM ET

July 7, 2010

Iraq war debate never took place

What is amazing in the whole story of the Iraq war is that us(the "I told you so" crowd) have never been recognized. Not even among our friends and family. The Iraq adventure simply seems to be classified in the archive of people's memory, as some kind of "mistake". And everybody makes mistakes we were told. When I bring up the conditions under which the war was decided, I almost sound foolish and outdated.
It's very frustrating.
Most of my relatives are "Liberals". Subconsciously, they all seem to feel that the election of Obama, somehow brought some kind of justice, and absolved them from not being as outraged as they should've been back then.

 

BLUE13326

4:16 PM ET

July 7, 2010

Is there any place in the

Is there any place in the world more sheltered than academia?

 

PETER N W

4:49 PM ET

July 7, 2010

Your worst post ever.

Really? You're going to take advantage of one soldier's injuries so you can attempt to publicly shame 8 individuals associated with the Second Gulf War?

Why don't we turn this around for a second?

Do you have any regrets in your life? Do you have any secret shames you would like to present to your readers? Does anything keep you awake at night? Ever have a change of opinion? Ever turn the page and not reflect on the consequences of some of your actions?

Keep your arrogant and self-righteous indignation to yourself please. YES WE ALL KNOW YOU CAME OUT AGAINST THE WAR WELL BEFORE IT STARTED.

You, sir, are a coward. Allow to me quote just one sentence from your post: "And we went to war because experts who craved influence in Washington or future careers in government wanted to show how tough and resolute they were."

How about you show the courage of your convictions and publicly name 3 of these experts who craved future careers in government and wanted to show how tough they were? And then explain their role in the war. You had no trouble calling out 8 of our top leaders so this shouldn't be too much of a stretch for someone so courageous.

 

AR

7:57 PM ET

July 8, 2010

how about you stop swinging

how about you stop swinging on the nuts of neo con scumbags.

 

JSDKFW

2:05 PM ET

July 14, 2010

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PROSCH

10:41 AM ET

July 16, 2010

Gooood

Thank you for share.

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Stephen M. Walt is the Robert and Renée Belfer professor of international relations at Harvard University.

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