Yeah, that’s a tad provocative for a title, but while General Odom doesn’t use those specific words, his take on the results of what Bush has and is doing (or not doing) makes this a valid question: Is Bush’s conduct of the war gone beyond mere incompetence to materially helping our enemies?

Bush Has Gone AWOL

In principle, I do not favor Congressional involvement in the execution of U.S. foreign and military policy. I have seen its perverse effects in many cases. The conflict in Iraq is different. Over the past couple of years, the President has let it proceed on automatic pilot, making no corrections in the face of accumulating evidence that his strategy is failing and cannot be rescued.

Thus, he lets the United States fly further and further into trouble, squandering its influence, money, and blood, facilitating the gains of our enemies. The Congress is the only mechanism we have to fill this vacuum in command judgment.

To put this in a simple army metaphor, the Commander-in-Chief seems to have gone AWOL, that is ‘absent without leave.’ He neither acts nor talks as though he is in charge. Rather, he engages in tit-for-tat games.

The war could never have served American interests.

But it has served Iran’s interest by revenging Saddam Hussein’s invasion of Iran in the 1980s and enhancing Iran’s influence within Iraq. It has also served al Qaeda’s interests, providing a much better training ground than did Afghanistan, allowing it to build its ranks far above the levels and competence that otherwise would have been possible.

We cannot ‘win’ a war that serves our enemies interests and not our own. Thus continuing to pursue the illusion of victory in Iraq makes no sense. We can now see that it never did.

A wise commander in this situation normally revises his objectives and changes his strategy, not just marginally, but radically. Nothing less today will limit the death and destruction that the invasion of Iraq has unleashed.

No effective new strategy can be devised for the United States until it begins withdrawing its forces from Iraq.

I know this will lead to attacks on Odom, but for once, how about sticking to debating the message instead of the messenger?



  1. venom monger says:

    Bush is…
    Did I miss anything?

    Yeah. Your mouth is the same shape and size as his dick.

    Coincidence?

  2. Greg Allen says:

    #26 Pmitchell This is not personal. It is an observation based on fact. After reading what you’re posting, calling you ignorant is redundant.

    What’s really freaky is that Pmitchell seems perfectly in-step with those that surround Bush. There are people telling Bush that it would be “easy” to attack Iran.

    Attacking Iraq is “easy” compared to Iran. Saddam had been de-fanged and contained for a decade before we attacked. Iraq is also considerably smaller than Iran.

    What is especially unnerving about the neo-con push to attack Iran is that we really have no idea how Iran will strike back. But you can be sure they will.

    If I was Iran, I’d set off a huge dirty bomb right on the edge of the Green Zone and then blame it on the Sunni insurgents. Another possibility is to take out the Saudi oil fields and blame in on Al Qaeda — sending the US economy into a tail spin.

  3. MikeN says:

    When I saw the title, I thought it would be a post about immigration. Instead we have another silly post about Iraq where success isnot an option.

  4. MikeN says:

    At least this AWOL article was written using technology available at the time.

  5. Roc Rizzo says:

    Bushco, Inc. is in fact a traitorous corporation.
    They have been running a protection racket against the American People, since they were appointed by the Supreme Court.

    They have run this country into the ground, and should suffer the consequences.

  6. Sounds the Alarm says:

    Hey – this is really off target, but do you realize that Wolfawitz had to pay his girl friend for a blow job? I mean what else could a 100% raise for an incompetent functionary be for?

  7. Mike says:

    Ha, the power of war and peace rests with the Congress, and even I agree that it’s time for that power to be taken back.


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