Five years ago today, Vice President Richard B. "Dick" Cheney was a guest on Meet the Press with Tim Russert. It was 3 days before OPERATION IRAQI FREEDOM began, a mere 24 hours before President George W. Bush adressed the nation and gave Saddam Hussein a 48 hour ultimatum to leave the country.
Here's what Dick Cheney said on Meet the Press, March 16, 2003:
Vice President Cheney: "Now, I think things have gotten so bad inside Iraq, from the standpoint of the Iraqi people, my belief is we will, in fact, be greeted as liberators. And the president's made it very clear that our purpose there is, if we are forced to do this, will in fact be to stand up a government that's representative of the Iraqi people, hopefully democratic due respect for human rights, and it, obviously, involves a major commitment by the United States, but we think it's a commitment worth making. And we don't have the option anymore of simply laying back and hoping that events in Iraq will not constitute a threat to the U.S. Clearly, 12 years after the Gulf War, we're back in a situation where he does constitute a threat.
Mr. Russert: "If your analysis is not correct, and we're not treated as liberators, but as conquerors, and the Iraqis begin to resist, particularly in Baghdad, do you think the American people are prepared for a long, costly, and bloody battle with significant American casualties?"
Vice President Cheney: "Well, I don't think it's likely to unfold that way, Tim, because I really do believe that we will be greeted as liberators. I've talked with a lot of Iraqis in the last several months myself, had them to the White House. The president and I have met with them, various groups and individuals, people who have devoted their lives from the outside to trying to change things inside Iraq. And like Kanan Makiya who's a professor at Brandeis, but an Iraqi, he's written great books about the subject, knows the country intimately, and is a part of the democratic opposition and resistance. The read we get on the people of Iraq is there is no question but what they want to the get rid of Saddam Hussein and they will welcome as liberators the United States when we come to do that. "
Well. I think we all know how that prediction has worked out. Or do we? The Washington Post reported Wednesday that only 28% of people surveyed could correctly answer the question of how many Americans have been killed in OPERATION IRAQI FREEDOM. Less than 3 out of every 10 Americans know that the American death toll in the Iraq conflict is just shy of 4,000.
It used to be that the war was a backdrop on the nightly news, a casual 30 second mention of "3 soldiers killed" or "28 Iraqis killed in a bombing at a market". We hardly hear that anymore. I'm guessing most people couldn't tell you how many soldiers/sailors/airmen/Marines were killed in Iraq in February, let alone how many were lost in Afghanistan. For as little as we hear about Iraq, we hear even less about Afghanistan.
This weekend in Washington, DC, two competing veterans groups are marking the anniversary of Dick Cheney's famous - make that infamous - statement of March 16, 2003. One the one hand, you have Iraq Veterans Against the War, who are hosting the "Winter Soldier: Iraq and Afghanistan Eyewitness Accounts of the Occupations" symposiums. Here's a link to the Washington Post story from yesterday. On the other hand, you have Eagles UP! The money quote from today's Washington Post about this group:
"We're here to protest IVAW," the Iraq Veterans Against the War organization that sponsored Friday's event, David Russo, 47, of New York said in an interview. "We believe what all of them are saying is lies."
Russo, who has not served in the military, added that he and others recently held a rally in Times Square to show support for the military recruiters. "We brought them lunch, cake, ice cream and coffee," he said, adding that people in the station "loved us."
So that's where we are 5 years after Dick's appearance on Meet the Press. On one side you have actual living, breathing war veterans talking about their experiences, and on the other, you have actual living, breathing chickenhawks calling them liars. [Hey, Davey, here's an idea: next time you bring cakes and cookies to the recruiters, why don't you man up and enlist?]
In all fairness to Dick Cheney, the good news is that the Iraqi's are greeting some people as liberators: our enemies. Mission Accomplished!!
2 comments:
At 47, me thinks Davey is about 5 years too long in the tooth to sign up even with our Army (as hard up for recruits as it is right now)...
... then again, given his display of patriotism, he's certainly got the "smarts" to fit right in with an Army that takes more and more non-High School Degree holders.
Of course, maybe one of America's fine mercenary corporations (like the shoot 'em up boys from Moyock) will find use for his skills. You know, nothing like facing off unarmed civilians driving thru a traffic circle to get your blood going! (Then again, so does driving in our own "Emerald City".)
SP
I'd be willing to be that if he's straight, relatively healthy and finishes in the top 50% of ASVAB takers, the Army might consider him.
Seriously though, what kind of man spends his days bringing cakes and cookies to the nearest recruiting station? I guess I could see someone who actually had some military experience wanting to hang with recruiters.
On second thought, maybe we're all better off with Davey baking lady fingers for the troops instead of actually being one.
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