A Greater Struggle

"Now understand me well, it is provided in the essence of things, that from any fruition of success no matter what, shall come forth something to make a greater struggle necessary."--Walt Whitman

I was thinking of these lines when I saw George Bush declaring victory in Iraq almost four years ago. The modest fruition of success that Bush enjoyed while strutting under the Mission Accomplished banner on his aircraft carrier has certainly been followed by a greater struggle.

I don't believe that George Bush is an evil man or even a calculating one. It's obvious that he didn't do his calculations before launching us into this war that has been such a tragedy for both Iraq and America. I'm sure that he had noble intentions, but you don't go to war for noble causes, you go to war because it's necessary.

And this war wasn't necessary. It was entirely capricious. We could have removed Saddam with a couple of good marksmen. There were no weapons of mass destruction, and if we didn't know that after overflying the country daily for a decade and having satellites trained on them twenty-four hours a day, the concept of 'intelligence' becomes oxymoronic. Any amateur historian or military game player could have predicted what was going to happen in Iraq. I predicted it before we invaded. Are these people stupid or just intoxicated by power and greed?

No, this is starting to look more and more like Dick Cheney's war. The only sensible motive for such ham-handed tactics on the world stage is money. For certain sectors of our economy this war (and its associated mythological one, the 'war on terra') is a bonanza. Halliburton can reap billions on non-competitive contracts. Security companies and other mercenaries can get rich and kick some ass at the same time. The defense contractors just love it every time our soldiers launch a hundred thousand dollar piece of ordnance. The oil companies are tickled with the prospect of harvesting the bounty of conquered lands. War is high cotton for some people. But not for the grunts on the ground who come home without a leg or an arm. Oh yes, a greater struggle was necessary.