Mirage After Mirage After Mirage

[unhappycamper]

Mirage After Mirage After Mirage
By Robert Parry
August 30, 2005

The latest promised Iraqi oasis – a constitution that would herald peace and democracy – has turned out to be just the latest mirage in America’s bloody trek through the Iraqi desert. But George W. Bush is already pointing toward the next shimmering image and the Washington establishment agrees that the nation must press on.

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Since the invasion in March 2003, Bush and his backers have hailed one mirage of false hope after another, from the toppling of Saddam Hussein’s statue, to Bush’s “Mission Accomplished” speech, to the slaying of Hussein’s two sons, to Hussein’s capture, to the transfer of “sovereignty,” to last January’s elections – and finally to the proposed constitution.

However, these transient causes for celebration were overwhelmed by the harsh realities on the ground as the U.S. invasion and occupation aggravated Iraq’s ethnic tensions and a stubborn insurgency arose to challenge the Americans militarily.

Also, the war’s chief justification – supposed Iraqi weapons of mass destruction – turned out to be bogus as did allegations of Hussein’s collaboration with al-Qaeda. Then, the disclosure of sexual and other abuses of Iraqis at Abu Ghraib prison enflamed anti-Americanism worldwide.

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http://www.consortiumnews.com/2005/082905.html