Stupid Wars

Published in Neues Deutschland
(Germany) on 14 August 2014
by Olaf Standke (link to originallink to original)
Translated from by Ron Argentati. Edited by Gillian Palmer.
Now, we're up to 1,000 U.S. soldiers that Obama has sent to Iraq. The latest contingent departed also bearing the label “military advisors.” The White House uses every opportunity to assure the world that it has absolutely no intention of putting “boots on the ground” in Iraq. In 2002, Obama, who was senator at the time, announced, “I don't oppose all wars.” Later, in that same speech, he added, “What I am opposed to is a dumb war. What I am opposed to is a rash war.” That was Sen. Obama's comment in opposition to the Bush administration's intention to invade Iraq.

Then, as commander-in-chief of the armed forces, he began withdrawing troops from Mesopotamia — but he neglected to push for a much more robust postwar plan for Iraq that would include all ethnic groups in the political process. Now, the next “stupid war” threatens because the air attacks on Islamists on the Kurdish front — heavily armed and logistically supported by U.S. allies — are having little effect because political pressure by Republicans in a congressional election year is growing for the United States to demonstrate its leadership, and because Washington has missed the opportunity again to provide important and necessary civilian assistance to those fighting the Islamic state forces


Dumme Kriege
Von Olaf Standke
14.08.2014

Nun sind es schon 1000 US-amerikanische Soldaten, die Präsident Barak Obama nach Irak geschickt hat. Auch die jüngste Entsendung läuft unter der Überschrift: Militärberater. Das Weiße Haus nutzt jede Gelegenheit, um zu betonen, dass man auf keinen Fall an Bodentruppen denke. »Ich lehne nicht alle Kriege ab. Was ich ablehne, ist ein dummer Krieg. Was ich ablehne, ist ein unüberlegter Krieg.« So sprach der Abgeordnete Obama 2002 auf einer Kundgebung gegen den drohenden Irak-Feldzug der Bush-Regierung.

Obama hat dann auch als Oberkommandierender die US-Truppen aus dem Zweistromland zurückgeholt - es aber versäumt, viel früher und viel stärker auf eine friedliche Nachkriegsordnung in Irak zu drängen, die alle Bevölkerungsgruppen in den politischen Prozess einbezieht. Nun wächst die Gefahr eines nächsten dummen Krieges - weil die Luftangriffe an der kurdischen Front gegen Islamisten, die von US-Partnern in der Region unbehelligt hochgerüstet und logistisch unterstützt werden, bislang wirkungslos blieben; weil der Druck der Republikaner im Jahr der Kongresswahlen daheim wächst, mit Hilfe des Pentagons endlich wieder amerikanische Führungsstärke zu demonstrieren; und weil man es in Washington erneut versäumt, alle Möglichkeiten dringend notwendiger ziviler Hilfe für die Kämpfer gegen den Islamischen Staat auszuschöpfen.
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