GOP Rep deplores the taboo on discussing our lack of success in Iraq and Afghanistan. He has a laundry list of things to discuss.

He says: Opium production exploding under Karzai Administration, Christians safer under Saddam, ill-advised nation-building creating more enemies, we’re hypocrites, and more …

Below are snips from a remarkable speech by a GOP Representative. He lambasts the neocons for their willingness to use war to affect the policies of the USA, and accuses the USA of not learning the lessons of history.

When I think back on the buildup to the Iraq War (which I supported at the time under the false belief that Saddam had WMDs and was actively supporting Al Quida), I do not recall a great deal of public discussion of the implications of a nation-destruction-rebuilding adventure. Some of such discussion occurred, but the media did not emphasize it.

At the time the Iraq War started, Bush and his powerful media friends had brainwashed us with lies and propaganda into believing that Saddam represented an imminent threat. We were frenzied, and intolerant of much debate. We were emotional, not logical. It felt good to wave the war flag. It did not feel good to discuss the very deep implications of invading Iraq.

But the very sad truth seems to be that Saddam was not an imminent threat. Saddam hated us, but he probably hated Iran more. “The enemy of my enemy is my friend”, and we destroyed our “friend” under some false beliefs about the threat he posed to us.

I was wondering this week how the American low income worker has fared under the strain of an about 50% increase in gas prices that seems to have resulted from the Iraq war. The well-off do not feel the effects of the Iraq war as much as the less fortunate.

Are Bush and his powerful media friends proud of themselves? When they sit back and reflect in their quiet moments, do they truly believe they have used their power wisely as regards Iraq? I wonder if their denial system is strong enough to prevent self-doubt. I wonder if Bush and Limbaugh and Hannity and Coulter and Ingraham, and those who run FoxNews, permit themselves any self-doubt. If I were them, I might tend to develop a denial system so powerful that I would be unable to acknowledge the enormity of my blunder.

A remarkable speech:

From House.gov - speech by Rep. Ron Paul (R. Tx)

[…]

The sad fact is that even under the despicable rule of Saddam Hussein, Christians were safer in Iraq than they are today. Saddam Hussein’s foreign minister was a practicing Christian. Today thousands of Christians have fled Iraq following our occupation, to countries like Jordan and Syria. Those Christians who have remained in Iraq fear for their lives every day. That should tell us something about the shortcomings of a policy that presumes to make the world safe for democracy.

The Muslim world is not fooled by our talk about spreading democracy and values. The evidence is too overwhelming that we do not hesitate to support dictators and install puppet governments when it serves our interests…This hypocrisy is rarely recognized by the American people. It’s much more comfortable to believe in slogans, to believe that we’re defending our goodness and spreading true liberty. We accept this and believe strongly in the cause, strongly enough to sacrifice many of our sons and daughters, and stupendous amounts of money, to spread our ideals through force.

Pointing out the lack of success is taboo. It seems of little concern to many members of Congress that we lack both the moral right and constitutional authority to impose our will on other nations.

The toughest task is analyzing what we do from their perspective. We should try harder to place ourselves in the shoes of those who live in the Arab countries where our efforts currently are concentrated. We are outraged by a Muslim country that would even consider the death penalty for a Christian convert. But many Muslims see all that we do as a reflection of western Christianity, which to them includes Europe and America. They see everything in terms of religion.

When our bombs and sanctions kill hundreds of thousands of their citizens, they see it as an attack on their religion by Christians. To them our actions represent a crusade to change their culture and their political systems. They do not see us as having noble intentions.