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The Iraq War Is a Smashing Success by Michael Parenti

Iraq War soldiers and bombing

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by Michael Parenti
Featured Writer
Dandelion Salad
Michael Parenti Blog
www.michaelparenti.org
Sept. 21, 2011

A reader recently reported on my Facebook wall that President George Bush had admitted to singer Tony Bennett that the Iraq war had been a “mistake.” I beg to differ.

The Iraq war has not been a mistake. There was a miscalculation, it being assumed that the US invasion would be quick, easy and dearly welcomed by appreciative Iraqis. Instead the US has faced a bitter, destructive, protracted and costly conflict. There was a “mistake” in terms of operational expectations but Bush achieved what he intended and Obama is faithfully carrying on with the mission. The Bush-Cheney-Rumsfeld think tank, Project for a New American Century, had called for an invasion of Iraq over a year before 9/11. Iraq had to be taken out either with a quick easy war or a long tough one. In any case, the invasion and destruction of Iraq was not a “mistake.”

The US destroyed a country that had the audacity to retain control of its own oil supply, kept its entire economy under state control (rather than private corporate ownership), and did not invite the IMF or the giant transnational corporations in. Iraq charted an independent course under a dictator who originally had served the CIA, and had destroyed the left progressive democracy that existed in Iraq since the 1958 revolution. But Saddam then retained control of the country’s resources instead of throwing everything wide open to western investors.

Saddam also got out of line on oil quotas (wanting an equitable share of the international market). And he decided to drop the US dollar as the reserve currency and use the Euro instead. So he and his country have been correctly destroyed in keeping with the interests of the US-led global empire. Everything is now privatized, deregulated, devastated and poor–as with Yugoslavia and soon with Libya. Mission accomplished. Pace Tony. Read my book THE FACE OF IMPERIALISM if you ever find time.

Michael Parenti’s most recent books are The Culture Struggle (2006), Contrary Notions: The Michael Parenti Reader (2007), God and His Demons (2010), Democracy for the Few (9th ed. 2011), and The Face of Imperialism (2011). For further information about his work, visit his website: www.michaelparenti.org.

From the archives:

Noam Chomsky defends Ron Paul – Same position as the Pentagon

Man of Faith: Crusader Blair’s Vision: Eternal War: Iran and Syria Next? Parts 1 and 2 by Felicity Arbuthnot

“Dear USA: Your 9/11 is our 24/7″ by Felicity Arbuthnot

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10 thoughts on “The Iraq War Is a Smashing Success by Michael Parenti”

  1. Pingback: The Mainstream and the Margins: Noam Chomsky vs. Michael Parenti | Popaganda

  3. Pingback: Ch. 7: SAMs for Uncle Sam by William T. Hathaway « Dandelion Salad

  4. michael… Right On!
    when will the public ‘ wake up ‘ and realize that the 2 Party / Tea Party system is one of the great CON JOBS perpetrated on us?
    those who ‘ Own Us ‘ keep us happy with the DELUSION that ‘ Our vote counts ‘.
    Yes, it would if the majority of we who could vote would NEVER VOTE for any Republican, Democrat or Tea Bag and ‘ vote ‘ with our assembly in the town squares, halls of government etc and ‘ speak up and speak out ‘

  6. They’re a private, for profit, off-the-shelf, regime-change industry. They fight the wars (and/or pay others to fight), organise the occupation that follows, rebuild the ruined infrastructure that results from the wars, recruit new governments, and manage the post-war economy. So observed the American historian Theodore Roszak. I came across the quote in a 2007 article with a very similar title, The Iraq War is a Huge Success-The Economics of Creative Destruction, which provides the details behind the claim.

    With reference to two comments made above, of course wars are disasters and failures, but not if you’re part of the Military-Industrial-Congressional/Parliamentary Complex. As pointed out by Mr Parenti, what has occurred and is occurring is according to the plans and strategies drawn up by the PNAC – the US fighting multiple wars, establishing geostrategic dominance, and controlling global economy through the control of oil and heroin production. Former Canadian diplomat and Professor of English at UC Berkeley, Peter Dale Scott, has researched and written extensively about the ‘deep’ politics of oil and drugs (www.peterdalescott.net).

    So, rather than a mistake/failure/disaster, it’s business as usual.

    The question is, if you don’t like it or agree with it, what are you doing about it?

    Peace

  8. Sorry, I disagree, ALL wars are failures.

    All who express otherwise really need to read the wisdom of Ghandhi.

    There is no war that has brought peace and those that engage in war are failed individuals, failed nations.

    We humans need to think and not follow nations that with their greed they kill and devastate to aquire the world natural resources and few of such nations think of the mass numbers of people they kill without a moment of feeling shame.

    As Goethe wrote: RISE TO HIGHER SPHERES…
    Sincerely,
    Georgianne E. Matthews

  9. Michael Parenti was the best American political scientist in the last half of the 20th century, being blacklisted by American universities for being too honest and courageous. howeveer we all get old and even Homer nodded. The strutting incompetence of the Bush regime is just not emogh for Foreign policy success.

    The invasion was a disaster for the American ruling class. It drew Iraq into the orbit of Iran and may yet leave the USA without its oil when the troops are withdrawn. The devastation of the country and the killing of h

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