American Elections 2004...
Warning- the following post is an open letter of sorts to Americans
By Baghdad Burning
Blogger
27 October, 2004
Baghdad
Burning
So
elections are being held in America. Were watching curiously here.
Previously, Iraqis didnt really take a very active interest in
elections. We knew when they were being held and quite a few Iraqis
could give an opinion about either of the candidates. I think many of
us realized long ago that American foreign policy really had nothing
to do with this Democrat or that Republican.
It sometimes seems,
from this part of the world, that democracy in America revolves around
the presidential elections- not the major decisions. War and peace in
America are in the average Americans hands about as much as they
are in mine. Sure, you can vote for this man or that one, but in the
end, theres something bigger, more intricate and quite sinister
behind the decisions. Like in that board game Monopoly, you can choose
the game pieces- the little shoe, the car, the top hat
but you
cant choose the way the game is played. The faces change but the
intentions and the policy remain the same.
Many, many people
have asked me about the elections and what we think of them. Before,
I would have said that I really dont think much about it. Up until
four years ago, I always thought the American elections were a pretty
straightforward process: two white males up for the same position (face
it people- it really is only two- Nader doesnt count), people
voting and the person with more votes wins. After the debacle of four
years ago, where Bush Jr. was *assigned* president, things are looking
more complicated and a little bit more sordid.
I wouldnt
normally involve myself in debates or arguments about who should be
American president. All I know is that four years ago, we prayed it
wouldnt be Bush. It was like people could foresee the calamity
were living now and he embodied it. (Then, theres that little
issue of his being completely ridiculous
)
So now there are
three different candidates- Bush, Kerry and Nader. We can safely take
Nader out of the equation because, lets face it, he wont
win. We have a saying in Iraq, Lo tetlaa nakhla ib rasseh
(if a palm tree grows out of his head) he wont win. The real contest
is between Bush and Kerry. Nader is a distraction that is only taking
votes away from Kerry.
Who am I hoping
will win? Definitely Kerry. Theres no question about it. I want
Bush out of the White House at all costs. (And yes- who is *in* the
White House *is* my business- Americans, you made it my business when
you occupied my country last year) Im too realistic to expect
drastic change or anything phenomenal, but I dont want Bush reelected
because his reelection (or shall I call it his reassignment)
will condone the wars on Afghanistan and Iraq. It will say that this
catastrophe in Iraq was worth its price in American and Iraqi lives.
His reassignment to the White House will sanction all the bloodshed
and terror weve been living for the last year and a half.
Ive heard
all the arguments. His supporters are a lot like him- theyll admit
no mistakes. Theyll admit no deceit, no idiocy, no manipulation,
no squandering. Its useless. Republicans who *dont* support
him, but feel obliged to vote for him, write long, apologetic emails
that are meant, I assume, to salve their own conscience. They write
telling me that he should be reelected because he is the
only man for the job at this point. True, he made some mistakes and
he told a few fibs, they tell me- but he really means well and he intends
to fix things and, above all, he has a plan.
Let me assure you
Americans- he has NO PLAN. There is no plan for the mess were
living in- unless he is cunningly using the Chaos Theory as a basis
for his Iraq plan. Things in Iraq are a mess and there is the sense
that the people in Washington dont know what theyre doing,
and their puppets in Iraq know even less. The name of the game now in
Iraq is naked aggression- it hasnt been about hearts and minds
since complete areas began to revolt. His Iraq plan may be summarized
with the Iraqi colloquial saying, Aathreh ib dafra,
which can be roughly translated to a stumble and a kick.
In other words, what will happen, will happen and hopefully- with a
stumble and a kick- things will move in the right direction.
So is Kerry going
to be much better? I dont know. I dont know if hes
going to fix things or if hes going to pull out the troops, or
bring more in. I have my doubts about how he will handle the current
catastrophe in Iraq. I do know this: nothing can be worse than Bush.
No one can be worse than Bush. It will hardly be fair to any president
after Bush in any case- it's like assigning a new captain to a drowning
ship. All I know is that Bush made the hole and let the water in, I
want him thrown overboard.
Someone once wrote
to me, after a blog barrage against Bush, that I should tone down my
insults against the president because I would lose readers who actually
supported him. I lost those readers the moment I spoke out against the
war and occupation because that is what Bush is all about. Hes
not about securing America or Iraq or the region- hes
about covering up just how inadequate he is as a person and as a leader
with war, nonexistent WMD, fabled terrorists and bogeymen.
I guess what Im
trying to say is this: Americans, the name of your country which once
stood for freedom and justice is tarnished worldwide. Your
latest president has proved that the great American image of democracy
is just that- an image. You can protest, you can demonstrate, you can
vote- but it ends there. The reigns were out of your hands the moment
Bush stepped into the White House. You were deceived repetitively and
duped into two wars. Your sons and daughters are dying, and killing,
in foreign lands. Your embassies are in danger all over the world. America
has become synonymous with empire, hegemony,
and warfare. And why? All because you needed to be diverted
away from the fact that your current president is a failure.
Some people associate
the decision to go to war as a strength. How strong do you
need to be to commit thousands of your countrymen and women to death
on foreign soil? Especially while you and your loved ones sit safely
watching at home. How strong do you need to be to give orders to bomb
cities to rubble and use the most advanced military technology available
against a country with a weak army and crumbling infrastructure? You
dont need to be strong- you need to be mad.
Americans- can things
be worse for you? Can things be worse for us in Iraq? Of course they
can
only imagine- four more years of Bush.