In Memorium: Iraq?

This past week, we witnessed the contrasting departures of President Ford and Saddam Hussein. The former's memorial service was marked by a subtle irony due to the prominence therein of several architects of the Iraq invasion, which we are now told Ford opposed. On the other hand, Saddam's final moments were marked by raucous taunts to which he was subjected, as he stood with a noose around his neck, waiting for the trap door to open. Screaming at him were masked members of the Shiite militias he had subdued during his reign. As described in The New York Times, December 31, Saddam had been roused at 5 a.m. by his American keepers and handed over to Iraqis at 5:30 a.m. He was taken to a judge's room where he was read the guilty verdict. He then exclaimed, "Long live the nation! Long live the people! Long live the Palestinians!" He died at 6:10 a.m. Thus, until the end, he was loyal to the Palestinian cause which had been his undoing. As reported by Reuters, November 25, 2006, Israeli Prime Minister Olmert recently admitted (11/22/06) that the Iraq war has been a boon for Israel's security. Indeed, this is why the Neoconservative Zionists (N.Z.s), assisted by the Israel Lobby, concocted the Iraq invasion to begin with. (See blog entries "Why Iraq? Parts 1-7, " January 15-21, 2006.) Now, of course, the Israel Lobby pretends it never wanted war with Iraq. (See blog entry "The Great Debate Part 2" October 18, 2006.) Furthermore, the N.Z.s are now claiming that Iraq would be a peaceful united democracy if others had not botched it up. Nonsense! It was the N.Z.s themselves who insisted that only a small force was needed, that Americans would be welcomed, and that Iraq oil would pay for it. The truth is that: first, if the N.Z.s had told us how much the war would cost in blood and treasure, America never would have undertaken it. Second, the N.Z.s never wanted a peaceful united Iraq. (See blog entry "Civil War Advocates" April 15, 2006.) As described in "Neo-conned Again" (p. 84-85), Oded Yinon, an Israeli who had been attached to Israel's Foreign Ministry, wrote in "Kivunin" (Directions), the periodical of the World Zionist Organization, a February 1982 article "A Strategy for Israel in the 1980s." Yinon pointed out that Iraq was Israel's greatest threat and advocated breaking Iraq up into three or more provinces along religious/ethnic lines. Instability and civil wars within Israel's enemies have long been in Israel's interest, especially when the blame can be placed on the victims. Saddam's final moments show that this goal has come true, and this is why some N.Z.s, in the spirit of "Mission Accomplished," are advocating American withdrawal. Thomas Friedman wrote in yesterday's New York Times. "As Saddam's hanging underscored, Iraqis are doing things their way. So maybe it's time to get out of their way."