Blame Level at Green -- Zone That Is!

It is always interesting to see where the blame for disastrous wars gets placed. It is rare for the actual villains to be held accountable -- instead the net spreads out for scapegoats. I've noticed a distinct shade of green coloring the blame game regarding the current disaster of the war in Iraq. Any rationale person assigning blame for the nightmarish mess in Iraq would begin at the top (Bush) and work down: Cheney, Rumsfeld, Powell, Rice, Wolfowitz, etc., then the Congress members who voted for it and continue funding it, then the compliant press, etc. Instead the blame is being put on guess who--the Iraqis! Remember those ungrateful Iraqis who just didn't appreciate the "foreigner' s gift?" It seems that the main problem is the Iraqi government (you know the one that has real sovereignty and full control of its armed forces!). This morning NPR joined in this latest spin. Renee Montagne introduces Anne Garrels reporting from Baghdad by saying that "American commanders are speaking openly about their frustrations with what they see as the Iraqi government's failure to back up these [US military] efforts." Garrels ends up being the mouthpiece for the opinions of "a senior US military officer." She quotes him as saying, "some militias seem to have links with Iraqi government officials and ministries especially the ministry of interior...." and that "in the end...it is up to the Iraqi government and security forces to take action."

How convenient to blame the Iraqi Government that exists only in the Green Zone and has no real armed forces at its disposal. How helpful not to blame the lies and arrogance of Bush and Co., nor the Bush/Rumsfeld ordered destruction of Fallujah, nor the US military's 1991 attacks on Iraq's infrastructure, nor on the meat-fisted pushing through of the Iraqi Constitution for Bush's political advantages, nor on the devastation of the sanctions over the decade of the 90's.

Juan Cole had an excellent post (9/20/06) exposing the ludicrousness of blaming Maliki or the Iraqi Government. Be sure to see his link to this Iraq Study Group.