Michael Moore is a peacenik?
Michael Moore, whose books and movies I often enjoy, has inexplicably endorsed Wesley Clark, saying, “That’s right, a peacenik is voting for a general. What a country!.”
Tell me Michael, why do you consider yourself a peacenik? Wesley Clark cheerfully invaded and bombed Yugoslavia when even the Pentagon thought it was a terrible idea. While there, by some accounts, he blundered so badly he almost started World War III with the Russians. He wants us to stay in Iraq, and that means more dead US troops. Like Clark, Michael Moore says the invasion of Iraq was bad, horrible and nasty, yet he supports continued occupation by the US or UN. Most illogical.
Does Clark plan to withdraw the 110,000 US troops already in Iraq? Not bloody likely, given what he says on his campaign website. In fact, he says he might even send MORE troops. That means more war, not less.
Howard Dean’s stance is similar. Bring in the UN. His web page on Iraq has no mention about when US troops will be withdrawn. (The page can not be directly linked to. Click On The Issues/Security & Foreign Policy/Iraq Truth Center/Governor Dean’s Plan for Reconstruction).
Neither Clark nor Dean have made any statement about when the troops will come home from Iraq. Keeping US troops there, even under the guise of a UN-led force, will only increase the resistance, drive moderates to those not friendly to us, and further blacken our already mostly ruined reputation in the Middle East.
An occupation by the United Nations would still be an occupation. The US has Security Council veto over any such plan, so a UN occupation could and would be controlled by the US. And consider this; the UN blockade of Iraq resulted in the deaths of 500,000 Iraqi children, so doubtless Iraqis see an UN occupation as just more death and destruction.
Plus, of course, our troops would still be there and would still be getting killed. You can’t pretend to be a peacenik and then support continued US/UN occupation of Iraq. Because, if you do, then you are saying war is peace.