Today’s Downsizer-Dispatch . . .
A man named Bernie called my radio show last week. I had just completed explaining what I thought we should do in the Middle East and Iraq. Yet Bernie asked, “What would you do?”
Bernie told me how naive I was to believe war would never happen. But I never said or even hinted that I thought that. I tried to dispel his confusion.
But Bernie wasn’t finished . . .
* He suggested the Iraq invasion was a proper response to 9-11.
* He insisted that Iraq’s WMDs had been moved to Iran or Syria. “We saw them on our satellites,” he said.
* He claimed the President already has the authority to attack Iran
And where did the President get this authority? Who wants Iran attacked? According to Bernie, God does.
That was too much for me. We only had 90 seconds left. Bernie hadn’t been very cooperative answering my questions. I had another caller waiting. I decided to drop Bernie. But I haven’t stopped thinking about him all week.
I hope Bernie will call today’s show, but much earlier so we have time to discuss his ideas more fully. Everyone is invited to call, 1-800-259-9231 or to email me at “call at DownsizeDC dot org.” But if Bernie calls, I’ll move him to the head of the line.
My show starts at 4 PM Eastern, 3 PM Central, 2 PM Mountain, and 1 PM Pacific. You can listen here.
Why do I want to address Bernie’s ideas in full this week? Because . . .
History matters. Even recent history. It matters because the past is the only guide we have to the future. And those who fail to learn the lessons of the past are doomed to fall for almost anything.
In fact, I’m disturbed that James Baker’s Iraq Study Group disparaged any approach that “dredged up the past.” Like blind men and women, they were only focused on what to do now. And they were proud of this! But just how is this supposed to work? How can we know how to avoid repeating the mistakes we’ve already made, without knowing what those mistakes were, how they happened, and what impact they will have on the people involved as they make new decisions?
The Truth About the Iraq War is a story filled with misinformation and disinformation. In fact, the full story is so much worse than most people can possibly imagine. And we must be fully aware of this “full story” before we trust President Bush to set new policy. Simply put, Bernie was completely wrong — wrong about everything. We will try to get at some of the truth on today’s program. I hope you can join me.
Jim Babka
President
DownsizeDC.org, Inc.