Council On Foreign Relations Also Sick of Iraq Occupation
To a certain crowd, the Council on Foreign Relations is part of the all-powerful Illuminati/Trilateral Commission/Bohemian Grove/Bilderberg/Skull & Bones conspiracy that runs the Western World. And while that's all true, we shouldn't overestimate the power of these secret societies. In other words, Bush & Cheney don't listen to the CFR, either.
Today, the Council on Foreign Relations issued a grim report that very clearly describes the Iraq occupation as an unmitigated disaster with no possible hope of "military victory." While this is obvious to sane people around the world and was already said by the Iraq Study Group, the House and Senate, all the generals Cheney has fired and even the White House's own "Iraq Intelligence Estimate," the CFR has unique knowledge ... from the future. Read tomorrow's news today, after the jump.
Here are some fun highlights from the report:
* "The United States cannot determine political outcomes or achieve its remaining political aims via military means."
* "Leaving U.S. forces in Iraq under today's circumstances means the United States is culpable but not capable -- that is, Washington bears substantial responsibility for developments within Iraq without the ability to shape those developments in a positive direction."
* "The ongoing war has empowered and advanced the interests of the chief U.S. rival in the region, Iran."
* "By siphoning resources and political attention away from Afghanistan, a continuing military commitment to Iraq may lead to two U.S. losses in southwest Asia."
* "The Iraq war constrains the U.S. military, making it very difficult if not impossible to handle another significant contingency involving ground forces."
* "The implosion of domestic support for the war will compel the disengagement of U.S. forces; it is now just a matter of time."
Well, that's cheery.
So what about these time machines the CFR borrowed from the Illuminati? That prognosis is equally glum:
"The United States should ... make clear now to the Iraqi government that, as the results of the anticipated surge become apparent, the two sides will begin to negotiate a U.S. military disengagement from Iraq."
So, the "surge" will fail miserably, as the CFR time travelers have already seen, and then we negotiate our withdrawal with whoever runs the Green Zone later this year.
What about the goals of this administration? Meaning, how morally indefensible are Cheney's dark dreams?
"The bleak truth remains that the United States is incapable of restoring Iraq even to the relative stability of the Ba'athist era....The even bleaker truth is that continued U.S. military operations on Iraqi territory might well leave Iraqis even worse off. In that light, for the U.S. government to sacrifice the lives of its soldiers in the pursuit of an unattainable objective (a stable, pluralistic Iraq aligned with U.S. interests), or an inappropriate one (reputation for toughness and reliability) would be the least morally defensible course that Washington could take."
Luckily, the 100,000 or somilitary contractors and hired mercenaries will be able to control the massive new U.S. Embassy and the oil fields, which was the whole point from the beginning.