Nov 11, 2003 3 min read

“Pride goeth before destruction, and a haughty spirit before a fall.” – Proverbs 16:18 As the casualties continue to chill enthusiasm for the war in Iraq, Bush’s summer braggadocio deserves to come back to haunt him. There’s a fine line between confidence and arrogance, and this administration obliterated it long ago.

What makes Bush’s smug arrogance so difficult to stomach is that this administration refused to listen to those who were trying to tell it that defeating a tin-pot dictator with a third-rate army was the easy part of the mission. This administration refused to heed those who said that dealing with the fallout of the post-Saddam era would be much more complicated, dangerous and expensive than winning the war. This administration questioned the patriotism of those who had the audacity to challenge its arguments for going to war. The counterinsurgents who responded to Bush’s bring-’em-on challenge might be Saddam loyalists, foreign jihadists or some combination of the two. If the Bush administration and the American people stand firm, the U.S. forces in Iraq eventually will defeat them.

But that still leaves Iraq’s massive religious, social and political problems. The United States still must form a stable government that is legitimate in the eyes of the Iraqis while overcoming the social, ethnic and religious differences and jealousies of the Sunnis, Shiites and Christians, and the Arabs, Kurds and Chaldeans.

While this enormous task is taking place, American casualties will continue to mount.

Sure, administration officials say they are committed to fulfilling the mission of rebuilding Iraq. But if the American people have learned nothing else in the last year or so, it is that for Bush administration officials, words are meaningless. They’re very adept at saying one thing and doing another, at manipulating words and patriotic symbols to suit their political and ideological needs at the moment. The duty of the American people is to make sure that when it comes to Iraq, this administration does what it says. That also includes learning to disregard this administration’s patriotic demagoguery. No doubt this administration is looking for a way to declare victory and get out. It must not be allowed to do so.

This administration sought out this war. This administration wanted this war. This administration deliberately and knowingly conflated the war against terrorism and its effort to oust Iraqi dictator Saddam Hussein.

The Vietnam-era chicken hawks in this administration have this war’s blood on their hands. They must not be allowed to pull a Pontius Pilate and wash their hands of the carnage. This war is their responsibility from start to finish. Don’t let them off the hook.