Who Wants an Apology? Be Serious!

Who Wants an Apology? Be Serious!

Well, I originally wrote a slightly briefer version of the following as a Letter to the Editor on the Sunday prior to election day. It did not appear, nor was it acknowedged. Go figure! As I hate to waste a good rant, I offer the following:

The next time the Republicans demand an apology from the likes of John Kerry (for an implied insult stemming from a botched joke), as a Democrat I say we request a few apologies ourselves.

How about an apology from VP Cheney, who infamously demonstrated his own contempt for our military when he dismissed avoidance of service during the Vietnam War by noting he “had other priorities” (like student deferments for college) at the time? Perhaps Bush could apologize for using family connections to secure a safe posting in the Texas Air National Guard (whereas Kerry actually saw combat action in Vietnam; but hey, at least Bush finally made it to 'Nam this week)?

The Bush Administration should apologize for placing tens of thousands of American troops at great risk fighting in Iraq. Remember, this conflict was justified on the basis of flimsy evidence, and the administration in its arrogance planned so ineptly that fighting actually worsened after they prematurely declared victory many months ago!

And perhaps an apology to the Iraqi people for unleashing sectarian violence and turning their country into a battleground in the “war on terror” without their consent? As a recent study by researchers at the Johns Hopkins School of Public Health and Iraq’s Al Mustansiriya University (published in the peer-reviewed British medical journal The Lancet) has suggested, an estimated 654,965 more Iraqis have died since the US initiated hostilities in 2003 than would normally have been expected under pre-war conditions.

While we’re at it, might the Bush Administration yet see fit to apologize for burdening future generations with massive debt through big tax cuts for the wealthy combined with unrestrained government spending?

Finally, the Republican leadership could apologize for allowing a Republican-dominated Congress to so sully the institution through corruption and lax oversight and inattentiveness to domestic concerns that the American people, on November 7, finally got so disgusted that they literally threw the bums out!

There’s hope for democracy at home yet!

Peace!
Historian