There are probably some grounded, half-way reasonable arguments against withdrawing U.S. troops from Iraq, but the fact that the White House keeps relying on sheer nonsense suggests the Bush gang can’t think of any, either.
Consider Dick Cheney’s remarks on Sean Hannity’s radio show yesterday.
HANNITY: If we pull out too early, what do you believe the consequences would be? […]
CHENEY: For us to walk away from Iraq I think would have at least that bad an effect, probably worse, because if al Qaeda were to take over big parts of Iraq, among other things, they would acquire control of a significant oil resource. Iraq has almost 100 billion barrel reserves, producing 2.5-3 million barrels of oil a day. If you take a terrorist organization like al Qaeda and give it that kind of revenue, there’s no telling the amount of trouble they could get into.
It’s hard to overstate how ridiculously far-fetched this is.
What’s especially striking about this is that the president, about three weeks ago, emphasized the same point. Bush insisted that if we withdraw, there will be chaos in Iraq, which would lead al Qaeda to acquire Iraq’s oil. At that point, the president said, the terrorist network “could pursue its ambitions to acquire weapons of mass destruction and to attack America and other free nations.”
How groundless is the argument? Asked to explain how this is even possible, the White House came up empty.
After Bush’s comments, a White House reporter asked Dana Perino a critically important question: “I don’t understand how a fragmented, clandestine, non-Iraqi terrorist organization could produce and sell Iraqi oil on the global market, especially when the majority of Iraqis have turned against al Qaeda. Could you describe a plausible scenario?”
PERINO: The purpose of what the President said is that al Qaeda should not be allowed to have safe haven in Iraq and take over —
Q: How can they take over Iraq’s oil reserves —
PERINO: Well, if we were to leave we would certainly ensue chaos and not be able to — if we were to leave too soon, it would certainly be chaos and it would be terrible for not only the innocent Iraqis, but the entire region and, in fact, our own national security. That’s what the President —
Q: But the Iraqis would let a foreign terrorist organization take over their oil?
PERINO: You’re missing the point.
Actually, “the point” is the White House is so desperate to scare people, it’s getting sloppy with its dumb arguments.
Iraq has a Shi’ite majority. Maliki, Sadr, the Badr Corps, and Iran are not going to let a small, disjointed group of Sunni extremists take Iraq’s oil and sell it on the global marketplace. That’s just silly. For that matter, as Amanda noted, most of Iraq’s oil is in the South, with strong Shi’ite strongholds, where the people have no use for al Qaeda.
It fascinates me that even now, as the war begins its sixth year, the White House is still struggling to come up with arguments that make sense and can withstand even cursory scrutiny. It fascinates me further that Dick Cheney, weeks after the White House couldn’t defend Bush’s bogus claim, believes he should repeat the same debunked argument.
Only 283 days to go.