Dear Mr. Buckley,

Writing in February 2006, you, Mr. William Buckley Jr., the National Review's Editor at Large and diehard conservative icon admitted that the U.S. mission in Iraq had failed, and he gave the following reason for the disaster:

"Our mission has failed because Iraqi animosities have proved uncontainable by an invading army of 130,000 Americans ... they have not been able to contend against the ice men who move about in the shadows with bombs and grenades and pistols RealVideo."

No Mr. Buckley, no. You are muddying the waters.

Since your chant has now been taken up by many conmen, Neocons and Repubs, we must set the record straight.

Mr. Buckley, your great country went to war with a nation already impoverished by over 20 years of war and American-led, U.N.-imposed sanctions. The immediate aftermath of the invasion left a traumatized Iraqi society with no recognized head of state or working administration, and with well over 70 highly-fragmented political parties pulling their unfortunate country in every possible direction.

Mr. Buckley, the reality that after the invasion, Iraq would plunge into complete chaos was clear to everyone but the likes of your good self. Your military annihilated Iraq's central leadership, disbanded its army and police forces, decimated its bureaucracy and stumped its judiciary with mock trials. Your country encouraged competing tribal and ethnic forces to pull Iraq apart. With no infusion of money, no central leadership, no overseeing bureaucracy, no American commitment to rebuilding and no self-sustaining industry, Iraq was certain to sink into a bloody civil war, which is precisely what has happened. Don't muddy the waters, Mr. Buckley.

Moreover, any nation - including your own - would have deteriorated exactly the same way under similar circumstances.

As a matter of fact, your country may have fared far worse than Iraq. Your society, sir, has now been transformed into a culture of carnivorous marauders, most of who have past criminal records. Allow me to offer a glimpse of the violent nature of the society for which you are a mouthpiece.

According to the Christian Science Monitor, in 2003 alone, over 5.6 million Americans were in prison or had served time. That's 1 in 37 adults living in the United States, the highest incarceration level in the world. Talk about ice men who move about in the shadows with bombs and grenades and pistols Mr. Buckley!

Not only that, with over 570,000 prison inmates released annually, the words, "the suspect has a criminal record" is like a broken record for American crime victims and their families. Over the past four decades, total crime in America has increased over 350 percent. Over that time, millions of criminals have been released from prison, many having been given probation for their crimes. All now roam the streets of America like cocked guns and ticking bombs. Talk of ice men who move about in the shadows with bombs and grenades and pistols Mr. Buckley.

Presently Mr. Buckley, yours is the most violent society in the world. In your great country, the crime clock continues to tick away. According to reliable statistics, there's one murder every 22 minutes, one rape every 5 minutes, one robbery every 49 seconds, and one burglary every 10 seconds. Not only that, the cost of crime in your beloved country continues to mount: $78 billion for the criminal justice system, $64 billion for private protection, $202 billion in loss of life and work, $120 billion in crimes against business, $60 billion in stolen goods and fraud, $40 billion from drug abuse, and $110 billion from drunk driving. When you add it up all, crime costs Americans a staggering $675 billion each year. Talk of ice men who move about in the shadows with bombs and grenades and pistols Mr. Buckley.

The crime battle now rages in your states, cities, towns, communities Mr. Buckley, and yes - even in your streets and homes. With crimes to property occurring every two seconds and a violent crime every 19 seconds, crime is a war with casualties now being counted in seconds and minutes. Talk of ice men who move about in the shadows with bombs and grenades and pistols Mr. Buckley.

And hush Mr. Buckley. This is not a just a matter of crime in your country. Compare your beloved country with some other developed countries of the world. You will squirm when I inform you that of the ten cities having the highest murder rates in U.S. and Europe, eight are American cities, i.e. Washington, Philadelphia, Dallas, Los Angeles, Chicago, Phoenix, Houston and New York City. Talk of ice men who move about in the shadows with bombs and grenades and pistols, Mr. Buckley.

Now if by some quirk of fate, a global force of a million-odd strong men from countries that have had enough of you and your divine country landed in your great country, surrounded your murderous capital and cities like Chicago and New York, dissolved your federal and state administrations, disbanded your armed, civil and police forces, threw into the stockade your lying bunch of criminal leaders and announced the arrival of a New American Century of dog eat dog within you borders, what would happen Mr. Buckley, to your society that has more guns than hands? Talk of Iraqi animosities and ice men who move about in the shadows with bombs and grenades and pistols Mr. Buckley.

This is how criminal and violent your society has become Mr. Buckley. This is what you need to keep in mind next time you talk of Iraqi animosities and ice men who move about in the shadows with bombs and grenades and pistols Mr. Buckley. And I have not even touched on the racial and religious tensions simmering just below the surface of your national fabric.

Get this straight Mr. Buckley.

The Iraq fiasco was, is and always will be a gigantic human catastrophe, resulting from the stillborn vision of small men who wanted to ride high on their demented dreams.

No Mr. Buckley, no. Do not muddy the waters.

Yours Truly,

Anwaar Hussain

*Anwaar Hussain is a former Pakistan Air Force F-16 fighter pilot. With a Masters in Defense and Strategic Studies from Quaid-e-Azam University Islamabad, he now resides in United Arab Emirates. He has published a series of articles in Defense Journal, South Asia Tribune and a host of other web portals. Other than international affairs, Anwaar Hussain has written extensively on the religious and political issues that plague Pakistan.

eagleeye@emirates.net.ae

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