So, now Mr. Bush can imprison people without charge and authorize torture as he sees fit, great. Meanwhile, the war that no one dare speak its name plods along in ever increasing violence and media silence. Americans continue to die with regularity at 2+ per day, money continues to be spent at $1.5 to $2.0 billion per week, and America's place in the world continues to decline. One wonders what we are fighting for in Iraq when we allow bills like the one today to pass. I have some other thoughts below the fold:
1. It seems pretty clear that the President's "stay the course" strategy, which is simply a hope that the weight of the American military might will defeat the insurgency before America runs out of money, troops or patience isn't going to work.
2. The President has backed America into a position where there is no good option. That's just bad leadership. "If we go it will be trouble, if we stay it will be double", or the other way around, I can never remember. Who says the Clash wasn't educational?
3. Democrats look pathetic on what to do in Iraq because there are no good solutions to the problem. Their fault was to give the President authority to go to war as a last resort. In short they abdicated their constitutional obligations for convenience hoping that Mr. Bush would act responsibly. They didn't properly exercise their Constitutional check and now we are all paying for the failures of those irresponsible Democrats who gave Mr. Bush the authority, and, of course, the entire Republican Party.
4. Our country has become the McDonalds of countries. Don't get me wrong, I like an Egg McMuffin every once and a while and their coffee is great, but I'd hope my country would aspire to be, well, at least an Appleby's, or even a Wendy's.
5. Has anyone noticed that no one knows where Iraq is on a map. Try it. Take a map, cross out the names of the countries, and see if people can show you where Iraq is on the map. Then ask them were bin Laden lives. Watch their faces when they find out. Some get really angry. It's remarkable how poor we are at basic geography.
6. Mr. Bush has been a failure in virtually everything he has ever done, what makes us think he would suddenly find the golden touch and succeed in the hardest job in the World? In short, failure in Iraq was predictable simply on Mr. Bush's record; it's just one more item on a long list of failures.
7. When will America know in some meaningful, recognizable or measurable way that we can leave Iraq? I have no idea and I can't understand why someone doesn't ask the Administration, or even a pundit.
8. Who do we really support in Iraq? Kurds or Sunnis? Clearly, we don't want the Shia religious zealots in power.
9. Wow, does Iran come out of this smelling like a rose.
10. I have read at least 25 books about Iraq and the war and have my eye on a couple new ones, but what I have read so far leads me to conclude that virtually every decision we have made along the way has been a bad one. One would think that just by luck once in a while we would make a good decision; but given we haven't been lucky, one has to wonder whether any decision we make in Iraq will ultimately have a bad result.