U.S. still stuck on stupid in Iraq

[NNN0LHI]

http://www.thespectrum.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20061216/OPINION02/612160324

Even the most stubborn supporters must now understand that Iraq has turned into a mirror ball image of Vietnam.

The Pentagon wants to ship more troops. The president has no clue what to do so, as in the days of LBJ, he will surely place it all into the hands of the military in an effort to rinse his bloodstained hands.

The military, which, of course, trains people to kill, must fight a war to allow its soldiers to do just that, thus the imminent escalation of Persian Gulf War II.

And America remains stuck on stupid.

There will be no change from "stay the course," at least until early next year, the president said. Maybe he'll have an answer in early or mid-January. Even he must understand it would be bad form to announce a troop ramp-up during the Christmas holiday.

Meanwhile, the body count continues to sound its tragic toll as Iraqi deaths push far beyond the half million or so already in their graves and the dead and wounded from the American side grow beyond the current 25,000.

This is no longer a war of liberation or even a war for oil. It's a war of stubborn arrogance. The only thing surmounting the ignorance of persistence is the overwhelming futility of it all.

[watrwefitinfor]

1. You might want to mention that is an opinion piece from a UTAH paper.

Recommended. Highly.

Wat

[The Count]

3. That adds poignancy to it, indeed

[madokie]

2. Has there ever been truer words put to paper in all time

'U.S. still stuck on stupid in Iraq'

[LynnTheDem]

4. Even the US media recognizes America has caused the deaths of more

Iraqis in 4 years than Saddam Hussein killed in 30.

"This war cannot be won, the damage to Iraq cannot be undone and the wounds we have suffered as a nation cannot be healed.

No matter how many troops we deploy."


WORSE than Saddam Hussein.

[Erika]

8. Saddam was secular and controlled the extremists

W did away with that and brought hell to Iraq.

[rodeodance]

5. "But W. would rather take a risk in Iraq than risk being a wimp" Dowd

http://wealthyfrenchman.blogspot.com/

Friday, December 15, 2006
Farewell, Dense Prince

By MAUREEN DOWD


.........The Democrats thought that when they won the election, they won the debate on the war and they had W. cornered. But the president is leaning toward surging over the Democrats, voters, Baker and the Bush 41 crowd, and some of his own commanders.

W. seems gratified by the idea that rather than having his ears boxed by his father’s best friend, he’s going to go down swinging, or double down, in the metaphor du jour, on his macho bet in Iraq. He’s reading about Harry Truman and casting himself as a feisty Truman, but he’s heading toward late L.B.J. The White House budget office is studying how much it will cost to finance The Surge, an infusion of 20,000 to 50,000 troops into Baghdad to make one last try at “victory.” The policy would devolve from “We stand down as they stand up” to “We stand up more and maybe someday they will, too.”

Some serving commanders are not in favor of The Surge because they fret that it will infantilize Iraqis even more about assuming responsibility for their own security. They also fear that the insurgents, who have nowhere to go, will outwait our troops.

But W. would rather take a risk in Iraq than risk being a wimp. So he continued to wrap himself in muscular delusions, asserting that on Rummy’s watch, “the United States military helped the Iraqi people establish a constitutional democracy in the heart of the Middle East, a watershed event in the story of freedom.”

Dick Cheney offered this praise to his friend: “On the professional side, I would not be where I am today but for the confidence that Don first placed in me those many years ago.”

Alas, we wouldn’t be where we are today, either.

[Loge23]

6. It is time for legal accountability

Can anything be done about this?
We all must continue to put the heat on Congress and the Senate for some form of sanity regarding the Iraq situation.
Let's stay focused on the fact that the administartion lied in the first place to get us in this mess.
There should be no debate about this - impeachment should be the priority now.
The monsters must be stopped.

[Erika]

7. I heard a C-Span caller today urging treason against all members

of the W administration.

[ninkasi]

9. Great article

I highly recommend this article. The author brings up so many valid points, I only wish there were some way to make Bush realize the damage he's doing to the world. What a tragedy, that so many have to suffer because of his massive ego. He is nothing but a disaster.