Sympathy for The Devil

[dave_p]

You know, don't you, that Bush could yet emerge from all this as the best-remembered President of the past 60 years? And the next 60 too.

Nonsense, you're all a-buzzin'. The couple of you who read this far, anyway. Well screw the rest, move in a little closer.

Maybe it takes a total asshole like W to move things the way sane mortals couldn't. But look at the situation.

You've an Israel that's seen the elimination of one implacable enemy in Saddam's Iraq. You've an Iran that's likewise seen the removal of a traditional foe in Saddam's Iraq (and another in Afghanistan).

You've an Israel with $2bn in annual US military aid, able to bomb neighbors at will while losing control of the territories it's occupied for 40 years.

You've an Iran-backed Hezbollah with a good chance of leading Lebanon as soon as Washington's pals there run out of time to put off parliamentary elections.

And you've 150,000+ US troops in Iraq with carrier group support but control of only 30% of Baghdad, the objective of Washington's troop "surge".

And then you've Iran, with more allies than ever before but facing an Israeli regional nuclear monopoly while supected of trying to develop its own deterrent.

Once you add those up, you've the makings of the deal of the millennium.

The irony of all Shrub's incomepetence is that non-Arab Iran's in a better position to deliver an Arab-Israeli deal than any of the shitty Arab regimes Washington's dealt with in the past.

Independent Gaza & West Bank, compensation to 1948 Palestinian refugee families, multilateral guarantee of Israel & its neighbors, regional nuclear-free zone & co-operation on shared water & energy that could be a model for the world.

If I was the GOP's grownups I'd do it, and my party wouldn't have the luxury of whining about it.

The question is, could Democrats do it? Has anyone the balls to pull the plug on Armageddon with the pieces in place as never before?

[kimmerspixelated]

1. Interesting layout you've got there.

Bottom line for the Grand ol' Poopers is what's in it for them. It's always about oil and money or controlling it. The PNAC's got an imperialistic eye and will stop short of nothing to proceed with their plans. Truly, I think if we ever get the chance to be in control of the WH again, we will be so dumbfounded, we won't know what to do about the middle east.

[dave_p]

2. Agreed, the adults need to take charge

What's dumbest about the neocons' hegemony isd they can't even deliver a secure oil supply. They can control some of it in the short term, but there's a 1973 always lurking somewhere just over the horizon. So let's just cut to the chase, do the politics, take out the nonsense, marketize the thing and plan ahead.

But "we won't know what to do" is so true of most experience. That's why we need to think ahead.