The story of Iraq: " a murderous, bloody quagmire"

[ProSense]

Hieronymus Bush

If you have a job and pay taxes to the American government, this article in Rolling Stone's latest issue ought to be required reading.

In light of Imperial Life in the Emerald City and Rep. Henry Waxman’s ongoing investigations into the massive fraud, incompetence, greed and corruption in Iraq, this lengthy unsigned article will still educate even the most well-read liberal blogger.

This story encompasses in a big greasy nutshell much of the callous avarice openly endorsed and even protected by the Bush administration which, when superimposed over the murderous, bloody quagmire of Iraq, makes that country look like a monstrous hybrid of the most nightmarish paintings by Hieronymus Bosch and the inflammatory greed-exposing cartoons of Thomas Nast.

Here’s a sample of this amazing article, which makes even me envious, to get you started:

And that, ladies and gentlemen, is the story of the Iraq War in a nutshell. In the history of balls, the world has never seen anything like the private contractors George W. Bush summoned to serve in Operation Iraqi Freedom. Collectively, they are the final, polished result of 231 years of natural selection in the crucible of American capitalism: a bureaucrat class capable of stealing the same dollar twice -- once from the taxpayer and once from a veteran in a wheelchair.

According to the most reliable ­estimates, we have doled out more than $500 billion for the war, as well as $44 billion for the Iraqi reconstruction effort. And what did America's contractors give us for that money? They built big steaming shit piles, set brand-new trucks on fire, drove back and forth across the desert for no reason at all and dumped bags of nails in ditches. For the most part, nobody at home cared, because war on some level is always a waste…

[liberalmuse]

1. A fucking atrocity.

It was a fucking atrocity 4 years ago, and it is even more of a fucking atrocity now. What we have wrought upon Iraq and her people is unforgivable. I don't know about you guys, but I've run almost every possible scenario through my mind on how to protest this war, and have rejected them all so far. Marching isn't enough. I've done that. It's a joke, though it is nice to gather with like-minded people of peace. Self emolation will merely make the wingnuts laugh. I'll stop there, but anyone who is as horrified by this war as I am will know where I've gone in my mind, and it's an ugly place.

[unhappycamper]

2. Make it a point to see "No End In Sight" for the exclamation point. n/t

[ProSense]

3. Kick! n/t

[leftchick]

4. Matt uses the Fuck word through out!

Exactly where I would have used it every time. It is an excellent piece and I would pass it on to my freeper mom but it is way too late for her. I think this piece should be required reading for every democrat in congress before bush asks for his next fifty BILLION.