A Sobering Reality
One might infer that I look at a lot of news articles, in print and on the internet. This is both a blessing and a hinderance---there is such a thing as too much information, it can keep the reader immersed in factoids long enough that he/she does not draw a conclusion. In this respect, it has a lot in common with political campaigns. Lots of facts, many that have no bearing on anything, but facts nonetheless.
I read a couple of articles over the past few days that have led me to conclude that the war in Iraq is all but over.
We haven't won, and, probably won't. All that is left to do is to convince the American electorate that what is about to happen is something akin to the "peace with honor" that we got as a consolation prize when we left Vietnam.
The term 'cut-and-run' is enjoying a popularity right now in the atmosphere of an upcoming election. I look for that term to simply go away after the election, its usefulness will have been expended and further usage might cause some embarrassment to the GOP. (If I wanted to dramatize this, I would count the number of times that the term is used by Rush Limbaugh and Bill O'Reilly in the week before the election and compare it to the number of times it is used in the week following that event, but I am not that ambitious).
Let me be clear, I, like most everyone else, am operating from what news I get from the major sources. It is what I hear and how it is presented that makes me wonder if the war is already lost, and that the government, the Pentagon and our allies know it. You can see the emphasis that is placed on the issue shifting in subtle ways. A British official, (a Prosecutor at some level), investigating the death 3 years ago of a reporter in Iraq, has concluded that he was 'murdered' by US troops. The fact of the mans death is tragic, but it was not noted in any meaningful way that he was operating independently of any coalition forces in a combat zone, and his death occurred in the midst of a firefight. To me, calling that 'murder' is a stretch, and the fact that it is not being challenged at all is very telling. On the same day, a member of the British Chiefs of General Staff spoke out publicly, stating that British forces in Iraq should be withdrawn. (That statement appeared in large print, the followup that they should be redeployed to Afghanistan was buried on page 18). These are almost non-events, but six months ago the president and his Defense Secretary would be denouncing it as a crack in the wall of unity that they had erected. As it is, the reaction here in the US is every bit as loud as the Republican outcry over Mark Foley's sexual adventures.
Which is to say that there isn't any. And that says a lot. If they ignore it, it will go away.
Public perceiption has shifted, and the pol's know it, but most importantly, it appears that the pentagon and defense department have given up. You can see it between the lines when they talk of any the situations in that region.
There is no more hay to be made with this war, from now on, it is simply a drain of money and lives. All that remains to be seen is how they will try to get out from under it. (Every dollar spent, every life lost or radically affected from here on is for the sake of public and world opinion). Following this logic, I am going to crawl out on a limb and predict that our troops will be withdrawn prior to election day 2008, and the GOP will run as the party of peacemakers, (or possibly peacekeepers), thus robbing the Dem's of a most potent weapon that election season.
Before I close, this is a good time to note that ..... if ..... the Dem's take one or both houses of Congress, they need to quickly establish themselves as the party of fiscal responsibility, self-restraint, and progress, as that term is defined by the folks that got them there. Nit-picking, prancing, and mouthing off, pointing out what jerks the GOP are will be stating the obvious to the electorate, and they will not be impressed.
It's time to put up or shut up.
Stay focused.
I read a couple of articles over the past few days that have led me to conclude that the war in Iraq is all but over.
We haven't won, and, probably won't. All that is left to do is to convince the American electorate that what is about to happen is something akin to the "peace with honor" that we got as a consolation prize when we left Vietnam.
The term 'cut-and-run' is enjoying a popularity right now in the atmosphere of an upcoming election. I look for that term to simply go away after the election, its usefulness will have been expended and further usage might cause some embarrassment to the GOP. (If I wanted to dramatize this, I would count the number of times that the term is used by Rush Limbaugh and Bill O'Reilly in the week before the election and compare it to the number of times it is used in the week following that event, but I am not that ambitious).
Let me be clear, I, like most everyone else, am operating from what news I get from the major sources. It is what I hear and how it is presented that makes me wonder if the war is already lost, and that the government, the Pentagon and our allies know it. You can see the emphasis that is placed on the issue shifting in subtle ways. A British official, (a Prosecutor at some level), investigating the death 3 years ago of a reporter in Iraq, has concluded that he was 'murdered' by US troops. The fact of the mans death is tragic, but it was not noted in any meaningful way that he was operating independently of any coalition forces in a combat zone, and his death occurred in the midst of a firefight. To me, calling that 'murder' is a stretch, and the fact that it is not being challenged at all is very telling. On the same day, a member of the British Chiefs of General Staff spoke out publicly, stating that British forces in Iraq should be withdrawn. (That statement appeared in large print, the followup that they should be redeployed to Afghanistan was buried on page 18). These are almost non-events, but six months ago the president and his Defense Secretary would be denouncing it as a crack in the wall of unity that they had erected. As it is, the reaction here in the US is every bit as loud as the Republican outcry over Mark Foley's sexual adventures.
Which is to say that there isn't any. And that says a lot. If they ignore it, it will go away.
Public perceiption has shifted, and the pol's know it, but most importantly, it appears that the pentagon and defense department have given up. You can see it between the lines when they talk of any the situations in that region.
There is no more hay to be made with this war, from now on, it is simply a drain of money and lives. All that remains to be seen is how they will try to get out from under it. (Every dollar spent, every life lost or radically affected from here on is for the sake of public and world opinion). Following this logic, I am going to crawl out on a limb and predict that our troops will be withdrawn prior to election day 2008, and the GOP will run as the party of peacemakers, (or possibly peacekeepers), thus robbing the Dem's of a most potent weapon that election season.
Before I close, this is a good time to note that ..... if ..... the Dem's take one or both houses of Congress, they need to quickly establish themselves as the party of fiscal responsibility, self-restraint, and progress, as that term is defined by the folks that got them there. Nit-picking, prancing, and mouthing off, pointing out what jerks the GOP are will be stating the obvious to the electorate, and they will not be impressed.
It's time to put up or shut up.
Stay focused.
posted by eccentric recluse at 9:53 AM
3 Comments:
...and the GOP will run as the party of peacemakers, (or possibly peacekeepers), thus robbing the Dem's of a most potent weapon that election season.
Oh gawd oh gawd oh gawd oh gawd oh gawd, please no.
Nit-picking, prancing, and mouthing off, pointing out what jerks the GOP are will be stating the obvious to the electorate, and they will not be impressed.
I completely agree. Now - how can one get that message across to the Dems?! I guess I'll write my Congress persons(!)
oh, yeah, i just read about mark foley in a magazine now. pretty weird stuff going on with his appetite for young boys. politicians are weird!
politicians are weird, but probably no more so than the general population. I think that they suffer from an isolation from reality, they get special perq's that the rest of us have to hustle (or just wish) for, have a guaranteed income and retirement plan, and fewer worries than most of the rest of us. they should have to hold regular jobs, just so they can stay in touch...
thanks for dropping in.
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