I know I haven't been doing much blogging. I haven't been feeling the urge. However, this morning I awoke to a pair of solemn announcements about how America's withdrawal from Iraq would cause a regional war to break out. And it just amazes me how little respect the people in charge of this country and this war have for us.
“In the States, it’s like we’re in the last half of the third reel of a three-reel movie, and all we have to do is decide we’re done here, and the credits come up, and the lights come on, and we leave the theater and go on to something else,” he said. “Whereas out here, you’re just getting into the first reel of five reels,” he added, “and as ugly as the first reel has been, the other four and a half are going to be way, way worse.” -Ryan C. Crocker (US Envoy to Iraq)
Before the war the image was Iraqis throwing flowers to our troops if we do what they say. It's become Iraqi civil war, bloody horrors beyond imagining if we don't do what they say. (Seriously, read the quotes in that article.)
With a Democratic majority in Congress, the Bush administration can no longer pretend that everything is going great. That's why "stay the course" failed, and also what inspired the "surge". But we haven't seen a significant improvement in Iraq (in fact things have continued their downward spiral).
The upcoming debate in Congress will set a new tone because it wont be about what to do to win in Iraq, it will be about how long can we stay in Iraq. And that's why we're seeing these pronouncements of gloom and doom. The Bush administration is fighting a rearguard action, trying to stall and keep the troops in Iraq until after Bush leaves the White House. At that point it'll be someone else's problem.
If only it could be someone else's problem right now.
