Bush and the Democrats on Iraq

I had to work last night and did not catch the State of the Union address. I don't think I missed anything all that great.

The big issue is Iraq, and the stupidity is now on both sides of the partisan divide. We are losing in Iraq. Bush refuses to see this because he is:

a.) Stupid.

b.) Dumb.

c.) Really dumb.

The Democrats are only slightly smarter on this. Unlike Bush, they will acknowledge that we are losing in Iraq. Most of the Democrats insist upon a pullout because we are losing. But before we withdraw from Iraq, we must first win. The mind boggles.

I suppose I'll have to be the one to say it. We can't win in Iraq. Hell, we can't win in Afghanistan. This is because nation building is an exercise in futility. Candidate Bush knew this in 2000 but quickly forgot it in 2001. In order to win in these places would require a cruelty and a rein of tyranny known only to people like Saddam Hussein. Saddam brought peace to Iraq. This is what happens when you put people in wood chippers.

I don't have the answer in Iraq. No one does. But I am not arrogant enough to pretend that I do. The fact is that the USA has the ability to destroy just about any nation on earth. Conquest is not going to happen here. We don't have opponents so much as nuisances. The number one threat to American freedom comes not from al-Qaeda but from our own government with the Patriot Act, an unbridled NSA wanting to snoop on us, and the heavy tax burden adventures like Iraq are creating.

The USA needs to exit Iraq--NOW. We should never have been over there. The USA needs to mind its own business when it comes to foreign affairs. We meddle, and we pay the price. This has been proven over and over again.

But it is not in the nature of politicians to admit defeat. They believe that they have the power to change the world. It is merely a matter of tweaking the policy until they achieve the right solution. This is what Bush's "new strategy" in Iraq amounts to--a policy tweak.

Some will argue that a hasty exit from Iraq will mean that things will get worse over there, but I don't see how things can get any worse over there now. The civil war has begun. We need to get out of the way.

The only real damage here will be the tarnish on Bush's legacy. It's a real shame that more soldiers should die and more money should be wasted, so Bush can get a better reading in the history books. The fact is that if he had read the history books he wouldn't be in this shit now. All I can say is sorry 'bout it.

I predict we will still be in Iraq when Bush leaves office. It will be the next guy's (or girl's) duty to clean that shit up. History will note that Bush was stupid, and that he persisted in this stupidity until the bitter end. Somehow, this persistence is reckoned as virtue. So be it.

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