"Iraq Report Unsettling"

Apparently now even the Pentagon "gets it." They have issued a report that paints a most dismal picture of the situation in Iraq. They say, among other things, "it could dissolve into a civil war." I con't know what definition of civil war they are employing. The Sunnis are killing Shiites. Shiites are killing Sunnis. The Kurds are killing both if they stand in the way of Kurdish desires for an independent enclave in Iraq (complete with the oil of Kirkuk). In the middle of this are our 140,000 troops who don't seem to know who they are fighting for. One day they are fighting Sunnis and the next day the Shiites. More than three thousand Iraqis a month are being killed, the vast majority the result of this secular violence. If this is not a civil war, pray tell, what is? Bush, of course, continues to insist that it is not a civil war and we must "stay the course." It would be interesting if we had any idea what the "course" was. I guess he still assumes we will stay in Iraq until they are able to defend themselves. It seems to me they are all defending themselves at the moment. And, of course, at the very time he claims we will leave when they can stand up for themselves he continues to build permanent bases and an embassy that is actually a complete city by itself (at a cost of nearly a billion dollars). Bush/Cheney will never leave Iraq as long as there is a barrel of oil or they get kicked out on their butts (which I believe will not be long in coming).

Meanwhile, back in Afghanistand, where we swore we not abandon them once again, we have for all intents and purposes abandoned them. But not to worry, they are doing well, at least in the opium business. Opium production is up 50%, the Taliban are back in spades, and the country is a disaster (just like Iraq). I guess all this proves just how successful the Bush/Cheney plan for the Middle East is working out. The ungrateful Iraqis are not thanking Bush enough for all he has done for them, the Karzai government in Afghanistan is about to come apart, we are now universally hated (along with Israel) across the Middle East. Our nation is on the brink of bankrupty, and damn it, flag burning is not yet illegal, abortions are still occurring, gays still insist on marrying, working people still would like a raise in their wages, and the infernal estate tax still exists. But not to worry, the oil business is booming, the pharmaceutical industry is booming, and the brush on Bush's pig farm is under control (I guess). And oh, one last thought, our country is right on the brink of becoming a Fascist dictatorship (you know, the marriage between corporatism and government - Mussolini can tell you all about it).

So cheers! Global warming has not killed us all yet. There are still a few trees standing. The endangered species act has not yet been completely abandoned, they have not yet actually started drilling in the arctic, and at least one or two salmon made it back to Redfish Lake. Once all those new coal-fired energy plants get going, along with the new nuclear energy plants, things will just be hunky-dory once again. Remember, the absolutely disastrous consequences of all this are just figments of the scientific imagination. If you are having any health problems just put one hand on the TV and one hand on the afflicted part.

Basically, just do as I do, just close your eyes and pretend you don't actually exist. Maybe it will all go away.