Delusional

What do you do when it becomes obvious that your President (also Commander-in-Chief) is delusional? Unfortunately, this seems to be the case with our President at the moment. Most everyone seems to believe that Iraq is in the midst of a civil war, with the major opponents being Shias versus Sunnis (actually Iraq has been in the midst of a civil war probably for the past two years). Many, including Bush, seem to be able to ignore this reality and keep on denying that civil war is raging (a civil war would seem to indicate failure on the part of Bush/Cheney so it cannot be acknowledged). Some do not believe it is a civil war, preferring instead to simply label the situation "chaos." With some 25 different militias active in Iraq, it is difficult to know just who is killing and torturing whom, and why. The best you can say about what is going on in Iraq is that it is unbelievably disastrous with no end in sight. Our military has now acknowledged that a military victory is out of the question. Henry Kissinger, for what it is worth, agrees. Most everyone else agrees that victory is no longer possible, depending upon what victory could possibly mean.

But not George W. Bush. He insists that we will not withdraw our troops until we have achieved a victory. I guess he means by this the existence of a viable Democratic government in Iraq, which is a belief going far beyond fantasy. What he really means is we are not going to withdraw and leave all that oil. As long as Iraq is either in a civil war or chaos we will have an excuse to remain and thus to continue to at least potentially benefit from all that oil. Ideally, of course, we would like to install a puppet government that will do our bidding. As that is a goal that seems increasingly remote, chaos is probably the best alternative. In any case, rest assured that Bush/Cheney are not about to withdraw troops from Iraq. They are going to "stay the course" until the bitter end (even though they no longer use that phrase).

Of course another benefit from the situation in Iraq for the Bush/Cheney gang of thugs is that it takes attention away from the Israeli genocide of Palestinians. Israel has some million plus Palestinians locked up in Gaza with virtually no resources (food, medical attention, etc.) where they are slowly and systematically murdering them. Most of the known world is upset about this (to put it mildly) but the U.S. is complicit in it and continues to defend Israel at the United Nations. Israel continues to insist on a policy of apartheid that puts even South Africa to shame while the U.S. aids and abets them at every turn. As the Israeli/Palestinian situation is the most basic cause of trouble in the Middle East one might think a solution would be a priority. But as a solution would involve recognizing Palestinian and Syrian rights in territory and water that Israel covets, and fairness has no place in colonialism, it is in Israel's best interest to not have a solution. No doubt the situation will continue endlessly. As long as Israel has overwhelming military superiority, and as long as the U.S. continues to support their evil designs, not much of a solution will ever be possible. From the point of view of the U.S. and Israel, chaos is good.

Our immoral, illegal, unconstitutional, and unnecessary "war" in Iraq is over in spite of Bush's denial of reality. The Shias, with Iranian support, have won, except for the Kurds in the north. Sunnis are being and will be driven out and never again will control Iraq. This is going to happen whether American troops are there or not. In other words, the American military presence in Iraq is now irrelevant. The Bush/Cheney neocon adventure in empire building has failed miserably. All that is left is to somehow bring the troops home and hold those responsible accountable for their murderous rampage in the Middle East. It is not going to be pretty.