Forgive me. I'm trying something new here, writing this as I watch The Decider's Iraq speech, trying to react to it as it happens.
It's not going well. For Bush, that is, not for me. His sound keeps cutting out--this is The White House's own feed; if they can't figure out video technology, why should we trust them to run a war?--and he looks...well, I think he's going for contrite and thoughtful, but he looks scared and disoriented.
And the speech...shit. We must win, blah, blah...Fuck, no! He just tied Iraq to 9/11! By innuendo, of course, but still, put it out there. If we lose here, those people died in vain, et cetera. Um, George? Nobody's buying this shit anymore.
It's not Al Queda and "radical Islams" who are stirring up shit in the Middle East, it's us. Even Mr. and Mrs. John Q. Public are figuring that out. We're hated because we're there, we keep bumbling along, killing locals in huge numbers while mumbling insincere apologies. It's this little excursion that not only cracked the hornet's nest open, but blew ill winds to scatter the deadly creatures in all directions. (Okay, that was a clumsy turn of phrase, but hey, this is an experiment, remember?)
The proposals are what we expected--"more than" 20,000 troops (don't dare call it an escalation) and shitloads of money to help them rebuild the country. That would be the country we keep bombing, the one that we have been powerless to help rebuild after several years and billions of dollars.
Okay, now he's talking about victory. "It will be a different victory. There'll be no signing of surrender papers." No kidding. In previous wars, there were clearly stated goals. There is no real reason to be in Iraq.
Oh, I'm sorry, yes there is--it's Ground Zero in The War On Terror. Funny how I keep forgetting that, what with Iraq being a country that wasn't threatening us and all, that we just decided to invade for...oh, I almost said oil, but there's no way that could be true. What was I thinking?
Summing up his new policy, Bush is making it clear there are no other options. He didn't use the term "cut and run" but the point was the same--you're either with me, or you're a traitor. Guess the American people, who disagree with him in huge numbers, should just go fuck themselves.
Thanks, Mr. President--you've lived up to my expectations.
