Blaming the Mirror

[Ivo Skoric]

How best to answer the merchants of dismay who are against
our occupation in Iraq, asks William Safire? By staying the course 
and reporting our accomplishments, he concludes.

But is it prudent to stay the course? And what accomplishments are 
out there to be proudly reported? A country brought to chaos? Looted 
artifacts from museums? Daily deadly toll? Destroyed road, power, and 
water infrastructure? Reduction of the role of women to 'more 
appropriate' Arab-Muslim levels? Escalation of Israeli-Palestine 
conflict (that was supposed to abate in wake of Saddam's fall)? 
Having everybody hate you? 

Not a single drop of oil was extracted and exported from Iraq under 
the American occupation. There is no functioning, democraticaly 
elected government, and a couple of dozens quislings appointed by the 
occupiers have to be guarded 24/7.

He is talking of military victory, calling himself a realistic 
optimist. Optimist, maybe, but with no connection to reality. 138 
Americans died in the assault on Iraq. 149 died since Bush declared 
"the end of major hostilities"... US is mired in a guerilla 
insurgency of ex-saddamist plus the hodge-podge of suicidal islamist 
militant volunteers who are flocking to the place to fight the 
infidel. It is less of a victory than Nazi Germany had in France in 
1942...

One thing Bush is right - bringing the war to "them": it may be 
better that "they" flock to Iraq and kill US soldiers there, then 
that "they" come to the US and kill US civilians. But is that a 
victory?

Now, however, he asks for aditional $87B to continue his wars in 
Afghanistan and Iraq. That's on top of the present $4B/month spending 
on those wars, already approved by Congress (total of $79B).

US budget deficit is already larger than India's GDP. Now it will go 
to $600B. Where are the IMF and World Bank to rein them in, like they 
do with the 'lesser' countries?

Furthermore, Senator Bob Graham, the Florida Democrat and 
presidential candidate,  said tonight on the CNN program "Larry King 
Live." "That's [$87B] more than the federal government will spend on 
education this year."

Again, is it really worth, in a long run, to stay such a course?

And that in the country (USA) where 35 million people - larger than 
the entire Iraqi population - already live in poverty. That's 12% of 
all Americans - a sad figure for a hyper-power. And what kind of 
shity empire is pushing its retirees to go shop for prescription 
medication in Mexico?

1.3 million more Americans fell into poverty last year — almost half 
of them children -- as government officials continue to 
simplistically trumpet the drop in the welfare caseload. That drop 
occured because under new rules less of the poor are eligible for aid 
-- so that government has more money to pay for waging wars in hard-
to-pronounce places, bringing more hate against the U.S., and 
requiring more police-state measures to protect domestic security 
from those haters.

It is a sadly vicious circle that may destroy the world's most 
revered democratic society.