By MARC McDONALD
The stunning development in which 11 GOP lawmakers went to the White House to confront George W. Bush over the Iraq War ought to be welcome news---except for one detail. The fact is, the GOP lawmakers are worried about the Iraq fiasco for the wrong reason.
It's refreshing that some moderate Republicans are starting to act like they put the interests of the nation above partisan politics. It's also nice to see that, for once at least, some GOP lawmakers are willing to question Bush's fiasco of a war.
But you have to wonder: why are these GOP lawmakers getting cold feet now? Is it because the war is a disaster on every level? Is it because the war was based on lies? Or that over 600,000 Iraqis have senselessly died in this fiasco?
Uh, no.
Actually, the GOP lawmakers are questioning the war's direction purely for reasons of self-interest.
Namely, they're simply worried about the political impact that the war is having on their congressional districts.
In other words, they're simply trying to save their own hides from a drubbing by the voters in the 2008 elections. So much for the idea that the GOP lawmakers have finally developed a backbone---or a brain, for that matter.
In any case, despite all the posturing, there is no way that we're going to see any sort of real change in direction on the Iraq War on Bush's watch, short of impeachment.
The fact is, the Iraq War at this point is really only about one thing (well, besides the oil): George W. Bush's legacy.
In Bush's deluded brain, he keeps hoping that somehow Iraq will turn around and that he'll be vindicated in the end, and prove all the naysayers wrong.
Bush's Kool-Aid-drinking followers are hoping for the same thing---they've invested a great deal of their reputations in this fiasco of a war and they're hoping that somehow, it'll all turn out OK, and they'll be vindicated.
So while Bush is solely concerned about trying to salvage his legacy (and GOP lawmakers fret over their re-election prospects) our troops--and the people of Iraq--continue to die for no reason.
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I don't think we'll be able to trust the "progress" report on the war that is promised for September. The White House has proven itself adept at using propaganda and twisting "facts" to suit its reality---and they have 4 months to do whatever they can to ensure that the Sept. report is as stage-managed as the Jessica Lynch story was. I expect the Sept. report will offer a rosy assessment of the war, regardless of the reality on the ground.
Damn, Mark, you beat me to it! I was flipping a coin today trying to decide what to write about after work: Blair's retirement or the subject here about those 11 GOP rats cornering Bush and their fucked up priorities.
I chose Blair even after getting off to a good start on the Iraq war woodshed moment.
But I'll see what I can do with it, anyway... ;-)
Sorry I beat you to it! Actually, I was thinking of doing something on Blair. But I get depressed on so many levels just thinking about Blair. It's not just that he was Bush's poodle....it's the enormous damage he's done to the Labour Party's future prospects. I remember back when Labour was actually more concerned about the working class, rather than going around the world, invading other nations. Britain under Blair has also become depressingly Americanized. The prison population is soaring and the gulf between the classes is rapidly growing.
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