SUCCESS

Why did we invade Iraq?

It was always a lie to say we invaded because Iraq was a threat. In fact it was just the opposite. You can't imagine a weenie like Rumsfeld arguing with the professional leadership of the U.S. military that we needed FEWER troops if they really considered Iraq to be a threat, can you? Actually, after the Gulf War, years of sanctions, and Clinton's Tomahawk attack in 1996, Iraq was clearly on the ropes. The Chicken Hawk Bushies wanted to attack BECAUSE Iraq was no conceivable threat. And if Big Dick Cheney's blood lust for Saddam was to be satisfied, the sooner we attacked the better.

And what about Weapons of Mass Destruction and that stuff? Just lies for idiots.

But there were real reasons for invading Iraq.

First and foremost was getting U.S. hands on Iraqi oil. Success! We've got thousands and thousands of U.S. government contract employees operating the Iraqi oil fields these days.

And second was getting permission from the Iraqis to allow the U.S. to locate a string of major military bases in Iraq. Success! Halliburton and Bechtel and other contractors have been paid to build 14 military bases within Iraq.

And third was gaining the political advantage of "being at war", being able to squash opposition by claiming it was unpatriotic and disloyal. Well, this has faded a little, but it lasted for years and years.

So whether Iraq is a success or failure depends on what it was meant to achieve in the first place. The Bush Administration has gotten most of what it wanted from Iraq. It's been a great success, as you might guess from the stolid persistance of the Dimwit Decider Himself.

Of course, most Iraqis view the U.S. as an occupation force, which it is, and no legitimate Iraqi government can ever accept those bases as a permanent feature. And Iraqis will ultimately reject sharing oil profits with foreign leeches like Halliburton because foreign leeches are foreign leeches. So the whole effort is doomed.

The only way out would be for the U.S. to do what's right for Iraq, to sponsor an international peacekeeeping force to maintain order while a new Iraqi government is formed. But that would mean withdrawing U.S. operatives from the oil fields and abandoning the U.S. bases. This will never happen while Bush and Cheney are in power.

Fortunately for democracy, it means the Iraqi mess will be even messier in 2008. And maybe there will be enough decent, sane Americans to bring decency and sanity into the White House again.