A nuclear superpower, the Pentagon, still occupying what turned out to be an essentially unarmed country (no WMDs as suggested), continues whining about neighboring Iran supplying weapons to the Iraqis.Do we suppose Washington, DC could stop Texas from supplying guns to Canada, were the Russians to invade our neighbor to the north?
Nationalism being what it is, the Iraqis will keep fighting the occupation for as long as it takes, that much is obvious. Tehran has limited ability to stop the flood of weapons, given how easy these are to procure in a world market already flooded with ammo-for-profit.
The American people, mostly hostage to all this miscalculated belligerence, and not getting the low gas prices they'd hoped for when the war was being sold to them, are now being threatened with a massive conflagration by these inept military commanders, trained to suppose there's a military solution to every problem.
One hopes the Pentagon is not completely in charge of foreign policy, as obviously we have some very unimaginative thinkers in that building -- sad for the USA to have to put up with this crew.
One hopes the war colleges are turning out a more sophisticated crop of military leaders, one that doesn't get itself stuck in future quagmires of this kind.
The president tried to wrap it up with that "mission accomplished" extravaganza, an obligatory show of macho (isn't that what politicians do, strut on stage?) after a relatively short blitz. Saddam and his cronies were captured long ago. These were the graceful exit points, ignored by those at the wheel.
So what's the mission today? No one seems to know. The Pentagon has no fresh ideas.
Will the election make a difference? Some tyrants are hoping to have their next war going already, so they can keep calling the shots. Democracy and the will of the people take a back seat when there's a war on, a fact many Pentagon planners instinctively know.
Maybe the upcoming Olympics will get people in a better mood? Athletes in general are a more competent bunch, not resorting to violence at the drop of a hat, yet still very competitive and patriotic, far more of a showcase for what civilization is all about.
