Meet the New Way. Same as the Old Way.
Man, they really aren't very good at this. For about 4 months now, we've been waiting for bush/cheney to announce their new strategy for Iraq, the so-called "New Way Forward". Throughout the Iraq Study Group release, the "Listening Sessions", the Pentagon Report, the guidance of pundits, wonks and "experts", the buildup has been inexorable. Now, it's January and we're still waiting for the announcement from the decider. It has taken on an air of a magic bullet, a deus ex machina from the folks who brought you the hunt for bin Laden, Katrina and the November '06 midterm elections.I am very surprised that they have allowed this sense of excitement, this enthusiasm for a pending solution to continue to build up. Let's be honest, there is no answer, no solution, no real hope for anything even resembling victory. They can add some troops, subtract some troops, change the role of some troops. Thats about it. The only major changes they can make, from declaring war on the Mehdi Army to bombing Iran will only make the situation much worse, with greater American casualties and more violence in the region. And yet, the press speculates while the White House delays. Pundits write breathless pieces encouraging surges, escalation, training, withdrawl. Wonks opine on the cable news channels. And the country waits, watching the deaths and bloodshed mount, wondering, speculating, hoping that in some flash of insight, some brilliant observation, some surge of competence the people who dragged our nation into this unnecessary conflict will find a way to end it.
But you know that's not the case. In your heart, you know that whatever they do, whatever bush/cheney announce, it will essentially be more of the same. Eternal war, daily losses, violence and horror, and more sons, daughters, brothers, sisters, mothers and fathers learning a visceral hatred for America soaked in the blood of their loved ones, standing in the rubble of their communities.
You can speculate endlessly about what the New Way Forward will look like, what decisions the decider will make, moving these soldiers here, those there, keeping those in theater and assigning new tasks to these. When it's all said and done, it remains a fools errand, occupying a foreign nation by force of arms to no gain, only to our detriment. If Olbermann is right and the call is for more sacrifice, don't shake your head and walk away. Write, call or fax SOMEONE. Demand an explanation of what exactly this sacrifice is accomplishing. How will we be better, safer, stronger or wealthier after we bury our dead and hide our crippled? If they can't tell you that, they should not do it, whatever "it" turns out to be. But no matter what, keep watching what happens, not just listening to the spin. Because the one thing we cannot accept is more of the same, no matter how it's dressed up as a strategy...
posted by mikey @ 10:19 AM
0 Comments:
Post a Comment
<< Home