Bush's Next Bloodbath

Last week, White House spokesliar, Tony Snowjob gets all fired up over how they're beginning a new strategy in Iraq. On Sunday when Lindsay Graham said that the surge had been in place for two weeks -- a Republican week must consist of three months -- I figured they must be trying to reset the clock to give themselves another Friedman or two. Peter Punkineater Pace, then reveals that while waiting for Patraeus to complete his magic by September, he's going over the possibilities of fucking with the troop levels. (I loved his term "plussing up;" so casual. Like adding a shot of booze to a marinade.) But then today he announces dramatic changes in Baghdad and Ramadi, as if someone had waved a magic wand and made everything all hunky dory. Someone decided they needed to leak the NIE that says al Qaida is stronger than ever. Gotta love W's spin on that: They may be stronger, but we've weakened them.

OK. So WTF is going on? I mean really going on? We know the White house LOVES to play the diversion game whenever they get caught or decide to be naughty, and has all kinds of ways to do so. Just about the time you turn away in disgust because they can't find their ass with both hands and a flashlight, they pull some kind of a doozy of a disaster.

Iran. Lotsa talk going on about Iran.

W and the Neo-Cons have had a hard on for Iran for years now. More of his War Mongering Delusions and Words of Mass Deception over Weapons of Mass Destruction. Personally, if I ran a country these days, I'd want some nukes too with W on the loose. Especially if I was sitting atop some oil. (Kazakistan wants nukes now; They're trying to get the technology through a partial buyout of Westinghouse.)

Recently 97 Senators and all but two House members -- Kucinich and Paul -- voted in favor of resolutions/language declaring Iran to be in pursuit of Nuclear weapons and to be engaged in a proxy war against the US in Iraq. This point come out in the Webb/Graham episode and Webb tried to dismiss it as, "a minor clause inserted after a semi colon."

When the fuck will these people ever learn. To the Repugs there is no such thing as a minor clause; Nothing is too small that it can't be built into a mountain if it serves their purpose. So while there's all sorts of debate and deliberation going on over Iraq, even to withdraw the Authorization to Use Military Force, Congress has for all intents and purposes just given said authorization to W to enter a new bloodbath.

h/t to Arthur Silber

And for another excellent article regarding Bush's march toward Armageddon, read this by Jon Perrs, from May 2006.