The 100 Years War

In the past 24 hours, Dick Cheney has been in Baghdad, calling the Iraq War a "successful endeavor." John McCain's there too, and actually uttered those four magic words, "the surge is working," which only differs from Cheney's analysis in the scary possibility that McCain might actually believe it. Then again, maybe Cheney's pronouncement can be chalked up to youthful exuberance -- after all, he's almost 5 years younger than McCain.

And then there's that other possibility, the one that's starting to scare me: That by a certain neocon definition, Iraq is a success.

What if the war in Iraq did go on for 100 years, as McCain suggested it might? What are we looking at? An entire century of ever-increasing military spending, necessitating deep cuts in all other government programs -- like public education and health care and all that other sissy stuff. A staging ground for ten decades of warfare with Islamist militants, for whom the place is becoming a terrorist fantasy camp ("Come to Iraq and fight real Americans in your own back yard! Get your picture taken with real al Qaeda pros! Learn the fundamentals of blowing yourself up!"). And endless, lucrative contracts for American companies that support the war effort, from Grumman to Raytheon to -- of course -- Halliburton. Companies that in the absence of a Cold War might otherwise see their prospects dwindling.

What about that is not a success, by neocon standards? I've been scoffing at it for so long that think I missed the point. It's not a question of if the surge is working -- it's about whom it's working for.

Comments

[shaggles]

I think Bill has got it right. The reps keep saying we have to stay in Iraq until we acheive our goals. But what are our goals? Or should I ask 'what are THEIR goals?' Since absolutely nothing they've done in Iraq has ever been in the interest of the American people.

[jfn]

Right on Bill!

[Boringat]

Acme Coffin Corp. had a record year in '07. As Monica said "that leaves a bad taste".

[michelob01]

There is something that should have been done along time ago!!! We should impeach both Bush and Cheney. With the lies they have tried to sell us and the major debacle this whole administration has made out of the legislative and judicial bodies of this once, proud and prudent nation, we should have joined together as american citizens and collectively requested from our senators and congressmen that still have some backbone and morals (rules out many Dems and Repubs), that this entire administration be locked up in prison for crimes against humanity and worked together to assist the government and insist that the soldiers properly get rotated out on leave and shift our focus on offense to a better defense with the right equipment and stronger tactics to route out the insurgents. You're right about the surge working for them and setting them up for retirement. Meanwhile, many of our soldiers - even those who want out and did not volunteer for redeployment, are being permanently retired or dissabled without proper compensation to them and their families. 4,000 lost to a cause that brings no stability and only fuels their hatred towards us? We should eliminate the high paid contractors and shift the money being paid to local militias to our combat soldiers. How dare Cheney and Bush act so smug and dishonoring with the lives of our soldiers. IMPEACH!!! IMPEACH!!! IMPEACH!!!

[MaureenSharkey]

We're going to be out of oil in a few decades.

[Puzzle]

I beg your pardon, Bush and Cheney did not lie. They "mis-spoke"!

[MarkieBee]

LOL. Yup, and Bill didn't lie about his dalliance with Monica. He misspoke.

[stevekarp]

Here's why George won't be impeached: unlike his predecessor, he hasn't broken the law. The same things that George said about Iraq Clinton said in the previous administration.

[Hallucinocynic]

You don't know whether he broke the law or not. That's the purpose of congressional impeachment processes. There IS certainly enough legal reason to pursue those processes and see where they lead us. And, if, in the course of investigation, there is evidence that Democrats participated in defrauding the American and Iraqi people, so be it, indict and try those people as well. This administration has proven itself, time after time, to be the most mendacious collection of bureaucrats in American history. Time to figure out if any of those lies led directly to even a single loss of life, or loss of property.

[elr50]

Seems to me the murders of 4000 American soldiers and thousands of Iraqies are against all laws.

[orchidspin]

IMPEACH!!! IMPEACH!!!! IMPEACH!!! is right.

[neocon43]

Go ahead make my day.While your at it take the democratic party with you!

[lucylou]

Excellent piece. The problem is, if anything is working, it's the local Iraqis fed absolutely up with al Qaeda & their ilk...and the probability of getting a limb blown off on their way to the market....­give me a break.

[stevekarp]

Is it working? Hmmm......­.maybe someone should ask a Kurd for their opinion - now that the bully was committing genocide on their population is gone.

[klandish]

America's amoral war industry is alive and thriving and needs your childrens blood for it's profits.

[WillBFair]

I saw at the beginning that if they could seize the wells and stabilize the country it would be a huge startegic success. Otherwise it would be a financial give away to the war and oil idustries. But they've already hedged their bets and built an uneducated coalition of red Sate folk and young people to elect a naive poser like Obama. The red Sates have always ignored the rule against bearing false witness, and they cut themselves off from the enlightenment long ago. Young people were taught rhetoric instead of logic and don't know much about the world yet. Neither group can reason their way out of a paper bag; and they're easily manipulated by the pretty words of Professor Harold Hill, I mean Barac Obama.
So war and oil win again. Resistance is futile.

[research]

You sound like a rethug pretending to be a "Moderate" liberal for Conservative Hillary.

[thebohemiangrooves]

Dont slag WillBFair, just because Obama says "hope" and "change" a lot doesn't mean you are going to get it. Follow the money trail folks. Obama's bigest funders are the banking elite. And who makes the money from the wars? The folks that lend the government the money to fight them. It always goes up.

[peachfuzz]

EXACTLY! When they said Mission Accomplished,
they meant for "them": big oil, the neocon agenda & the
1-2% that got richer. Things are going exactly as they
wanted them to.

America was the stepping stone to get this done and
taking away our rights, treasury, consumer rights &
dollar power is the insurance that they can keep it rolling along.

Republicans have not figured out that they are pawns and
have been sold out. Dems are as bad for not standing up.

Only the "far left" & Ron Paul have seen the light.
Mock them if you will, mainstream America will have to be
burned for the next 30 years to see the light.

[LuckyBlessed]

Couldn't agree more. You must have seen Paul's Meet the Press, it's on You Tube, 4th video outlines the problem simply and eloquently. Too bad he won't run in the general election and be in the debates.

[MarkieBee]

yeah, too bad the nation doesn't get to read his newsletters from the 1990s. Those things make Rev. Wright's sermons look like, well, Sunday sermons.

[MoeGreen]

Once you pass the threshold of when it matters to admit when you're wrong, such as before starting an invasion, I guess you find yourself stuck in it so how're you going to paint it. We opened the door for Iran to extend their influence in the region. When we leave, chaos reigns all over the region. The only "success" there will be is that when we leave that we get the "best" worst case scenario when there are only worst case scenarios left for us.

[cheykutuo]

Okay, I am not usually like this...but­, maybe, you know, Mos Def was right.

[HuffJob]

you know Bill it's a real shame you yammer heads weren't yammering about this before the 2000 election. all you and your buddy Chris Matthews could rag about was how stiff Al Gore was like some English elitist chatting as you sipped your tea and nibbled your crumpets. What ! you thought george bush the oil man was going to be your honest beer drinking buddy? anyone with an ounce of sense could see this good ole boy was in way over his head long before the election. but no you and Matthews bashed Gore and then voted for Bush and now you're here to tell us the dire consequences of a never ending war. you just didn't tell us you helped put us there.

new rule: no more complaining about the bed you helped make and no more haircuts at the poodle boutique.

[woodchipper]

Bill voted for Dumbya the first time around? That's troubling.

[ImagesAndAdjectives]

It's good to see some perspective from someone who's been a fan for so many years. I can't believe it - Bill was pro-dubya? Just goes to show you, no one seems to know what the heck they're talking about. There's no one right answer, just a bunch of criticisms and anecdotes.

[TheDude1369]

Concise. Your have drawn the distinction that the media has missed again. Fool me twice?

We are not "winning" the war. The surge is not working. We haven't made any measurable progress in terms self-defined. The "neocons" have once again diverted the populace's attention back to the oh-so important pursuit of material happiness and personal fear.

My opinion rests on the daily news and just a little common sense, coupled of course with an intimate knowledge of the right-wing playbook. We deserve the 100 year war much as the Brits deserved their 100 year war which inextricably marked the beginning of the end. GOOD for the world. Bad for the US.

I'll be dead, could've cared not less.

[Panhermes]

Stop the if only, or blame game. While my deepest hope is that the junta which overthrew our government and started a vendetta war on cherry picked intel and or wholly false information, get mob justice, we must now bite the bullet, (or cheney) and realize, Pandoras box has been open wide, no easy way to close it and things can get worse.
I seem to recall that Jihaad was declared publicly by Osama decades ago, the USA paid little or no attention. I damn sure did. Is anyone on this blog a senior citizen, liberal moderate who recalls attacks on our interests and allies which began long ago? We did little to nothing back then. It is a damn shame that 'w' and his fascist neo-CON, military industrial complex were so arrogant and inept that they chose vendetta to get Saddam to honor GH WB's desire of finishing his Gulf WAR.
Well folks, while the neo-con, military INDUSTRIAL powers agenda is to maintain wars for profiteering, fact is the hornets nest has been struck, they are as their history makes patently clear, crazy about war, blood baths and killing to satisfy a fanatic blood lust. Even prior to their prophet Mo, they were fighting among themselves and now with religious differences which seem rediculus, and women kept in bee hive shmata's, Jihaad is their latest game.
The events of 9/11 were proof that they will return to finish anything that was not a full success the first time, i.e., the first truck bomb attack on the WTC--'member that? Heroes went to their deaths taking down airliner #4, it did not reach it's intended target...N­o need to speculate what that was, fact is, the clock is ticking--Johnny McBush let the cat out of the bag with the hundred year statement/ he was not supposed to say that, {top secret}. shhhhh.
What really chaps my but though is the fact that Americans, (note I do not refer to us as homelander's) don't seem to understand. the totally inept handling of this debacle must be turned around, pulling back, sure, damn good idea, bring our troops home, absolutely since we as occupiers are becoming more hated daily, prepare for the next attack-a must.
Let's us hope that whoever answers that damn phone at 3:00 AM ET,, makes the right, or far right decision to send U>S> troops into the right nation this time on fully VERIFIABLE reasons.
One thing more, now our troop numbers of war dead is 4,000, true patriots who sadlly gave thier lives in the belef they were making U. S. safer, we salute them, and hope our military might is regained, volunteer numbers are according to military sources -dangerously low.

[jinjinpinti]

Maybe we should hope that the American people are as dumb and simple as the brilliant elite here so often reiterate. Then when gas hits $4 per gallon this summer and they're all sweltering in the heat at home, unable to drive to their fav'rit swimmin' or fishin' hole to cool off, they'll eschew the gung ho patriotism and warmongering for "some cheap gas!"

[lyingtruth]

With oil over $100 a barrel the U.S. will never leaving Iraq! A year from now Obama, Clinton or Grandpa Munster will say: one of the reasons that we can't just leave Iraq is because civil war will cause the price of oil to double!

[lyingtruth]

Cheney didn't go to Israel to talk about peace with the Palestinians. That's a cover, Cheney has no interst n peace.

He went to talk about war with Iran!

[jinjinpinti]

..........­and to tighten up the plan Dubya proposed to the Sheiks (while playfully brandishing his ceremonial scimitar at the harem party) to enlighten America re the horrors of turrism through a nicely timed electoral year false flag attack???

[research]

Let's hope the good people still in our government are able to stop any such attack.

[amanda85]

The neocons want Americans to believe the fairy tale until the elections, after that, who cares!
Meanwhile they're trying to bribe the entire country. Unfortunately violence is on the rise again, so it may not be working.

I mean, come on, at one time well over 50% of Americans believed Saddam was behind 911 (I'm pretty sure a good 30% still believe it), so it's not really too difficult to tell outrageous lies in America and have at least half the population believe them...