A Resolute Summer Repeat: Or Uncle W's Tales Grim

This week began with a surprisingly low-profile story that the Bush Administration was making a more realistic assessment of the war and condtions in Iraq, even admitting that their early expectations has been too optimistic. You know the plan that after defeated Saddam, the happy Iraqis would take a quick break from dancing in the streets and embracing our soldiers to draft a constitution, elect a democratic government, and (although this wasn't really mentioned) start selling us their oil.

Now His Resoluteness is back in the saddle, riding around Crawford, Texas with Lance Armstrong, and trying to sell us on this war, again.

Of course, he really does need to sell it since another story reveals the Army is planning to maintain current troop levels there through 2009:

http://www.usatoday.com/news/world/iraq/2005-08-20-schoomaker-iraq_x.htm?POE=NEWISVA

This is not too surprising either, as it seems that as the interim government labors to create their new constitutions, the civil war between the Iraqi factions is heating up. I heard a report this week that wealthy Iraqi's are moving to other, quieter countries in dreading an upcoming bitter and bloody civil war.

Meanwhile, the recent missle attacks in Jordan, along with London subway bombings and near-bombings, among other recent incidents show that not much seems to have changed on the terror front.

And even though nearly all his reasons for the war in Iraq have been proved questionable, if not downright wrong, Bush is still trying to sell us his fairy tales.

Some members of the Administration may be facing the realities in Iraq, but it seems W remains as clueless as ever.

Meanwhile, homeland security measures here at home remain underfunded and overlooked. Almost four years after the 9-11 attacks, first responders still report problems with obtaining the funds, and equipment they'll need to face another terrorist attack. A recent NPR story decried a lack of training for subway emergencies and rescue; another on the communication problems between the different fire departments and other emergency response personell. And of course, there's the ongoing debate about how and when the various investigation and intelligence organizations should share their information.

Airport security measures remain in constant (and questionable) flux, and changes often seem more inclined to benefit the business traveler. Too often in this Administration, keeping the corporations happy seems to trump the peoples' interests.

So over the next five days, the President will continue his charade of going out to speak in front of groups of reporters, apparently hoping that their guaranteed support for his message will convert those of us who choose to see the facts and think for ourselves.

Bush can repeat his list of reasons why we had to go to Iraq, and his little fantasies about how our presence their is reducing terrorism in the world. But the fact is virtually all those reasons have been proven wrong.

And we've left the Iraqi people with a terrible mess, no reliable electricity or water, civil unrest, and daily violence. Is it any wonder some of them don't like us being there? But we just can't abandon them either. To many, we may look like bullies or imperial invaders now, but our image will be tarnished further if we pull out before maintaining at least a minimal semblance of order. We made promises to the Iraqi people, after all. And so far, we've only really kept one--we overthrew their dictator and his regime.

In short, the Iraq war in only slighty more successful then the President's promised efforts at non-partisanship. It's good that the Army's planning a long stay in Iraq; unless something changes we're going to be there awhile. And all His Resoluteness will tell us, again, over these next few days is that we have to stay the course.

And he's spending our tax dollars to go around the country to try to sell us, again, on an increasingly unpopular war that we're already paying for, in money and in blood.

The season for repeats is over, Mr. President. The people are ready for something new. How about a little truth for a change?