Do We Have to Talk About Iraq? Survivor: Allstars is On

Most folks have probably seen one of the many articles today regarding the non-signing of the first-draft Iraqi Constitution by a number of Sh'ia members of the IGC. This policy setback was actually the lead story for a number of news outlets until the devastating news of Martha Stewart's conviction on charges related to security fraud (although Stewart was acquitted on the more serious charge of security fraud on the basis of a judge's ruling last week). The world, of course had awaited this news with baited breath.

Please note: the comments regarding Martha Stewart are, for the satirically challenged, sarcastic.

The latest black-eye for the administration comes in the wake of the bombings earlier this week that claimed upwards of 200 lives and wounded almost double. However, as As'ad Abu Kahlil posted earlier,

"If a few hundred or even a few thousand Iraqis get killed, the average American citizen doesn't see that as relevant to them,'' said University of Iowa political scientist and pollster Arthur Miller.

Here's the link to the article where Miller is cited.

This lack of concern will come back to haunt us: between the ongoing low-level violence that results in the wounding or killing of the single soldier or two and the large-scale attacks like those on Monday, Iraq is in tremendous danger. As occupiers, the United States is legally obligated to provide for the security of the citizens of the occupied nation. The bombings demonstrate clearly that we are not.

We cannot simply write this off as "crazy arabs killing each other." The long term stability of the Middle East is of vital importance to the United States, and allowing such massacres to happen not only makes us liable from a legal standpoint, it completely erodes any credibility among the people we presumably wanted to liberate--not that liberation was ever anything more than a cheap slogan for Bush. Still, I don't doubt some of Bush's support for war came from those naïve souls that actually think we not pursuing naked self-interest in Iraq. Those folks have now presumably moved back to their usual sources of entertainment--Fox News, Pro Wrestling, and/or NASCAR--but the problem still exists.

Our inability to provide even the most basic security in Iraq is yet another indication that the war is LOST. Which is not a very good thing for our long term interests in the region.