Jujitsu

Josh Marshall has a link to a Fred Kaplan piece in Slate which might be the first "mainstream" article that admits the essential conundrum of Iraq: Military victories there no longer matter in the whole scheme of things.

That's the problem Bush faces--and which Kerry will face as well should the voters finally realize what a total chump Bush is and toss him out on his ear. Iraq is now officially damned if we do, and damned if we don't. The only question will be how many deaths it will take--on all sides--before this sinks in.

Marshall likens Iraq to a Chinese finger puzzle. In my own mind, it's more like a hornet's nest which Bush, in his infinite wisdom, ordered his hired hands to beat on with a baseball bat. Either way, you've got a chaotic situation--between local, regional, and national claims on political power, I doubt ANYONE could exercise a degree of control. And I'm beginning to wonder just how much control Hussein genuinely exercised. Considering the rapidity with which the regime crumbled, you'd think that perhaps tactics other than invasion with far too few troops might have been in order. You know, like maybe a coup d'etat, which, to be honest, would have angered me almost as much as invasion (because I happen to think sovereignty of nations is a pretty good way of keeping the peace, and had been since 1648). However, at least you'd have the potential for some degree of civil order.

But I guess that wouldn't have made for good pictures come the US election.

Unfortunately for Bush, though, Iraq must now be swept under the rug, at least for a few more months. Unable or unwilling to realize the sinkhole his policies have landed in, maybe he's hoping for a bailout a la Harken or Arbusto Energy. Or perhaps he's thinking he can simply expropriate assets like the Texas Rangers did during his tenure as limited partner. But since that's not going to happen, the wingnut strategery is "bullshit about it and rely on the press to dutifully report the utterances of the president with reverence normally reserved for the godlike." And, you know what? Most of the mainstream press willingly goes along.

However, even if the press practices upperbrainfunctionicide, the reality on the ground in Iraq continues. The military seems to be aware of this, as another article Marshall points to makes note of: rather than embark on further bloodshed, possibly enflaming tensions even more amongst the Sh'ias, the military has backed off, wisely realizing that a tactical victory would be counterproductive under the circumstances.

Of course, there's always the option of--well, genocide. Kill Iraqi people indiscriminately until they're either all dead or until enough terror has been instilled to quell the resistance. However, such a tactic would not only be appalling from ANY sane point of view, it would put us in the position of being just like Saddam--or, actually, even worse. That said, I worry a bit that, should Bush be re-elected, that's EXACTLY what he'd try.

And he'd be doing it in our name.