Compare and Contrast

Scaramouche and Bad Attitudes both link to this post from Juan Cole, and it's worth looking at. Cole asks how we'd feel if we were subjected to the same level of violence seen daily in Iraq.

Under those circumstances, does anyone honestly believe the Iraqi elections scheduled for January are anything but a farce? Foreign nationals are literally targets for sadistic torture and execution, while the authorities ostensibly responsible for security are reduced to basically offering anticipated condolences. Bombings are everyday events.

Documented attacks on pipelines--which affect Iraq's balance of payments as well as electricity generation--number in the hundreds--and no one has any plan that could possibly defend such a vulnerable target. Yet George W. Bush acts as if everything is going just fine--because we got rid of Saddam.

A first quarter touchdown by no means guarantees a win. Maybe someone should explain that to Bush.