[Cross-posted at The Left Coaster.]
Readers of mine know I consider the Republic and country to be officially lost and busted in 2000 with the horrendously debilitating Bush vs. Gore, but in fact a much easier case can be made for a country gone with the heinous event of the 2003 Iraq invasion. So many grossly, flagrantly violated American principles at every turn: a creepy propaganda corporate media, totally dysfunctional Congress, the rule of law a quaint joke, evil Darth Cheney ever-slithering in the background. Nothing but leering, fetid denial at the rule of law and human decency tossed to the winds as the criminals who instigated it all waltz around in unfettered existence, gravesites beyond line of sight ghoulishly surrounding it all.
[If one would insist on an analogy for a broken yet still alive country (USA circa 2010) I would choose the human ball joint, hip or shoulder, that has been badly dislocated in trauma and not allowed to heal correctly. Gradually a false joint is created, a creaky, painful cripple the result to the entire body. We shouldn’t need reminding how planet Earth ruthlessly deals with biological cripples, thus it verily is so with political structures, too.]
In a horrendously foolish and completely ridiculous dance with the military (only Americans are blind to the absurdity to this part of the story) President Obama accepted a "compromise" with a General in theatre that the Iraq war would officially end in a glacial 15 months, certain dangerous milestones to be reached in a cruel laziness ending soon, 2-3 months from now.
Until I die I will never stop strenuously stating the literally bloody godforsaken truth America wasted a whole unbelievably precious year in getting the hell out of our felony of the ages, Iraq. This isn’t some god damn game of cards, the United States committed atrocious crimes, killing and displacing millions while of course inflaming volcanoes of hate and contempt against us in the Muslim world. How the hell did some should-have-been-totally-disgraced fucking general get leverage over the President of the United States? Negotiating with ourselves may be the defining characteristic of the Obama Administration, but it sure as hell wasn’t a campaign promise.
Since the galling announcement a year would be lost withdrawing totally—more or less—according to plan the American corporate propaganda has studiously ignored Iraq, that’s very much part of the denial plan, ignoring Iraq won’t make it go away but at least keeps those awful conversations of imprisoning Bush and Cheney out of the news. Right? Anyway, it’s been relative easy because Iraq has been so blessedly quiet, things have gone fairly well to the glacial withdrawal plan, praise baby Jesus.
Until this week even the Sunnis had given up on their despicable suicide spoiler role, and we can all fervently hope Shiite forbearance holds. I’ve been indebted to Juan Cole of Salon, he regularly passes on whatever Iraq news or scuttlebutt he can find, and according to him and all reliable news sources (that’s a relative term, I know) the pace of the Iraq withdrawal proceeds completely according to plan, equipment briskly ships out while American forces withdrawn to the cities wait out the withdrawal in peace. My greatest fear they would be sitting ducks in this part of the evolution was completely unfounded.
Cole also sings high praises for President Obama for the withdrawal, while I will hold forth the man love until the evolution actually finishes. Furthermore, the political calculation to ignore the heinous illegality and ruthlessly bloody killing aspects of the Iraq war instantly cements the status of broken Republic to American even more, a murdering lying place unable to face the truth, unable to heal.
Machiavelli weeps at it all, the Republicans could have been imprisoned and disgraced for a century, if they ever came back at all, while the Republic, starved for the truth and a measure of any accountability for the felons who stole and looted so much, could have started the slow painful process to becoming a real Democracy again.
Instead, amazingly, it’s all cool and good for President Obama. If he, Axelrod or Rahm ever truly get finally weary of the sickening, lying tactics of the Republicans (champions of Medicare, screamers about death panels, on and on) take a good, long look at the graves again at Arlington from the Iraq war again. You let your political foes get away with even that, no wonder they treat you like contemptuous dirt.
The lugubrious, malodorously fetid presence of Henry Kissinger loomed in the propaganda files at the Washington Post this morning. He, too, is watching Iraq very closely, hoping so much like so many for the imperial American hydrocarbon homogeny of the old days will be kept alive. Given the severely crippled state of the Republic he’ll very likely get his wish.