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BAGHDAD, Iraq (CNN) -- Nightmarish political realities in Baghdad are prompting American officials to curb their vision for democracy in Iraq. Instead, the officials now say they are willing to settle for a government that functions and can bring security.

 

A workable democratic and sovereign government in Iraq was one of the Bush administration's stated goals of the war.

 

But for the first time, exasperated front-line U.S. generals talk openly of non-democratic governmental alternatives, and while the two top U.S. officials in Iraq still talk about preserving the country's nascent democratic institutions, they say their ambitions aren't as "lofty" as they once had been.

 

"Democratic institutions are not necessarily the way ahead in the long-term future," said Brig. Gen. John "Mick" Bednarek, part of Task Force Lightning in Diyala province, one of the war's major battlegrounds

 

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Posted
You march with "World Can't Wait" and their American Communist Party sponsors and claim to love democracy? Interesting. If democracy isn't an ideal worthy of America, why the fuss about Iraq?

 

Yeah, cuz, like, if you march in a protest, and there's some black people there, then YOU'RE trying to be black too, man! And...and...wait a second, I just dribbled oatmeal on my pants....

Posted

Keep an eye on the media onslaught that is just beginning by the Bushies. After years of "...comparisions to Vietnam are inappropriate" we now have the shrub telling us we can't let this turn into an Vietnam scenario by cutting and running.

 

This drumbeat will continue through another high profile 9/11 expoitation and come to a crecendo the day before General Petraeus will testify before Congress. The White House has already relieved the General from the responsibility of writing his progress report - they will do it for him thank you.

 

I'm sure there will be a logical discussion regarding the benchmarks set for the surge - Ha! The strategy will be to fill the cup to overflowing with vague references to progress in Baghdad and Anbar Provience. Our primary stated goal of the surge was to give some breathing room for political solidification. Well that's gone as well as most of our plans. Half the cabinet has bolted and the other half is boycotting meetings. Wonderful. Our goals were strategic not tactical. Guess which will be emphasized in the report. We will not be able to keep the current presence of troops without doing something like extending rotations to 18 months. That will be pleasant for the troops. And in Anbar the glue that holds the Sunni/Tribal coalition together is money, lots of it. When that faucet is turned off, eventually, the usual sectarian squabbling will start in earnest.

 

We are stuck in one tight box. There is no good ending, just a choice of lesser evils. When we pulled out of Vietnam we created a decade of hardship for our allies in the area, but our ham-fisted middle east strategy is going to cause us grief for a long time.

Posted (edited)

We've got to think outside the box. Our 'exit strategy', althought it looks more like an exit wound at this point, could be any one of the following, or more. The possibilities are endless.

 

Final Solution: Kill all 23 million Iraqis.

 

Classical Solution: Have Bush's daughters marry the top Shiite and Sunni warlords.

 

Dissolution: Split Iraq into 137 cute little countries, each with its own website and headgear.

 

Absolution: Ask the Pope for forgiveness, then run like hell.

 

Iranian solution: Invite Iran in as a peace keeping force, then quietly slip away.

 

Web solution: Sell Iraq on ebay.

Edited by tvashtarkatena
Posted
Classical Solution: Have Bush's daughters marry the top Shiite and Sunni warlords.

the clock is ticking on this one...

 

but you forgot the evangelical solution!!! how could you of all people?

 

don't worry about it because the rapture is bound to happen in a few days/weeks/months.

Posted (edited)

How does one make the desert bloom? Populate it with Republican retirees. Instead of 130,000 hapless teenagers, perhaps we should send in the population of Scottsdale, AZ. In no time, Iraq would go from this:

 

1215497111_8d360332b3.jpg

 

to this:

 

1216359794_caa336cd52.jpg

 

Of course, this would require a massive re-training program to create an army of Iraqi caddies, valet parking attendants, waiters, and gardeners. The question is not whether we can, it's DO WE HAVE THE WILL?

 

 

 

Edited by tvashtarkatena
Posted
How does one make the desert bloom? Populate it with Republican retirees. Instead of 130,000 hapless teenagers, perhaps we should send in the population of Scottsdale, AZ.

1216359794_caa336cd52.jpg

 

Sounds like Yakima, without the highbrow culture.

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