You’d think I had enough of this, but then I wake up and read an editorial column by Steve Chapman in the Chicago Tribune and have to pause. I’m as over Bush as the rest of the country is, and no, I didn’t bother to watch his State of the Union speech; like the weather, you can look outside and get a better forecast than you can from watching on TV. But this sounds about right:
The striking thing about President Bush’s final State of the Union address is that even the successes he claims are largely fictional.
I did not know this, but “2007 was the deadliest year for U.S. troops and Afghan civilians since 2001.” That sucks. And despite the lack of news from Iraq, 2007 was the deadliest year yet for U.S troops. What are we doing?
As for the “surge,” it seems that lots of folks had opinions on its success (and failure) before it ever really began, and so I decided to wait and see. But what good was/is it going to do anyway? What is this surge, but heightened security? It’s obvious that this was the strategy that should have been employed from the start to prevent it from deteriorating to its current state. And it still doesn’t repair the mistake that was this entire war. It just never should have happened.
The surge, even if a success, does not make the war a success. It only serves to highlight the failure of execution of a failed war by a president with a “long catalog of failure.” But it appears that it is not even that. The surge will have the effect of keeping troops in Iraq even longer than anticipated, and meanwhile there is no reconciliation between Sunnis and Shiites in sight. There is no viable government in place. It is still a minefield for troops and civilians. Ah, I’ve had enough of this! Back to music, please!
P.S. – When I am President I will give my Steak and Balloons Speech on the first Tuesday of every other month.