Godless Mom in the Bible Belt

I would be really surprised to see a pull-out. We're not in the possition to do that. Iraqis can't take care of themselves at this point because we've made such a mess of things. We're going to be in Iraq for years, especially if it continues to be mismanaged in such a way.

I'm just glad that I'm too old for a draft.

It really is sooooo unbelieveable. Too bad Bush's kids weren't boys - maybe, just maybe, he'd see it differently.

(yeah, right)

Thanks for this post. It's all amazing, and sad. I hope Bush is held accountable by history, at least.

George W. Bush's politics are not about any kind of justice, or doing what's right or good.

No. His politics are about who gets what, and when. As long as he and his party get what they want, when they want it, he's happy. He has no honor.

All this is really no surprise to me. Democracy was doomed to fail in Iraq. Why? Lets find out.

First ask yourself why democracy worked in America, but not South America. And why did France have all those republics AFTER the revolution?

For this, you have to look back to English History. In 12something, the Magna Carta was signed by the king. He gave up some of his powers, and trnasfered those powers to lesser nobles. Of the years, this ended up with the House Of Lords, and later expanded to The House Of Commons. Voting for leaders was not an alien concept to the founding fathers.

In South America, the Spanish ruled. There was no Spanish Magna Carta. So when Spain left, the people had no history of democracy. All they knew was that the king would appoint peeople to office, and those people had all the power. Vote? What is that?

The region Iraq is in has not been free for many centuries. It was part of the Persian Empire, or the Ottoman Empire, or whatever. The key word is EMPIRE. Not democracy. There was an emperor who had ALL the power.

So, what makes anyone think that we can go in to this place, wave a magic wand, and create an instant democracy? We tried this in Central and South America - look at what it got us. We tried it in Cuba, and what is Cuba today? A democratic pearl in the tropics?

And likewise, the idea was doomed from the start in Iraq. Our democracy was built over centuries, starting when some English king decided to share a little power with other rich land owners.

It was not, as many Americans believe, a system that was invented overnight when the democracy fairy visited Thomas Jefferson. It was simply the next logical step of the Brittish system.

I would be surprised to see a pull-out as well. First of all, who said these words? Secondly, they are so vague, and as you say, there is some recognition, but not acknowledge that the war may have been unwise. Let us see, what, if anything happens now.

I agree with you, we will be out before the next election.

I read something yesterday that said Bush' ratings were in the toilet compared to his predecessors at this stage. The story went on to say that although that’s the case, most people still will give the nod to the Republicans. Why? The perception is that the Democrats are either angry (Dean) or old (Kennedy).

The Democrats have a great chance next time; they need to find someone who can deliver their message.

Notice that I continue to withhold comment on this topic.