Dear America

The Organ Grinder is visiting our shores even as I write. Heaven only knows what is passing between him and our Prime Minister. Nothing too strident I hope.

If you like, we can send your incumbent home via Guantanamo, where the boys can shove broomsticks up his bottom in the new American style. In that way, he can truly enjoy the fruits of his labors before he is dealt with by the ordinary people of America.

Do let me know -

Best wishes America.

Your etc -

Chris what a superbly apt dark reference to that benighted ghoul now darkening our shores.
Plus Gary's article is so real compared to the gargage posted by Roskam earlier this week. And Leslie Cannold too.

Please also check out DESTROYING WORLD ORDER by Francis Boyle via your google.

What a despicable article. The painting of Mr Bush, Blair and Howard as the anti Christ and poor Mr Hicks as a victim. The author seems to take delight in the fact that under Mr Bush leadership thousands of Iraq's have been murdered by other Iraq's. The authors hate for Bush, Blair and Howard is obvious while his concern for Iraq's people is questioning. No solutions offered just cheap shots.

yes runner, thats *almost* what he's saying. Are you trying to say that he's wrong?

regardless of who is doing the actual killing of the iraqis, since bush's fake war began, and the direct resultant chaos, more people have been killed in the resultant aftermath than saddam killed in his decades being in power. its more than fair to lay this blame at the feet of the coalition of the willing.

and despite whatever judgement you have made about david hicks (you are going on media hearsay only, he has still not even been CHARGED with any offence/crime) are you actually going to pretend that being imprisoned essentially indefinitely and tortured (yes, his treatment is classified as torture!) doesnt make him a victim of this bogus 'war on terror'? which incidentally has only made the world a less secure place...

Runner, your comment speaks volumes.

Each time there is an analysis of the dastardly cock-up that has been the Iraq fiasco, the result indicates nothing but abject failure.

And yet, the response is always either:

A) You're just an America hater.
B) Forget about it, it's in the past. Let's focus on winning.
C) What about the poor Iraqis? We have to stay.
D) Whatever's happened, it's our responsibility to fix this.

It is very rarely - okay, let's swallow our pride, admit we screwed up, ask the UN for help (or heaven forbid, ask the nearby nations to assist).

C and D are quite similar. Those are the only two arguments with any validity, though the first step forward is admitting you made a mistake. And not just announcing that a troop surge is the be all and end all.

To asses whether a state has succeeded in achieving its military objectives we need to know what were its war aims.

Gary states of the Iraqi people that “they face the prospect, once the US is finally driven out, of yet another vicious dictatorship, probably Shia, after the civil war is finally fought to a conclusion.” Also, “If there is anything good to come out of this, it is that the so-called neo-conservatives and their mad ideological belief that democratic institutions can be imposed on any country by force and made to work are utterly discredited.”

In other words the war aims of the US were to impose a stable liberal democratic state in Iraq. That the people in Iraq will end up with “another vicious dictatorship” means that this war aim will not be achieved.

I submit that the pretext that we invaded Iraq in order to create a stable democracy, the neo-cons “mad ideological belief”, is but also “a pretext now proven false”. The US throughout has sort to undermine democracy in Iraq. As others have pointed out the US was compelled by the threat of a Shia insurgency to conduct elections and, Sy Hersh has detailed this, at once sought to undermine them both before, during and after they were conducted.

We know that in our case that here in Australia the democracy thesis is a “pretext now proven false” because under pressure in recent times Howard has all but conceded that we tagged along in Iraq because of the supposed “Alliance” with the United States.

For Washington itself the aim was to create a stable client state, in effect a neo-colonial dependency, right at the heart of the world’s energy resources in order to advance the neo-cons “mad ideological belief” of constructing a system of US global hegemony in perpetuity.

The US would then have won if such a client state, democracy or dictatorship, emerges and is enduring. The jury is still out on that one. It is amazing to reflect how widespread the democracy thesis, amongst supporters and critics alike, is held.