Brilliant article. Not much more can be said.

No doubt some mindless ignoramus on The Right will brand it as emotional rhetoric though.

Bush is nothing more than an empty, hollow shell; A pointless and tragic excuse for human life.

It's not hard to see how warped the priorities of the Christian Right (who overwhelmingly and dangerously influence American politics) are when a president can be impeached for lying about adultery, yet Bush, a heartless, brainless and barely literate little rich boy, can destroy an entire country more than it's evil dictator, devastate so many lives, breach so many civil liberties in his own country and STILL be in power! All this, from an unofficial "world leader" who never won an election legitimately.

Last time I checked, no one died as a result of Clinton's lie. But it sure does put some perspective on things when you consider that tens, if not hundreds of thousands have died as a result of Bush's lie.

Yep, the word "Democracy" certainly is losing it's meaning in a country that is apparently trying to spread it. And to think our own Prime Minister endorses him and wished him well in the 2004 "elections".

If there is any justice in the world, Bush, along with his cronies, will soon be arrested for war crimes, breaches of civil liberties and electoral fraud and then thrown behind bars for the rest of their natural lives - where they belong.

I wouldn't mind seeing Howard and Blair go down as accessories to war crimes either (if there's such a charge).

On a lighter note, here's some amusing (but somewhat concerning) examples of the intellect of Bush. Enjoy...

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HQDxfg3RQwc
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=z8pvU1iyT3c
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uSOA2FkmjQQ
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XFwgwbAKXVc
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wDID-gsdLDg

It does make you wonder whether the cost of freedom is worth it when you read such one sided propaganda written in this article. The hate and ignorance for the US President displayed here says it all!

Thanks Runner. Nice to see a Christian demonstrating that compassion is still rife amongst Christians.

OK, Enough with the sarcasm.

Can you back your assertions with anything of substance?

How am I being ignorant about the US president?

If this is just a propaganda piece, then can you give an example of that by telling us the other side of the story? And I mean with something that hasn't been proven to be a lie or seriously entangled in corruption like the garbage we've all heard before.

As Bush loiters, is to be sure an appropriaate title for the unholy mess in the Middle East today. During this Christmas thus it will not be to give thanks but to simply pray for some sort of wisdom and understanding. Not from any of our religions much, however, whether they be Christian, Muslim, Hindu or Buddhist.

So if our religions today cannot give us wisdom and understanding, nor the US, our one unipolar nation which has been forced to admit failure, what are we left with?

As Socrates would say throw out the Gods and in with the Good. Failing that try to find goodness within us. Strangely enough it is what was said to Thomas Aquinas by Muslim scholars around year 1200, to get Christianity out of the Dark Ages. So it was that Aquinas was the one Christian Saint who became a philosopher using Socratic reasoning to tone down the faith that made Christians believe that the only safe place was the one after death.

Thus from Thomas Aquinas grew the liberalism and freedom that gave us the Rennaissance, the Age of Reason, then the Age of Enlightenment, and our modern democracy, which incidently goes back more to Greek reasoning than to our Scriptures.

Sadly because the strong and somewhat brutal rise of liberal Christianity has caused the former more liberal Muslims to descend into their own Dark Ages, death being superior to life, the world is in the mess it is in right now - no credit to the Christian West for it, owing to our overwhelming greed for using up the world's resources, patronising ourselves by not worrying about the future of our own great great grandkids.

Guess maybe it is not so much the more illustrious wisdom and understanding that we need today, but just plain commonsense. Some lately have even begun to call it insight.

Very poor item. Does not appear to have been following current politics at all. Even poorer that this is published on an Australian site.

To me Bush has long been the biggest threat to all, his country included. Only Fox News watchers could believe anything else. Clearly such views do not involve any thought.

However,why do I say it is poor? :

Bush announced his "plan", late last night Australian time. Being to increase the size of the US Forces and the Iraq numbers as well. He has tried to avoid actually making this his "decision" by saying he is only asking Robert Gates to consider this option. Rubbish. Orders are orders.

This "plan" has been in the wind for some time, since the big report of bipartisans was published. Anyone who cared to research would have both heard and read this. As such I can only guess that Pierre didn't bother to include that in his item as it didn't fit with his pre Xmas rave. Or perhaps he doesn't have internet access or listen to media outlets.

This is seemingly the only recommendation that Bush can use and say he's following the will of the people. Clearly it is not what the majority of people in the US, UK or Australia want at all. Polls clearly show these people want out of Iraq. As do I, having also opposed the invasion since it was first raised as a possibility.

Yes, Bush etc have delayed any action. Why? Simply to give the public the impression the report's alternatives have been considered. Secondly he had to wait until enough of the Fox brigade had spouted their alternate views and tried to diminish the report's recommendations. Yes more lives have been lost because of that but Pierre's claims have no credibility at all.

Pierre. Comparing death rates is odious in the extreme. All deaths in such a war are avoidable tragedies.

Mr Man

Your comments about the lack of compassion shown by Christians can not be backed up by any reasonable evidence. With this false premise you present makes many of your other statements dubious.

I have no problem with people debating the morality of the war but the article along with your opinion paints the US Prsident as the anti Christ himself.

To assert he has no feelings or qualms about the loss of life by people is just a cheap political shot. I take it you do not know the man personally. Your generalisation of Christians having no compassion is similar. Many have sacrificed much to help others in need. Just because someone does not agree with your view of politics does not mean they lack compassion.

The mood of the electorate was behind the President when He sent soldiers into Iraq. It now is obviously against him as their seems to be no end to the people of Iraq killing each other and anyone else they see as fair game.

I don't pretend to be an expert as to what the US should now do(although many others feel they are)but to point all the blame for the deaths in Iraq at one man is a bit rich.

THe article is titled 'AS Bush loiters - a christmas toll'. Have you at leat considered the toll might be higher if the US pulls out

Runner, the evidence of George jnr's lack of compassion is not lacking:
GWB has met with very very few war widows and been to i think zero funerals of US soldiers killed in Iraq, breaking an important tradition - cowardice unsurprising from a draft dodger.
GWB ordered an invasion that keeps no count at all of 'collateral damage' (the 650,000+ Iraqi's killed by our stupidity).
GWB, when governor of Texas, publicly mimicked and mocked a woman who pleaded before mercy before being executed in prison.
GWB often uses schoolboy humour ("wheres Osama? Under here?") to avoid considering serious questions seriously.

All no surprise in a family where Ma & Pa played golf the day after GWBs baby sister died, but lets not pretend the sociopath is an empath.

p.s. am not antiamerican, am anti the US Offence Dept's policy of Full Spectrum Dominance and the 'Washington Consensus', both of which are creations of a fairly small clique of neoliberal politicians and their uber-rich sponsors. You could hang all the neocons on one day, no problem, and beautiful America would be all the better for it.

I am also tending to think that the resources spent in Iraq could have been better spent elsewhere.

I don’t share GWB’s fundamentalist belief in democracy.
And despite what all the NGOs/UNO/GWB’s have been telling us, it is not necessary to drag every corner of humanity along with us .

However, having said that, I do feel much of what masquerades a high minded concern about Iraq is merely the latest incarnation of the hate the west crusade

When most of the actions causing civilian casualties in Iraq at the moment are from Iraq on Iraqi action, (and designed to maximise western media attention) blaming it all on the US seems akin to blaming police for the actions of a crazy who holds a knife to his childrens throats & threatens to kill them if they don’t withdraw

Equally, it undercuts internal/western critics claims to a high PRINICIPLED stance when such critics are consistently deaf, blind & dumb to hundreds of other troubled spots through-out the world .And undercuts external critics ( i.e. those from Arabs countries) when they live amidst & tolerate or even encourage greater injustices.

So, what is preferable: cheating own folk as British Chamberlain did in the time when an ousted English king of Australia Nazi friends were conspiring bombing Britain already or PREVENTING enemy acting within as Bush does?

GOD BLESS AMERICA for both annihilating a rule inherited and all very efforts she does Australia as a Western world country to be existing

Michalk seems to talk about Bush "PREVENTING enemy acting"

Bush's Iraq policy has (and is) enabling, encouraging and expanding the "enemy". He has given the "enemy" tactical and strategic success.

The terrorism initiated by Osama bin Laden has already claimed 6,000 American and British lives, and torn apart many of our freedoms. And yet bin Laden escapes justice and dropped off the Bush agenda.

Yes, so far "yet bin Laden escapes justice", but it is surely NO fact he “dropped off the Bush agenda”.

And it is funny to read as understood from a message, of Bush’s paranoia of self-creating the enemies within from David Latimer as Australia recently introduces a naturalization test based on the most hard part of a language proficiency which is a verbal use of language.

That request is factually substantiating a very notion of being law obedient responsible citizens on merits of belonging to a particular language group only.