Ramblings from the outside of nowhere

Reading Bush's speech is like reading a high school students vain attempt to bluff his way through a paper he has to write but has no clue as to what he's supposed to write about.

"Failure in Iraq would be a disaster for the United States."* Excuse me but its already a disaster.

"On September the 11, 2001, we saw what a refuge for extremists on the other side of the world could bring to the streets of our own cities. For the safety of our people, America must succeed in Iraq."* Wait a minute, weren't the terrorists living in the United States at the time, and had been doing so for some time. The tragedy of 9/11 did not originate in Iraq.

"These Iraqi forces will operate from local police stations; conducting patrols and setting up checkpoints and going door-to-door to gain the trust of Baghdad residents." Maybe they could sell Avon and Amway products at the same time, providing some of those new jobs to support the new economy?

"The prime minister understands this. Here is what he told his people just last week: "The Baghdad security plan will not provide a safe haven for any outlaws, regardless of [their] sectarian or political affiliation." Well, damn, if only he had said that before!!

"Yet, over time, we can expect to see Iraqi troops chasing down murderers, fewer brazen acts of terror, and growing trust and cooperation from Baghdad's residents." Yep, we're going to turn them into lean mean fighting machines. You think?

"Even if our new strategy works exactly as planned, deadly acts of violence will continue - and we must expect more Iraqi and American casualties." You know Mr. Bush, we, the people, find this unacceptable.

"We can begin by working together to increase the size of the active Army and Marine Corps, so that America has the armed forces we need for the 21st century." Can anybody say 'draft'?

"We go forward with trust that the author of liberty will guide us through these trying hours." He could have at least named the author he was referring to.

God, I hate this man. 20,000 more troops. And the troops that have been there will have their deployment extended another four or five months. The man is insane, Congress is insane, the military advisers are insane. I think they are just going back to the strategies they used for Viet Nam, and saying, "Hey look what we found! This might work!"

My biggest concern is for the troops. Fighting in this land where the enemy is a hidden force and everywhere, and trying their best to stay alive. Then when they do come home, they are racked with guilt, nightmares, and all the other symptoms of PTSD. The government does little or nothing to give them support, so they are left to find what resources they can. The whole thing sickens me. We have no business in the middle east, in a culture so foreign to us, we can't even understand it.

We wanted to impeach Clinton, and evidently did, for having sexual relations with that woman. Here we have an obvious egomaniac in the White House, and nobody cares.

I just don't get it. I think my son assessed this war correctly, when he told his 5 year old son he was going to Iraq so he wouldn't have to go. I hope his wish comes true.

*Bush's new strategy for Iraq speech.