Has Blair Come To?

I was almost elated when I read that the head of the British Armed Forces, General Sir Richard Dannatt, called for a withdrawal of troops from Iraq. It seems that the whole "Coalition of the Willing" is waking up to the grave mistakes that Bush Inc dragged them into. It's sad that Blair had to follow, really. Overall he seems decent but he has just been Bush's bitch all the way through and that he contributed to his ultimate demise. Each day, the news out of Iraq is not good. The violence there will last for decades, if that, but we can help subside the rise in violence now but eliminating our presence there. Unlike General Sir Richard Dannatt, the Chief of Staff of the US Army, General Peter Schoomaker, has recently come out saying that troops will sustain current levels until 2010. This is akin to Bush saying that Iraq will be left for other Presidents to decide. I ask: Who is the decider in all of this? Is it not Bush Inc who has committed us to an endless "war" in the name of "terra"? Surely that is too much to ask of the whole cabal, to come up with a strategy. I can't say I have much hope if the Democrats take control of the House and/or the Senate. There will be a lot of talk, no doubt, but I don't foresee anything beyond that. My hope is that good anti-war candidates like Ned Lamont will help give the people a bullhorn and will place it right next to the ears of those who continue to say "stay the course".

Watching Blair Inc crash and burn is no fun ride. I can't say I get enjoyment out of it, just sadness. Sadness that it has to come to this for our political servants to actually acknowledge that there is an issue. General Sir Richard Dannatt sure has guts though to come out and make these statements. He pretty much wrapped it up when he said that "whatever consent we may have had in the first place, may have turned to tolerance and has largely turned to intolerance,...I don't say that the difficulties we are experiencing round the world are caused by our presence in Iraq but undoubtedly our presence in Iraq exacerbates them." The White House spin-master, Tony Snow-job, spun this every wich way saying it was "taken out of contex". Senator John Warner recently said that the "situation [in Iraq] is simply drifting sideways"¹. In response, Bush Inc said "I want you to notice what he did say is: 'If the plan is now not working, the plan that's in place isn't working, America needs to adjust.' I completely agree". Adjust? What does that mean?! If a Democrat, any Democrat, said this then they are supporting a cut-and-run policy, which means them "terra-ists" will win because "adjusting" means moving away from "stay the course".

I think of the Labour MPs resigning because Blair wouldn't commit to a date in which he would leave and how Jack Straw was canned from his Foreign Secretary position because he opposed any military action against Iraq and the "Bush is crap" comment from MP John Prescott. People are fed up with this crap and are doing something about it. Our political leaders here in the US of A can learn a lesson from our neighbors across the pond.

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¹ http://www.cnn.com/2006/WORLD/meast/10/12/iraq.strategy/