Iraq War Claims 4000 US Lives

The Second Iraq War has now claimed 4000 U.S. lives and an unknown number of Iraqi soldiers and civilians. The war now seems to be reigniting. Who knows how many will have to die before the end of the American occupation. Bush apparently has no plan other than hanging on long enough to let a new president deal with the problem Bush and his neocon team have caused. Ultimately, the U.S. withdrawal may resemble that in Vietnam. No one in the Bush administration wants to acknowledge that it turned a stable country into a nightmare.

Iraq War

The Second Iraq War has now lasted for five years and shows no sign of ending. What were our leaders thinking? The First Iraq War lasted only a short time because it consisted of only an invasion. The present war has involved a short invasion and a long occupation. The neocons in the Bush administration thought the occupation would last only a short time and would cost only about $50 billion. They were mistaken about both matters. What were they thinking?

Blair Is Gone

Why did someone as intelligent as Tony Blair throw away his career just to please George Bush? It doesn't make sense. Blair is smart, witty, well-educated, and a good speaker. Bush has none of those qualities.

The UK electorate finally got sick of the Bush-Cheney war. The Labor Party selected a new prime minister, Gordon Brown. He promises to reduce the number of UK troops involved in the conflict.

Iraq War

Not content with the number of groups at war in the Middle East, the Bush-Cheney duo has brought Turkey into the action. The Turks bombed mountain villages in the Kurdish section of northern Iraq, then followed this act of heroism with a ground invasion.

The Kurds want greater autonomy. The Bush-Cheney team says this amounts to terrorism. Turkey's ambassador to the U.S. announced today that the CIA helped plan and direct the attacks.

Improvements in Iraq?

There have been recent reports that the situation in Iraq is getting better. We hope this is true. The amount of violence has gone down. Fewer bombings in the street have occurred. Will this trend continue?

Three bombs exploded today in Basra, where violence has recently diminished. Some Iraqis fear that the violence will return once the Americans leave.

Have our leaders gotten us into another situation, like Viet Nam, where those leaders simply don't understand the history and the people of the country that we are allegedly are trying to save?

Retired General Attacks Iraq War

A retired commander of U.S. troops in Iraq has again criticized the Bush-Cheney boneheads for their inept strategy in the Iraq war. Lieutenant General Ricardo Sanchez says that the administration has overemphasized military power while ignoring political, economic, and diplomatic considerations.

"That failure continues today," Sanchez said. He also said that Iraqi politicians show no willingness to make the required compromises. This failure reflects the failure of the Bush-Cheney war strategy.

Australia Rejects Bush and Iraq War

Recent polls in Australia have shown that the people of that country dislike George Bush and his war with Iraq. So it comes as no surprise that Aussie voters rejected the conservative coalition and its pro-war prime minister in Saturday's parliamentary election.

Prime Minister John Howard lost his own seat in the election.

Howard and his coalition had also failed to approve the Kyoto protocol on climate change.

The winning Labor Party and its leader Kevin Rudd promised to withdraw all Australian troops from Iraq. Labor also said it favored the Kyoto agreement.

Bush Pal Trails in Aussie Polls

John Howard, prime minister of Australia and leader of the ruling conservative coalition, is struggling to keep his team within reach of the Labor Party as Aussies begin voting in the parliamentary election. One of Howard's major handicaps is that he has inexplicably remained a faithful pal for George Bush and a strong cheerleader for the Iraq War. On the other hand, he hasn't had to deal with body counts. Australia has only 500 troops in the war, and no Aussies have been killed.

Howard's crew has also failed to sign the Kyoto agreement on climate change. Labor supports the measure. Like the Republicans, the conservative coalition is waiting for the icecaps to melt before signing anything.