VI Day

Apparently, the US has won the War in Iraq.

That just slipped by everyone's attention, of course, because of the liberal mainstream media. Oh, and because there was no declaration of surrender, and nobody really knows if Iraq can even govern itself without US forces there. That probably has something to do with it too.

Go to right wing blogs like this one and you'll see all kinds of pictures of ticker tape parades and post-war celebrations from... the forties. They all declared November 22nd Victory in Iraq Day. Why November 22nd? Well, I really couldn't find out why they chose that date rather than any other. It's not like the insurgents signed a peace treaty or surrendered their arms and gave in to US troops. From what I could find, they pulled that date out of their asses.

Have things improved in Iraq. Absolutely! After they finally decided to throw in enough troops to actually manage the insurgency, the number of attacks are down, and Iraq is a much safer place. But is that victory?

Victory in Iraq should be defined as having accomplished the goals that the Americans set out to accomplish. Was that goal simply getting enough troops in there to keep violence to a minimum? I doubt it.

The goal was to facilitate the establishment of a government and infrstructure in Iraq that could provide for its own security, and be friendly to the US and its interests. In order to find out whether that's been accomplished, American forces have to pull out of Iraq, or at least reduce their military presence, to see if the level of violence stays as low as it currently is. When that happens, I'll be ready to declare victory in Iraq. Not before.

Ask a righty why it is, if the War in Iraq has been won, why it is that there are still American troops there, and they'll say, "well, we still have troops in Germany and Japan!" Those, troops however, aren't holding back insurgencies. Nobody is worried that Tojo's grandson is going to bomb Pearl Harbor again if American troops leave Okinawa. That comparison is meaningless. Stop using it. It's fucking stupid.

Blagojevich and Republican Loyalty

For some reason, Blagojevich doesn’t feel like he’s done enough damage to the Democratic Party by basically selling Obama’s senate seat, and insists on staying in office and appointing someone to the senate despite the fact that even if he appointed the second incarnation of Christ, that person would have the stink of corruption on him.

However, he’s a very wiley fellow, that Blagojevich. Since, after Obama leaves the senate to become President, the place will be completely vacant of blacks, so Blago appointed a black guy. And as Rep. Bobby Rush says, “I don’t think that anyone, any U.S. senator who’s sitting in the Senate, right now, want to go on record to deny one African-American from being seated in the U.S. Senate.” So the Democrats have a tough choice to make. Allow a tainted senate appointment, or go without their token black guy. In all likelihood, they’ll be scrambling to find another black guy to take the seat after they’ve blocked out the one Blago tried to appoint.

The Republican’s, of course, are citing this as an example of how corrupt the Democratic party is, despite the fact that Obama and most other Democrats have been fighting this senate appointment tooth and nail. If the shoe were on the other foot, I highly doubt the main Republican establishment would be doing the same. Republicans like to get behind each other and march. That’s why they’ve been so successful at winning elections until now. They’re policies are all retarded, as American’s have finally come to realize, but they stand behind each other and get the proverbial trains to run on time. As Sideshow Bob said, they want their leaders to “slash taxes, brutalize criminals, and rule them like a king.” They even got behind McCain, who they despised for years with his “belief in evolution” and “imaginary black baby”.