Iraq becoming normal, says John McCain

It's all right, America, John McCain has given his blessing on the occupation of Iraq and the killing of American soldiers there, because "We are no longer staring into the abyss of defeat."

The wonderful "surge" brought about by our great warrior prezident has, according to Mr. McCain, brought about "something approaching normal" in the Mesopotamian capital.

How does Mr. McCain know all of this? Perhaps his expertise comes from the couple of days he recently spent hiding out in the Green Zone? Or maybe the Iraqi Prime Minister so informed him? Or, perhaps it was King George who presented him with these indelible facts?

But isn't it interesting that in spite of what McCain calls "The dramatic reduction in violence..." in Iraq, 2007 - the year of the surge, was the deadliest yet? The latest American soldier death toll is 4020, with three being killed in Baghdad wiithin the past couple of days.

McCain believes we'll have to provide Iraq even more help in the next year and a half as Iraq conducts a variety of elections. One can't establish a democracy without a strong military to keep the people in line, you know. McCain has further determined the U.S. will need to pour additional funds into the country to pay for reconstruction of all the stuff we and the insurgents have blown up.

I guess four thousand plus Americans dead, thousands more wounded, hundreds of thousands of Iraqis dead and hundreds of thousands more left with nothing but ruined lives, just isn't enough for American warmongers.

It's been five long, deadly, godawful years thus far. But not even all that death and destruction can deter real warriors like Bush and Cheney and McCain. After five years one would think we would have made a little progress -- toward what I don't know -- but that hasn't happened. So, we're still spending $12 billion a month to occupy and stabilize this pile of Middle Eastern sand.

Someone needs to tell McCain to shut up. He's singing the same song we've heard over and over again - "Mission accomplished." The situation is under control. Democracy is coming to Iraq. The people love us because we got rid of Saddam. Any year now Iraq will have electricity and water again. The insurgents are losing. The battle is won.

We don't need McCain to add to that chorus of bullshit. We don't need to hear that finally "something approaching normal" is happening in Iraq. We don't need to hear "We are no longer staring into the abyss of defeat."

Tell that to the families of the 4,000 plus who have died and to all the Iraqis who have been murdered or exiled or find their lives destroyed beyond repair.

McCain also said that "If we [American imperialists] are honest about the opportunities and the risks, I believe they [the American people] will have the patience to allow us the time necessary to obtain our objectives."

I wonder who wrote that for him? American militarists have never been "honest" about anything related to Iraq. And why, after five years of the same bullshit, should the American people be asked to be patient?

But the big kicker is that neither McCain nor any other American politico can even define "our objectives."

Perhaps the American people might consider allowing additional time to "obtain our objectives," if, first of all, those objectives were made clear to all and made some sort of sense; and secondly, if every member of of the Bush administration who pushed for the invasion of Iraq, and every member of Congress who voted for this unbelievably stupid "war," put on a uniform and shipped out to Iraq to serve as foot soldiers in the various "combat" zones.