Put It All On 22

The debate thus far over a pullout of US troops from Iraq has been framed for the American people by the MSM as “cut and run” versus “stay the course”. With Bush out in full force this past week touting the progress being made in Iraq, the Democrats responded by pointing out he still has no plan for victory, not can he even define what victory means. But an interesting shift has taken place. The MSM peppered their coverage of Iraq this week with prominent Democrats blaming the Iraqi people for the continuing violence against American troops.

By pulling comments out of context, it appears that the MSM is presenting the Democrats position as “blame the victim”. Chopped up video of Nancy Pelosi and Joe Biden saying that the Iraqis need to take control of their own country now so that our troops can come home were shown on CNN and MSNBC. Of course that is true, but that is not the thrust of the Democrats position, or at least it shouldn’t be.

It’s difficult for Democrats as they are in an untenable position. I am reminded of the great Albert Brooks movie Lost In America, where after liquidating all of their assets and setting about a life on the road, his wife walks into a casino in Las Vegas and looses everything. In response to this unbelievable turn of events, he goes into the office of the Hotel manager and asks for the money back. Bush looted our treasury, walked up to the roulette wheel and put everything on 22. So far, that gamble hasn’t paid off and the Democrats are in a bind since they handed him the money. “We would never gamble our future away, but go ahead and do what you gotta do Mr. President. But if you lose, it’s on your head.” Unfortunately, it’s not just the President’s problem.

If Bush had staked his family fortune on this ridiculous exercise, it would be less of a problem, but it’s our future he has gambled away. He will walk out of the White House a rich man with very rich friends who owe much of their newly acquired wealth to him. We on the other hand, are a half a trillion dollars in the hole on this deal and continuing to throw money into the sinkhole of war.

The biggest lie being shoveled down our collective throat is that Bush has a master plan. Beyond the fact that this is laughable on its face, we are being conned into believing that the master plan has always been to change the face of the Middle East by handing them the gift of democracy. The first step in this “plan” is to remake Iraq, through military force, into a thriving democracy that will then provide inspiration for its neighbors. The second step is either an organic transformation of the rest of the Middle East into democratically run countries or military intervention that will force it upon them. If this plan works, the end result is stability in the Middle East, which in turn provides security for America and an uninterrupted flow of oil into the world market. Everyone wins.

The problem is that this is nothing more than a Fairy Tale being told to the tired and restless American people. The war in Iraq is not about creating a more peaceful world or even about our own security. Whether we admit it or not, we all know it’s about the oil. All you have to do it look at where our military bases are located throughout the Middle East. It is not a coincidence that we are building permanent bases in both Afghanistan and Iraq along either existing or proposed oil pipeline routes that crisscross the region. The first rule in understanding history is “follow the money”. We are watching history in the making and oil is the currency of our time.