It has been awhile since I have written about the disasterous war in Iraq. (Rest assured, it is a disaster).
Since I looked at the Strategy for Victory in Iraq the situation on the ground has continued to evolve. A wave of sectarian
violence is sweeping the country (see news story about one of many events) following the destruction of the
Golden Mosque in Samarra.
Many in the media and in the military openly speculated about the possibility of a civil war erupting. A danger that has lurked in the shadows since day one of the conflict anyway. The upsurge in violence has many, including me, wondering what this is all going to accomplish.
Thus far I can see one major success in a downward spiral of failures. The capture and deposing of Saddam Hussein's government.
Meanwhile, a conflict that was supposed to cost the American taxpayers
only $1.7 billion has surged in
cost to nearly $250 billion. American casaulties continue to mount (
over 18,000 so far), slowly but surely. The government we have managed to install is predominantly pro-Iranian Shite Muslim. Somehow we invaded Iraq and managed to turn one of the most strategic regions in the Middle East into a hot bed of anti-American insugency, which shows no signs of abating despite consistent
insistances from Administraion officials that it could not possibly pesist for long.
No WMD, the whole justification for invasion in the first place, have been found, another colossal failure. American military might is stretched thin, the Guard and Reserves have assumed a large responsiblity, so large that the part-time force is
near the breaking point.
For all the operational success commanders acheived in battles in
Fallujah and other towns, the insurgents have simply moved elsewhere. Often into small towns, where they are able to control the population much easier than in a major urban area with millions of people.
This means that troops on the ground are dealing with a constant threat and some commanders have even openly talked about a major insurgent move into Baghdad itself.
Read this excellent story from Feb. 26 Washington Post, it really puts a perspective on what is happening at the loneliest fronts in the Iraq War.
Now, our troops are stuck in Iraq for an
indefinite period of time. No one really knows what this war will cost, be it financially, politically, or in human lives.
It took nearly three years for the Bush camp to acknowledge that the Iraq war was not going in the direction they intended, which was around the time they released their strategy for victory. A strategy they claimed has been implemented all along.
I don't know about you but
I won't be fooled again (video clip).
Kava has long held a place in the cultures of the South Pacific, it is well known as an herbal remedy and ceremonial substance. Islanders grind the plant into a brownish liquid with water and it is usually drank from a traditional bowl.
Australians seem to be particularly concerned. In the Northern Territory it is tightly regulated, much like alcohol, the above link claims some pretty negative and startling side effects of kava consumption. In fact, for a time in the 90s, kava importation was illegal in the NT.