And They Start

The atrocities start.

A terrible miscalculation at a checkpoint - children not just killed but mangled in heavy cannon fire. An unarmed man shot dead. What will the next report be of?

We are set up for ghastly failure by our own leaders. Saddam Hussein is letting us hang ourselves. If he dies now, he is a martyr.

To be clear - we will "win" on the ground. We will take control of the nation. We will remove the current regime.

And we will lose the long, bloody, guerrilla war that will follow. The Guardian has an excellent article by George Monbiot on three very likely outcomes of the current fighting.

This invasion is the triumph of thoughtless imperialism and domestic political venality over anything resembling intelligence, or even rational self-interest. Remember Viet Nam? Afghanistan? Lebanon? Somalia? What were the outcomes of these various invasions of a backwards nation by an over-whelming power? Dirty wars, human rights atrocities, and humiliation for the imperial power.

This is not some weak-kneed, granola-crunching, "Give peace a chance", tie-dyed fantasy here. I'm talking about preserving the long-term self-interest of my country. I think we have a good military and we should use it. Not like this, however. Not in a way that sets our nation up (once again) for failure and for wrong-doing. Not another endless endeavor that makes criminals of our soldiers so that our administration can stay in control of the domestic government. The criminal calculation of the Bush administration is so crude, I can't believe even the yahoos from Texas are falling for it, but they are.

Of course, humor may be the only way to deal with this quagmire for the time being. Accounts will be settled over time, make no mistake:

Sing along to the tune of "If you're happy and you know it"

If you cannot find Osama, bomb Iraq.
If the markets are a drama, bomb Iraq.
If the terrorists are frisky,
Pakistan is looking shifty,
North Korea is too risky,
Bomb Iraq.

If we have no allies with us, bomb Iraq.
If we think someone has dissed us, bomb Iraq.
So to hell with the inspections,
Let's look tough for the elections,
Close your mind and take directions,
Bomb Iraq.

It's "pre-emptive non-aggression", bomb Iraq.
Let's prevent this mass destruction, bomb Iraq.
They've got weapons we can't see,
And that's good enough for me
'Cos it's all the proof I need
Bomb Iraq.

If you never were elected, bomb Iraq.
If your mood is quite dejected, bomb Iraq.
If you think Saddam's gone mad,
With the weapons that he had,
(And he tried to kill your dad),
Bomb Iraq.

If your corporate fraud is growin', bomb Iraq.
If your ties to it are showin', bomb Iraq.
If your politics are sleazy,
And hiding ain't that easy,
And your manhood's getting queasy,
Bomb Iraq.

Fall in line and follow orders, bomb Iraq.
For our might knows no borders, bomb Iraq.
Disagree? We'll call it treason,
Let's make war not love this season,
Even if we have no reason,
Bomb Iraq.