Bush's Folly

Equality between the sexes aside, the role of women in combat has long been debated. The official Pentagon position on the topic is that it is not allowed. The reality of the matter, however, is that there are no actual "front lines" in Iraq, and women are routinely killed and maimed. This reality was brought home to Americans yesterday when several female marines were killed and wounded by a suicide bomber in Fallujah.

How much longer will Bush's Iraq folly continue? More and more Americans are slowly coming to terms with the fact that the invasion of Iraq was insanely stupid: Saddam was not a threat; he had no WMD's; Iraq was contained by no-fly zones in both the north and the south; Osama bin Laden remains on the loose; and as demonstrated by the various Downing Street memos, the intelligence used to justify the invasion was selectively interpreted and no thought was given to the eventual occupation. As a result, American soldiers AND innocent Iraqi civilians continue to needlessly die, and for what? This conflict is nothing but a total and absolute waste of life and resources.

If you listen to the drivel coming out of the White House, things in Iraq are absolutely hunky-dory. But while Bush remains optimistic, reality continues to rear its ugly head: Last month alone, 80 US troops and 700 Iraqi civilians died.

Cheney recently went as far as to say that the insurgency is in its "last throes." Is he certifiably mad, or has he been into the medicinal marijuana again? Even worse, is the White House deliberately insulting the intelligence of the American people?

Someone in charge needs to confront reality, and they need to do it soon.