A State Of Anarchy

When the "Mission Accomplished" banner waved, on that fateful day when George W. Bush told the world that major combat had ended in Iraq little did we know that we were only at the beginning on a long, perilous journey.

That day now seems like it was at least a decade ago and "Mission Accomplished" is a sad reminder of lies told and promises broken.

The day Bush proclaimed "Mission Accomplished" has become associated in my mind with the day the real war began in Iraq.

Now we are drawing close to the fourth anniversary of our botched occupation/liberation, and we are further from the ultimate goal than we were during the good old days of the "Mission Accomplished".

Iraq has descended into a state of chaos. Sectarian militias roam the neighborhoods of Baghdad and al Anbar province, protecting some, massacring others

It is common place for a suicide bomber to pretend he is an employer looking for day laborers, only to detonate himself when the crowds of impoverished job seekers come close enough for maximum impact.

Beheadings have declined since the demise of Abu Musab al Zarqawi, who had a certain penchant for decapitation, but still occur, even to woman.

Bodies riddled with bullet holes that show signs of torture wash upon the banks of the Tigris and Euphrates, the location many biblical scholars believe to be the location of the garden of Eden.

Children who do not even understand the situation cannot attend school. Soon we risk a new generation that knows only war that may evolve into the next generation of terrorist, rather than the new generation to rebuild Iraq.

A trip to the market is necessary and can be deadly. Some hospitals have even become sectarian, throwing out patients of the opposite sect.

Iraq has become a complete and utter state of anarchy that is teetering on the brink of being uncontainable and close to spilling over it's borders.

Rather than pouring aid and resources into Iraq, it's neighbors who complain of the American occupation do little to help the Iraqi's themselves and as we well know some of Iraq's neighbors contribute to the chaos.

Inadequate Administrations, in both the United States and in Iraq have only contributed to the problem. The refusal to honestly address the problem with earnest intentions has thwarted all attempts to contain the situation.

For instance the Presidents of these counties, Talabani and Bush, have failed to live up to even the slightest of expectations.

Both puppets can offer criticism of the report just released by the Iraq Study Group or of any suggestions of a drawback of US troops, but neither has any original or useful ideas of their own. In fact these two have done little to help the situation at all except run their respective mouths.

Every approach to Iraq has failed very possibly because the United States should have never been in Iraq in the first place, the United States should have been tracking down Osama bin Laden and al Qaeda, not thinking it can somehow suddenly transform the world now that the trade centers are gone.

The focus should have always been on the elimination of those responsible for 9/11 and the securing of our own country, including borders and ports.

Instead, we blundered into Iraq, wasted our resources and our time while Osama bin Laden is probably in a silken palace somewhere smoking shishna laughing about how he never thought the United States to bleed itself in Iraq, rather than in the pursuit of him.

A living Osama bin Laden is walking testament to our enemies that one can attack the United States and live to tell the tale.

Iraq took the main force of the blow in the War on Terror, though it had no ties to the attacks on America and did not possess the alleged Weapons of Mass Destruction the Bush Administration had claimed it had.

Our invasion and occupation has contributed to the picture we see today in Iraq. Though now the violence is now aimed mostly between Sunni and Shia the state of lawlessness which allows for such behavior would not have been present if not for our mission of ill logic.

Not only is a speedy resolution reasonable, it is necessary. Reconciliation talks need to be more than lip service. Iraqi leaders have to take responsibility, but the United States cannot just hand the burden over without offering it's assistance and advice.

Advice which should not come from someone with such a poor understanding of the Middle East and Democracy as George W. Bush.