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Too many people confuse the situation in Iraq with the situation in Israel. THEY ARE NOT THE SAME! It is perfectly feasible to agree that the Americans do not belong in Iraq (although not that they are the demons that many people call them) and also that the "Palestinians" are a group of Arabs that were created for the sole purpose of destroying Israel and are led by a cadre of terrorists who advocate mass murder of civilians as their political philosophy. Dafna Yee, director JWD - Jewish Watch Dog http://jwd-jewishwatchdog.home.comcast.net Sheer Poetry By Mike Lux "The world is too much with us." That line, written close to 200 years ago by William Wordsworth, has been very much in my thoughts as I've been reading the morning papers the last couple of days. It was written about the storm of human emotions that swept over Wordsworth in his life, but these days it could describe Iraq and the Bush administration. The problem for the Bushies - in general but most painfully and intensely in Iraq - is that the real world does not look anything like the strictly black and white, good and evil, with us or against us world they believe in. The world, especially in places like Iraq, is messy. Alliances shift, emotions change and surge, factional leaders follow their own path, ethnic and religious tensions stay close to the surface. Bush, Cheney, and Rumsfeld were surprised that the entire country didn't welcome us as liberators - now even some of those that did are killing our soldiers. The simplistic world Bush lives in is very relaxing and comfortable, except when the real world comes crashing in. That's what is happening right now in Iraq, and it is dangerous business for Bush in this election year. He is running as the tough, straightforward, thumbs up or down kind of guy, and is trying to paint Kerry as weak because he changes his positions too much and is too nuanced in his decision making. It's an appealing argument for many Americans, who are pretty straightforward in their thinking. But this style of governance and policy making is exactly what has gotten us into so much trouble in Iraq, and precisely the reason so many of our historic allies around the world are utterly rejecting our foreign policy decisions. Let's take a look at the situation today in Iraq: � The Sunni triangle, the base of Saddam Hussein's strength, is still a hotbed of resistance and insurgent attacks. � The Kurds in the north don't want anyone in the rest of the country to have any power over how they govern themselves; while the Shiites are outraged the interim constitution gave them so little power over the Kurds. Meanwhile, the Kurds are upset with us for siding so much with Turkey and are ratcheting up the tension on the northern Turkish border. � The most prominent leader of the Shiites has not signed off on the interim constitution or the idea of delaying elections, while the second most prominent leader is sought for arrest because his militia is in a pitched battle with American troops in the streets of Baghdad and Fallujah. � Al Qaeda operatives from around the Middle East are streaming into Iraq. President Bush's reaction: "Stay the course." Bush is so strong and so tough and resolute and straightforward that he's not going to let a little thing like the actual situation on the ground get in his way. That would be too nuanced, too "European" a thing to do. For me, one of the best arguments for John Kerry is that he can change his mind when the situation changes or he gets new information. He sees that the world is complex and that we are far more likely to succeed in Iraq and in world affairs if we respond to the actual situation, not to our theory of it. Wordsworth's poem has another haunting line that fits today's situation in Iraq: "For this, for everything, we are out of tune." The world is too much with us, and we are out of tune. But I doubt if W., Rummy and Condi are spending too much time gathering wisdom from ancient poets. Too bad. Paid for by the Fair and Balanced PAC, www.bushrecall.org, and not authorized by any candidate or candidates committee. Contributions to BushRecall.org are not deductible as charitable contributions for Federal income tax purposes. To unsubscribe from this mailing list, go to: http://www.bushrecall.org/unsubscribe/ --- / o o \ PNEWS Topic Specific Portals (Vortals) ===OO=====OO================================================http://pnews.org/vortal/ New World disOrder and Myth Busters http://g0lem.net/vortal/ Insane Planet and Wacko World http://g0lem.net/portal/ Bad-Ass Truth and TheGolemsPortal http://pnews.org/portal/ Naked Truth and PNEWS Portal ============================================================ \_/ \_/
