With the advantage of 20/20 hindsight . . . . if only the US had instituted the "surge" two years ago, if only the Administration would have had a realistic plan for post war Iraq, if only we had heard something from the lips of the President other than "stay the course" . . . . we would be a lot better off today. 

These people that run the Pentagon, State and the White House are supposedly a lot smarter than us poor schmucks in the hinterlands, but even poor schmucks could see things deteriorated pretty quickly after the initial military triumph.

Things are definitely better today.  But why the hell did it take so long?  Perhaps we should try planning ahead next time. . . . and there will be a next time, no matter who sits in the White House.     

Based on discussions with a nephew who has been there (a Grunt) and checking out various blogs and news services (that I trust), I would say things are going very well in Iraq, all things considered.  I am a little disappointed that we haven't killed more bad guys then we have (no matter how many we have toasted), but the season is still young and I pray daily for happy hunting for our guys.

And now, today's Shrub Report®:

Huh?

Where's the two-hour retrospective and live coverage?  

Yesterday this shrubber told you of the Danes thwarting a terror plot, and now the Germans have, too. I wonder if  phone conversations were listened to in nucovering these plots?

The scramble to profit from the Great Global Warming Scam continues…  

You just know John Edwards has a hard-on over the possibility over an entirely new industry to sue and profit from…

I guess when you are running for president, returning dirty money is a must, but not if you are a Kennedy…  

I wonder what Nepal's Airplane Mechanics Union had to say about this…

how do you really feel things are going in Iraq?

A hell of a lot better than the LMSM is crafting and spinning ...

People forget, the rest of the world isn't as "instant mashed potatoes" like we are.  Things take much longer in other countries that haven't even gotten out of the 15th Century yet.  Not to mention the chains of fear and doubt that need to be sawed through.  Of all the things our brave and selfless troops have asked of us back home (& of Congress too!) it's patience, faith, and loyalty and support ... They are eager and excited about doing their job(s) and completing the mission of victory.

Many, many, many in this country have failed them miserably. Some even lying about carrying out that mission  (I support the troops ... Bring them home.)

Since I’m no expert, take everything I say with a grain of salt (hell, even I do that). However, that having been said … It sounds like Iraq is a race for sanity. By that, I mean that any rational person would say to the Iraqis, look, you guys are sitting on a fortune in oil. Unless you’re all fools, you’ll all be rich. But the Iraqis, especially the Shiites, insist on re-fighting old feuds. They’re doing the one thing that will prevent them from success. They’re being egged on by al Qaeda, Iran, Syria, and other outsiders who are exploiting the Iraqi civil unrest for their own benefit. Those outside groups are fanning the flames, and the Shiites are still falling for it. The Sunnis seem to “get it,” but they’re not stupid. If the USA pulls out, it’ll be every man for himself, so they’ll cooperate only as long as the USA sticks around.

The value of the surge is to stop the fighting … just long enough … to appeal to the basic rationality of otherwise intelligent human beings. If you just stop fighting, you guys will all be rich and powerful. The only thing stopping you is hate; and that hate is being encouraged by self-interested “neighbors” who don’t give a crap about you.

We, at least, are honest about our intentions. All those outside groups will lose if Iraq is prosperous.

• You think Iran wants a rich, successful, and peaceful country next door? Iran wants Iraq to be a wasteland, and the Iraqis who listen to them are destroying their own people.

• On the other hand, we'd love you to be successful. It's not just trading oil with Iraq. We benefit if we can trust that no terrorist attacks will come from Iraq.  

• To the Iraqis: look at the current situation. Look at who benefits, and look at who loses – if you become rich and powerful. You’re not rich and powerful now. Who is stopping you from it? It isn’t the US. We’re not asking you to obey the Great Satan. All we’re asking you is to look at your own interests. We want you to succeed.  That’s sane. That’s rational.

• It’s a race for sanity, though. We only have so many resources. Our military is under severe strain. We can’t wait forever for sanity to break out.  It’s a race. I don’t know who will win.

The war in Iraq is going much better than the shameful msm will EVER admit. 

I think the best way to guage success in Iraq is to look at Europe.  Europe and the Middle East were exactly alike:  lots of wealth, lots of natural resources, lots of highly-defined cultural, religious, and lingual differences that led to centuries of conflict and distrust.  Europe was every bit as chaotic as the Middle East up until the end of WWII.  WWII marked the first time that the U.S. finially woke up and realized that the pinheads in charge of Europe were incapable of looking past their own bloodlines, egos, and power needs, and establishing a long-term peace.  And as a result, we stayed in Europe instead of just going in, fighting a war, and then retreating to our little corner of the globe.  We stayed, we made sure everyone behaved, and we kept the peace until all the folks who had been raised on blood, vengence, and violence died and were replaced with new generations that had been raised in peace.  It took us 50 years, but it worked.

In Iraq we've eliminated a tyrant and we're getting a country used to democracy.  Anyone who thinks this is going to be easy should look at the post-war governments of France and Germany for examples of how hard it's going to be.  People who can't see past next Spring are seriously missing the big picture.  For us to be successful, we're going to need to sit on Iraq probably for as long as we sat on Europe.

The end of WWII brought a civil war in Greece, small conflicts throughout Germany, Italy, and France (which ultimately led France to pull out of NATO).  These are the same issues that we're either seeing in Iraq today, or will be as we move forward, so it shouldn't come as a shock or surprise to anyone that they're happening.  It also shouldn't be seen as some impossible barrier as we've worked through these issues before and we can work through them again.

Anyone have LIVE EARTH fianl tallies?  Monies spent, monies raised, how large a carbon footprint at each venue, etc???

It appears we have a runner!

Save a SeAL, club a liberal!!

I am saying 99% because I worked in two different Division Internment Facilities (DIF's) during my second tour in Iraq. I am only stating what I had seen first hand. If you want a true idea of how it is going over there, talk to those of us who have been there two or three times. We have seen how the dynamics of the war has changed and it has not changed for the better. I am a Staff Sergeant in the US Army who has a bit of a grasp of what is really going on over there.