Have Gun, Will Time Travel

A snapshot of America:

1. We’ve been bogged down for several years now in a war led by the proposition that we suffered an unprovoked attack by a rogue government unresponsive to law and order that harbors elements hostile to the well being of our way of life.
2. The Government claims repeatedly that if not stopped now the violent ideology represented by our adversary will take root and spread throughout the region, making it much more difficult to win a larger war to stop the enemy’s uncontrollable desire for world domination. No less than the survival of western civilization is at stake.
3. Evidence provided by the Administration in the effort to convince the public to support the launching of the war is controversial at best, much of it has proved to be false. The Administration points to faulty intelligence and the breakdown of communication channels as the culprits. Critics accuse the President of cherry-picking intelligence to make his case for war.
4. Connections are drawn between the target regime and another more sinister combatant. It is inferred that the receiver of our attack is backed by this “other” enemy and is actively working in support of an on-going war with America. At this point, no proof of this representation has been produced.
5. There is an ever increasing insurgency of surprising intensity that only seems to get stronger as more action is taken against it. Predictions of our foe’s imminent demise, made frequently by the Administration, seem to be totally unfounded and at odds with what one reads in the newspapers or sees on the news.
6. There are visible International consequences of misjudgments-from loss of international prestige to the creation of a breeding ground for fanatical defenders against the occupying forces.
7. Administration officials appeal to domestic constituencies to “just hang in there” insisting that the war will soon be turned over to the indigenous army to defend itself. They say that there is just a transitory period of training needed in order for the locals to stand on their own.
8. The government has been spying on its citizens in the name of national security.
9. The Secretary of Defense is coming under increasing scrutiny for mismanaging the war. He is taking shots from the media, government and from some returning soldiers. His boss, the President, is forced repeatedly to come to his defense.
10. The war on the ground is becoming increasingly polarized as the forces of civil war continue to become more evident and threaten to tear the region apart. It is devolving into civil anarchy.
11. The puppet government is in tatters. The hope that it will evolve into an effective governing body, able to quell the civil violence and pull the competing forces together, is becoming extremely remote.
12. Bordering countries are becoming increasingly unstable.
13. Both civilian and armed forces death tolls keep climbing at an increasing rate.
14. The trade deficit and national debt continue to grow as resources are diverted to the war effort.
15. The popularity of both the President and the war continues to fall precipitously.

This is not a pretty picture, but I believe it is an accurate one. Only this is not only an accounting of the state of affairs in April 2006, although it fits equally well, it is instead a description of America in April 1968! Deja Vu all over again...

tags: iraq  history  all  vietnam  

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