Bush Iraq Policy Redux

Well it does appear that the Bush policy of "We're fighting them in Iraq so that we can defeat them abroad, so we don't have to fight them here at home." has proven an abysmal failure. It is being reported that al Qaeda is at pre 9/11 strength. The article from the Associated Press states,

Al-Qaida is "considerably operationally stronger than a year ago" and has "regrouped to an extent not seen since 2001," the official said, paraphrasing the report's conclusions. "They are showing greater and greater ability to plan attacks in Europe and the United States."

This appears to be yet another nail in the proverbial coffin of the Bush Cheney led war on terrorism. Maybe this latest report will cause a few fence sitting Republicans to finally see the folly of Bush's war in Iraq.

On another note, it is nice to see that the Australia's Defense Minister is bluntly honest as to why their nation is in Iraq. They are all about the oil.

All Wet (aka: Getting Hosed)

So this cartoon wasn't posted after it was drawn. Truth be told, I drew this cartoon twice. In the first rendition Pelosi looked more like an angry old man in drag. Of course, there are those that thought that such a representation of Pelosi was preferable. As the artist I had to go with something that I was more comfortable with. I can always draw (get it?) upon the experience in the future should she develop an overly mannish appearance.

I suppose that the people getting hosed are really the US soldiers that are left to fight and die in Iraq. If I were truly a gifted cartoonist I would have included them in the cartoon, perhaps under the feet of the elephant. This cartoon was definitely more prescient a week ago than it is today, but I liked the image and those that I talked with about the cartoon really liked the imagery so with all deliberate hesitation I give to you, All Wet (aka: Getting Hosed).

The legacy of Bush.

Bush is always talking about his impact and his legacy as the President of the United States being decided by historians. Of course, this is not what Bush meant when he made his comment,

"My attitude is, if they're still writing about (number) one, 43 doesn't need to worry about it."

Now, I am no fan of George Bush and his presidency. In fact, I have been opposed to virtually every idea that Bush has proposed from his tax cuts for the wealthy to the invasion (and occupation) of Iraq.

As a critic of this president I can say that there are two distinct areas that George Bush's presidency has had a positive impact on a historical level. The first would be the oil industry. Before the invasion of Iraq the cost of a barrel of oil was nearer to $25.00 than it was $65.00. (And it looks like gas prices aren't going to decrease anytime soon.)

And the second would be that of the military industrial complex. The warning of Eisenhower about the military industrial complex (and the lessons of the Vietnam War) have gone unheeded. The forewarning from Eisenhower and the experience of Vietnam were lessons that the current president and the members of his administration have ignored to the peril of US service personnel and Iraqi civilians. If not the world.


There are some issues that I can't reduce to a simple cartoon image.