Nasty Nymphos Need My Nachos

On CBS News' "Face the Nation," Mr. Cheney sought to place the war in a broader context. "It's not just about Iraq, it's not about just today's situation in Iraq," he said. "It's about where we're going to be 10 years from now in the Middle East and whether or not there's going to be hope and the development of the governments that are responsive to the will of the people, that are not a threat to anyone, that are not safe havens for terror or manufacturers of weapons of mass destruction."

who's "we" exactly? we the people or we americans or we republicans or we adminstration historical figures or we the world or we not the threat or we the safe haven?
vietnam, at least, had something of a civil war going on...sort of. the ruling faction was being attacked by the rival faction who found foreign military support. and we had signed a really ill-advised treaty with them. so had france and another country. the french went in first...sort of. they got the shit knocked out of the forefathers. we took over for whatever reason besides the treaty. we've never admitted getting our ass kicked by the vietnemese, but something or ours was hit up. hard.
in iraq, we had nothing. saddam hussein ruled with an iron fist. the shi'ites could attend their mosques and practice their religion very quietly. but they could not disagree with any of hussein's decisions. otherwise, he would have to hurt them. and what they did bad, he did back twice. not pretty at all.
but we put him in place. we kept him in place. we watched his children grow up. we watched them frolic and gambol and then try to flee the country with something like a billion dollars in lots of different denominations (cash, gold, statues, bullion, jewelry, bonds, ancient figurines, literary works, land titles, biblical artifacts, blackmail of enemies, medals, pictures, antique furniture, rare animals...these boys had it all and, when push came to shove, they grabbed as much as they could in the time they had...and they loved their father for all he was worth...saddam is still doing what he likes to do, which is act the revolutionary and upset the proceedings with vehement rhetoric. this is his poison. he gets off on being pissed). then we saw them ripped to shreds by bullets. benny and clyde. it makes me think of o brother where art thou? when they're in the barn loft and clooney keeps saying "damn, we're in a tight spot". but, of course, the boys fuck it up. and die.
a fitting epitaph, maybe, to an entire family as it now must accept entry to the lowest echelon of the ruling class. these are the remnants of war. not just ours, but decades of internecine fighting. we just happened to be the latest foreigner to make a try.

forgot where i was going. nice night, y'all.