When You're in a Hole
What a waste. Next week as the Republicans take the stage and the curtain rises on the Greek Tragedy that they have created in America, one thing is certain: the tragedy will be portrayed as a triumph. Should one expect logic from a political party whose only reason for being is to perpetuate itself at the cost of those it is supposed to serve? It is indeed a sad reflection on the intelligence of the American public that after bringing the country so much ruin, the GOP could be in a dead heat for another turn at the White House.
The Republican machine -- the political instrument of the oil industry in America -- continues to pump out distortions and false statements in describing two of the most important issues of the day: the war in Iraq, and energy security.
The McCain campaign has, of late, anointed itself as the party of oil drilling, using the popularity of expanding offshore exploration to hammer Democrats who oppose such practices. Though most energy experts admit that expanded drilling will provide little oil and no long or short-term solution to the overall energy crisis, the GOP can comfortably target America's coastlines and the Alaskan Anwar reserve, satisfied that voters will not do the research to challenge the advisability of more drilling.
What's behind the public's lust for new oil rigs? Concern over continued dependence on Middle Eastern oil is the main culprit of course. After six years of fighting a war to gain strategic control over a key component of Middle East oil production the Bush Administration has little to show for it beyond the human casualties. Buoyed by an increase in demand and a weak dollar resulting from Bush economic policies, rising prices at the pump have bypassed immediate voter concern over the war. In recent weeks, market fluctuations have seen the cost of a barrel of oil rise and fall precipitously with little change in the price of petrol. The idea that our presence in Iraq will have any measurably positive effect on what we pay at the pump has long since been left in the dust.
So why is the American public not asking about the purpose of our troops remaining in Iraq? In campaign speeches, John McCain now comfortably insists that under his administration Americans will continue to fight the war in Iraq until achieving "victory" so that all of those who have been killed fighting for their country "will not have died in vain."
The truth is that no matter how many short-term gains the American military appears to achieve, no matter how many religious warlords the US government pays off, there will be no victory in Iraq, only more graves to be dug.. The best that America can hope for is to see a temporary truce among rival religious factions that have been in conflict for hundreds of years. The Bush administration, unable to face the country and admit its responsibility for this titanic blunder, will simply pass the problem off to the next president and sneak away into the night.
Whether it is war policy or energy policy, the U.S. under Republican Party leadership will continue to find itself in a hole. Their answer will be to keep on digging.
What a waste. Next week as the Republicans take the stage and the curtain rises on the Greek Tragedy that they have created in America, one thing is certain: the tragedy will be portrayed as a triumph. Should one expect logic from a political party whose only reason for being is to perpetuate itself at the cost of those it is supposed to serve? It is indeed a sad reflection on the intelligence of the American public that after bringing the country so much ruin, the GOP could be in a dead heat for another turn at the White House.
The Republican machine -- the political instrument of the oil industry in America -- continues to pump out distortions and false statements in describing two of the most important issues of the day: the war in Iraq, and energy security.
The McCain campaign has, of late, anointed itself as the party of oil drilling, using the popularity of expanding offshore exploration to hammer Democrats who oppose such practices. Though most energy experts admit that expanded drilling will provide little oil and no long or short-term solution to the overall energy crisis, the GOP can comfortably target America's coastlines and the Alaskan Anwar reserve, satisfied that voters will not do the research to challenge the advisability of more drilling.
What's behind the public's lust for new oil rigs? Concern over continued dependence on Middle Eastern oil is the main culprit of course. After six years of fighting a war to gain strategic control over a key component of Middle East oil production the Bush Administration has little to show for it beyond the human casualties. Buoyed by an increase in demand and a weak dollar resulting from Bush economic policies, rising prices at the pump have bypassed immediate voter concern over the war. In recent weeks, market fluctuations have seen the cost of a barrel of oil rise and fall precipitously with little change in the price of petrol. The idea that our presence in Iraq will have any measurably positive effect on what we pay at the pump has long since been left in the dust.
So why is the American public not asking about the purpose of our troops remaining in Iraq? In campaign speeches, John McCain now comfortably insists that under his administration Americans will continue to fight the war in Iraq until achieving "victory" so that all of those who have been killed fighting for their country "will not have died in vain."
The truth is that no matter how many short-term gains the American military appears to achieve, no matter how many religious warlords the US government pays off, there will be no victory in Iraq, only more graves to be dug.. The best that America can hope for is to see a temporary truce among rival religious factions that have been in conflict for hundreds of years. The Bush administration, unable to face the country and admit its responsibility for this titanic blunder, will simply pass the problem off to the next president and sneak away into the night.
Whether it is war policy or energy policy, the U.S. under Republican Party leadership will continue to find itself in a hole. Their answer will be to keep on digging.
Comments