Oh, I never really had any doubt from the first "Go get 'em boys" that at some stage the UN would be left holding the baby in Iraq. They'll also take the rap for failure, should the bathwater be hard to replace. And we'll be discussing how that is developing in 2014, as well (hindsight notwithstanding). Never had any doubt about that from the start, either.

Is it just because I'm getting older, and the time tends to move quicker than before, or is it really that long ago, because I find it hard to believe that some people have forgotten all the statements Bush made in the run up to the war, and all the back-peddling he has done hereto? There has to come a point in the politically aware individual's thinking, in my opinion, where one realises that the belief that one's leader can do no wrong, is in danger of blending into that muddy water, into the realms of blind faith.

And that is that very quality which we abhorr so much in others' cultures; the blind faith in a person, or ideology, the restriction this puts on free-thinking, and the effect it has on progress, purely for progress' sake.
It is just a roller-coaster ride, that we seem to have no control over, nor any part in determining the direction of, and more than just irony, I would venture to suggest a very serious credibility question regarding Bush 43, and his take on the whole 'War on Terror' has surfaced.

He had the American public assured that they could manage it themselves; without us if necessary. It is a U Turn of gargantuan dimensions, and if an alleged immoral President should be brought to the reckoning table, so should an alleged dishonest and unscrupulous one.
Isn't it in everybody's interest?

The trouble here is, that if GWB cries 'Wolf' again, will there be many people metaphorically stand up, and not so metaphorically say "Ok, that's enough"?
Several threads ago, DougR mused over the notion that Iran must really be shitting themselves at the time he made the post. I think that idea can now be safely put to rest.

White has always been black, and black has always been white. Some navigate through that kaleidoscope, and become coloured blind in the process. The one's with the apparent rose-tinted sunglasses at least should have the freedom to describe what the spectrum should look like, and not be construed as being in any way un-patriotic behaviour, or 'whistle-blowing' as the charge has been levelled at some of those in opposition to The US Government's policy. Very 'McCarthyish', altogether...

Either way, with all the doubleuspeak and un-proveable negatives, and what have you, that it now seems to be the Time of, and the much of a muchness that the Predidential Election is turning out to be, my prognosis is less than encouraging. I sincerely hope I'm wrong, though.

The more people, however, that accept this kind of breach of promise, and the more who keep on accepting as fact the questionable statements and predictions that the Bush administration has made about this very unique debacle that is now called a war again, well, the less of the spectrum I see.

We live in interesting times.

Jim