A League of Their Own

“In the beloved Iraq, the bloodshed is continuing under an illegal foreign occupation and detestable sectarianism.”

Hey wait a second; I thought King Abdullah and Saudi Arabia was supposed to be one of our staunchest allies in the Middle East! I mean, just because we asked them to step up their efforts in helping to stabilize the region doesn’t mean they have to go around criticizing our occupation of Iraq, does it?! We didn’t ask for their opinion! We only asked them to help bail us out! Can’t anybody illegally occupy a sovereign nation anymore without taking guff about it?! Come on now Israel, help us out here! Throw us a friggin’ bone!

“The blame should fall on us, the leaders of the Arab nation, with our ongoing differences, our refusal to walk the path of unity. All that has made the nation lose its confidence in us.”

Oh, ok, cool! So it’s not entirely our fault, just mostly! Thanks King.

In all seriousness, Abdullah obviously makes some very valid points in the speech he delivered at the Arab League meeting yesterday, one of which being his disapproval of the ongoing Western embargo upon the Palestinian people. Apparently it never occurred to Bush et al that perhaps assisting displaced groups in the Middle East and Africa might actually begin to change their perception of the US from being a marauding colonizing imperialist nation to (dare I say) liberators! Then and only then might flowers and chocolates be bestowed upon us! After all, I do/would not appreciate being judged based upon the criminal nature of the rulers unfortunately still in power.

Speaking of our delusional shrub*, last night on Olbermann, Keith and co. were discussing Bush and his impending nervous breakdown – talking to the paintings in the White House a la Tricky Dick and such. It’s pretty hard at this point not to draw comparisons between the two fine, upstanding administrations as Bush & Cheney have gotten away with stunts Nixon had likely only dreamt of. An example of this virtual insanity is his referencing some Iraqi bloggers (“…they have bloggers in Baghdad just like we’ve got here!” –Señor Bush) who claim the surge is more effective than meets the pessimistic (realistic) eye: “Displaced families are returning home, marketplaces are seeing more activity…We feel safer about moving in the city now.” Et cetera, et cetera.

To some (namely Bush supporters) it may seem as though I take pleasure in hearing about the glaring problems abroad, as it continues to dog this administration like a relentless rottweiler. I am glad that the considerable misdeeds of this horrendous administration are finally being increasingly exposed, but what is occurring in that region is nothing short of an epic tragedy. I feel immensely guilty about what has happened to all the innocent people who have lost their lives, their family members, their friends, essentially their livelihood along with any sense of normalcy that once existed in their land. Nobody deserves to endure such hardship and I sincerely hope that one day we as a country might be able to ask their forgiveness. Oh wait, I forgot, they should be thanking us for liberating them.

*This is a Molly Ivins reference… The name of George W. Bush’s oil company back in Texas was Arbusto, which he believed meant ‘Bush’ en español. However, the more accurate translation is actually ‘shrub’.