The Right Wing Delusion

"Anybody can make up statistics to prove a point. 14% of the people know that." - Homer Simpson

Recently, the AP reported that Bush's economic approval may be tied to his war approval. They said that as the approval for his handling of Iraq goes down, so does the opinion of how he handles the economy as well as the job market. This is as nonsensical, as well as sad but true, as the right wing's faith in Donald Rumsfeld that he can recover from the drastically misled war to bring us to a victory.

I've been looking at some of the conservative and liberal websites, and little has been said about the reparations which Rumsfeld and the administration are planning on giving to the Iraqi abuse victims. It makes me wonder if the liberals are happy with the idea that we are throwing money after the victims of our own abuse, and if the conservatives are just mildly unhappy because they have to do something to right their wrongs.

The problem is that there is no logic to the idea of these reparations. It reminds me of bad parents who, instead of going to games or spending time with their kids, just give them money. Just as we abused them, we hope this here payment will help make things alright for the damage done both physically and mentally to your brain. Which brings up the question, "what is the price of a soul?"

But, then, I'm not here to argue in support of these reparations, I am here to criticize Rumsfeld and Bush (and by Bush, I mean Cheney). This war we have here is started. I want all of you to face it. If you're a liberal wanting us to pull out of Iraq, you're going to have to come to grips with the fact that, as a nation, we started something that we cannot stop until it is over. A war isn't just some willy-nilly action that one can go in with even the shakiest of reasons, and, considering I, a once-out-of-the-loop college student, was against the war based on WMDs and whatever other minor illogical reasons Bush was giving that liberals ae currently harping on him for, then you should have been too. You can't just say, "well, I'm sorry, we were mistaken. Here's some money. Have a good life" and then pull out the military without a)being seen as a rash, illogical and cold-hearted bitch as well as b)losing further standing as a world power, in a world growing scarier by the impending and growing powers of China (why can't it be Japan? they have cooler shit).

Now that all of you are hopefully coming to terms with the idea that Dubya and his cronies got us into a giant mess from which we are not so easily extracted, you have to come to terms with where our mistakes have been. The problem is that, though Bush has said that policy should not be dictated by popular opinion, Rumsfeld's war was enhanced by the liberal leanings. While I believe Bush is wrong about policies, war is something best left for the cold brutal people who can handle the harsh reality of massive destruction. Having played games of Stratego and various other war simulators, one comes to realize that by going in in minor amounts always leads to the diminuation of the nations soldiers as well as the total defeat of the first attack wave. Yet, when it came to Iraq, we did not go in all gung-ho and defeat the terrorist cells. We did not send investigators or border patrols there by the millions. And, like it or not, this was a large influence of the liberal thinking.

Rumsfeld was the head of this war. He designed the war, and executed it. He was the one who fucked it all up. To me, the length of the war as well as the messy execution of the war is strike one for ole Rummy.

The second strike, to me, isn't really a strike. But, a large portion of our nation, including many of the conservatives, consider this a major strike. Rumsfeld knew of and approved the Abu Ghraib prison abuses. That link is a Wired link which also links to The New Yorker about a story being released today (or next Monday) regarding Rumsfeld's full knowledge of the policies leading to the abuse shown in the photographs.

This leads to Rummy's third strike: the reparations given to the Abu Ghraib abuse victims. I summed it up shortly in a little footnote two political links ago (maybe I'll start a politics only journal). Some papers report on the positive effects it has for the American side, like Washington Post's article on a former victim turned US guard. To me, that sounds alot like the way the Nazis scared people, including the Jews, into becoming an MP. Other groups are not reacting so positively(?) by going with Americans to help their fellow man. They are going against their attackers to eventually defeat them and kick them out. I had read a few stories in the days following the release of the photographs (but I can only find a link to a Salon.com article republished after, where the last line is pertinent) where the victims hated the Americans, much as a bullied child hates his bullies and gets revenge on them. Revenge is not a solely American concept, nor is it a solely Iraqi concept. Instead, it is a universal Human condition.

So, if we think about it, what would be the best way to get revenge on the Americans? Perhaps it would be to get money from them, deflect to their enemies, and then give the American money to the terrorist factions. And, guess who's helping to do that? Yup, ole Rummy. Which is why I think the third strike is the most serious strike of all. And, its not that we're trying to be good sports and giving them tips either (its not sports, its war people!). Maybe if the reparations were delayed until after the war effort, but then we would never give them money. Especially since the war is continually botched.

So, its not because of the prison abuse that I think Bush should give Rummy the boot, but its because of sheer incompetence that Rummy should get out of his office. He should be gone, because if I made a project that went months over its time schedule, as well as billions of dollars over budget, I think I would be fired, and there would be a new mastermind at the project's helm. As would any normal American in any corporatized company, just as the greenlighter at 20th Century Fox was fired/resigned because he OKed Fight Club which went over budget, and didn't make up its money at the theater, even though that was Fox's best year in a fuckload of time for film. But, not Dubya's administration and not in the government, apparently. I want that job security, you know?

Yet, the conservatives still want to cling to Rummy, even though they probably do agree with the three main points. They believe and cling to the idea that Rummy can redirect the war into something salvageable and we are not without hope. They believe that nothing was Rummy's fault. They believe in Rumsfeld and that he should remain in office. And, therein lies the fundamental Right Wing Delusion: the horse you're backing is awesome, even if he is in last place.