President Bush waited weeks to deliver last night’s speech stating a new, brilliant course for victory in Iraq. The speech was delayed just before Christmas so he could scribble and re-scribble a policy summed up as, I messed up, but let’s keep banging our heads on this wall. Pretty soon our skulls or the wall will crack open - let freedom ring.

Bush’s approval rating is at all time lows of 30-37%.

The still water occupation of Iraq is the weight on his ankles. No matter what event the administration has pointed out as a turning point for the war - most recently the Wild West style hanging of Saddam Hussein - it has failed to change one damn thing in the country.

The troops ceased campaigns to sweep out insurgents long ago. Now their mission is police duty and watching the backs of Iraqi police. With the lesser tasks they still take casualties in the process.

Problem is there are no identifiable enemies to combat; one reason why Iraq was pushed to handle their own situation. Sad thing is the Iraqi police are as about as capable as a pack of mall security guards. Fat Suzie and bow-legged Ricky waving flashlights and nightsticks, the irritable Barry T the war veteran pulling out a pistol he hasn’t used in years, shooting up the street on some flashback hysterics. That’s about as effective the Iraq police have been.

The fight in Iraq is no longer about American soldiers, it’s Sunnis against Shia, with the Kurds keeping quiet at the top of the country hoping they don’t get involved. And keeping to themselves is all that saves them. The minute they grab a stick, marking off borders to a new country called Kurdistan, that’ll cause a host of other problems with neighboring Turkey who do not want to see that.

Iraq was toppled with American guns but remaking it involves political and social issues between two religious factions that have had problems for decades. Saddam Hussein kept them from fighting by putting his sect, the Sunnis, in charge. None of the street bombing, shootings and kidnapping there today ever existed… unless he was doing it.

Brutal. Wrong. But Iraq had nothing to do with 9/11.

Bush pulled them into the War on Terror, claiming they may, might, could be the next one to attempt an attack.

His policy, branded on the belt of his superhero costume, was reiterated last night for those ignorant to his genius:

“The advance of freedom is the call of our time.”

His words. His reason for action. So he marched into Iraq carrying freedom flowers that got trampled on the first day of Iraq’s newfound freedom, and last night threatened to deliver some freedom to Iran. Hinting at the nearby, freshly, parked aircraft carrier floating a moment’s notice from Iran’s shore. Having just admitted mistakes in Iraq, yet again, he completely ignores his hired advisors who have suggested he engage Iran and Syria diplomatically.

But Ol Dubya knows what he’s doing with Iraq, and he’s not done kicking ass in the name of Texas.

The new non-plan plan
• 20,000 additional troops
• Benchmarks of progress for the Iraqi government
• Iraqi oil revenues to fund building infrastructure and jobs
• Live happily ever after

Barack Obama was one of the first to respond to the speech.

“The one thing I share with the President’s assessment is the belief that the American people and the American troops have done everything imaginable that has been asked of them. They’ve done a great job in difficult circumstances.”

“I am not persuaded that 20,000 additional troops in Iraq is going to solve the sectarian violence there, in fact I think it’ll do the reverse. It takes pressure off the Iraqis to arrive at the sort of political accommodation that every observer believes is the ultimate solution to the problems we face there.”

“I am going to actively oppose the President’s proposal. I don’t doubt his sincerity when he says that he thinks this is the best approach, but I think he is wrong and I think the American people believe he is wrong.”

On Iran and Syria..

“I think it is a mistake for us not to be in a dialogue with Iran and Syria, no matter how odious those regimes are, in terms of thinking, are there some mutual interests in stabilizing conditions there.”

“But the problem is that we have no leverage in the region right now.”

There’s an echo in here..

“Essentially what the President said is the same thing he said six months ago and the same thing he said a year ago and that is, be patient, we are going to do whatever it takes. The problem is the Iraqis take that message to mean no matter how little they are compromising with each other, Americans are still going to be present.”

“As long as we are not willing to provide any consequences to failure for them to arrive at political compromise we’re going to continue to see the sort of sectarian bloodshed that’s been evident over the last several months.”

At this point..

“We want to see some sort of exit strategy. I don’t think the American people think that it has to be immediate. I think we recognize the responsibilities that we have to the Iraqi people having launched this invasion. I for one don’t think that re-litigating the original decision to go in is particularly fruitful, despite my objections to it back in 2002.”

“What I do believe is that we have to set clear benchmarks in the term of the direction we’re going, it has to be premised on the idea that there’s a political strategy to get Shia and Sunni working together and we have to exercise the leverage that we have: our troop presence as well as economic aid there and exert that leverage so that we can arrive at some kind of political accommodation.”

“That shouldn’t be a Republican and Democrat issue, it should be a realist versus idealogical perspective and I think the realists are winning out.”