Hypocrites and Heffalump Traps

Why are men and women in military uniforms, military vehicles, and military weaponry the ones who are in charge of "reconstruction" in Iraq?

What on earth were the planners thinking? First we invade a country on the basis that they pose an imminent threat to the world because they have the most hideous weapons in history, poised and ready. Of course that wasn't true. Next we smash the hell out of this country -- precision bombing, my ass. Thousands of civilians killed, but of course, we don't bother to even try to count the dead and the mutilated. Then we declare major combat over.

But the military, our fighting forces, the ones who don't know anything other than how to advance and kill, are given the task of winning hearts and minds while they bash doors in looking for "terrorists" who hate freedom.

The absurdity of what has been happening in the Middle East is mind-numbing.

It started with USUK's first preventive war. Saddam at some point in the future might do something bad to someone so it's alright to "take him out." No matter that he had nothing to do something bad with! He must have been considering it, right?

It followed with this inane notion that the general Iraqi populace (as if one can generalize about the peoples there) would be so grateful for our shocking and awful invasion that they would sing our praises. All the while, we let their children play with leftover cluster bombs, we hand-pick their future leaders, we sell off all their assets to the highest non-Iraqi bidder, we protect the Oil Ministry but let their culture burn, and we start building four major military bases on their land.

The absurdity continued with the idiotic idea that our fighting troops were the right people to show Iraq the essential goodness of democracy (read: corporate greed, aka capitalism).

Is it really any wonder that our soldiers, and those seen to be collaborating with them, are attacked with increasing frequency and deadliness?

There's a saying, "Don't send a boy to do a man's job." We can add to that, "Don't send a soldier to do a diplomat's job."

George W. Bush has made it clear he doesn't read newspapers, check the Internet, or watch TV for his information. He says he relies on his advisors for his information, the people he trusts the most. I call that inviting disaster. But then, George was never too smart, remember?