Askariya riots, Day 4: Breakdown of law and order.

The Askariya riots, contrary to what the Iraqi government reports, have not stopped. Instead, they have only gotten worse despite a group of clerics appearing on TV and condemning the violence. This is a graphic illustration of the utter and total failure of Bush's Iraq policy. Bush may have felt better after exercising revenge on Saddam. But the problem is that he totally ignored the dynamics present in any situation. When you remove a ruler like Saddam, you will only succeed in awakening ancient tribal feuds that were only covered over as opposed to actually being resolved.

The fact that angry Muslims are ignoring the curfews imposed by the government points to a total breakdown of law and order in Iraq. The problem is that most Iraqis no longer regard the Iraqi government as legitimate -- just puppets of the Bush administration. And the nationalists and the insurgents have never regarded the Iraqi government as legitimate. And the more our troops stay in Iraq, the more they contribute to the problem.

In the meantime, Bush is nowhere to be seen -- he is too busy getting on with his life by fundraising for GOP politicians. They will need all the help they can get -- the Democrats are ahead by double digits in the race for Congress. This could translate into control of both the House and Senate. So, this will be a case of millions of GOP dollars going down the drain. This is similar to Nero during the days when his dictatorial rule was unravelling -- he was fiddling while Rome was burning. Like Bush, he was looking for convenient scapegoats, and the Christians offered him a perfect opportunity. But that did not save him in the end.

In the same way, Bush will not be saved by blaming the left for Iraq -- too many right-wingers have turned into rats jumping off of the sinking ship. Buckley has reached a point of numbness and despair and offers no answers like he normally does at any given time. But that will not stop Rove from trying -- this is the only way he knows how to fight. In the meantime, Iraq is going up in smoke.

tags: bush  demonstrations  islam  protests  riots  iraq  order  law  askariya  

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