November 29, 2006

I wouldn’t want to be on security detail for the Bush-Maliki meeting in Jordan this week. Bush is despised there, and Maliki has enemies on all sides.

The meeting may undercut rather than bolster Maliki’s power, anyway, as Muqtada al-Sadr has already announced that he and his supporters are leaving the government’s ruling coalition because of this get together.

Meanwhile, Bush is acting as obtuse as ever.

He won’t recognize the reality that there is, indeed, a civil war going on in Iraq. In fact, it’s more a like a civil war squared.

Instead, all he’ll say is, “No question, it’s tough” there.

That’s the understatement of the epic.

Choose a new adjective.

Try intractable.

Try unbearable.

Try disastrous.

But Bush won’t try them on for size.

Bullheaded to the end, he insists: “I’m not going to pull the troops off the battlefield before the mission is complete.”

There are plenty of troops, and families of troops, who can’t be too happy to hear that one.

Because the mission will never be complete.

The mission of democracy in Iraq is way beyond our reach.

The mission of stability in Iraq is way beyond our reach.

There will be no mission accomplished.

Just mission impossible, with more dead troops on that battlefield until Congress finally cuts off funding for Bush’s debacle once and for all.