Baghdad and Beyond
Dick Cheney has emerged again from wherever his current bunker is located. I keep wondering, does anyone know where he hides out or spends his time, hunkered down somewhere deep in the bowels of his bunker? Someone should probably mention to him that, on the average, the body needs about 15 minutes of daily exposure to direct sunlight in order for the body to properly replenish its natural supply of vitamin-D.
He showed up on C-span last week giving a speech to the American Heritage Foundation, probably the most conservative body in America today. But amzazingly, even from this group, no questions were allowed after the speech.
When Mr. Cheney gives a speech I have to listen very carefully. I have a hard time getting past some of his facial expressions. His mouth seems to curl up at one end, showing his teeth in a somewhat unflattering way. I know that sounds petty, and I mean no disrespect, but that is how I react. And he never laughs or smiles. He just never does. I've often thought that the term "Attack Dog" was created with someone like Dick Cheney in mind.
In any event, he gave a speech extolling the "accomplishments" of America's most current occupation effort, which happens to be in Iraq, and more specifically in Baghdad. While Mr Cheney was talking about the accomplishments, four more American soldiers had just died in a firefight with Iraqi resistance forces. And the day before some 10,000 citizens took to the streets of Baghdad to protest the American killing of two additional Iraqi citizens, and the imprisonment of two more Muslim clerics.
As I say I listened to what Cheney had to say. He talked a lot about the $87 billion for the Iraqi occupation effort. I waited patiently for him to give us some idea about the $79 billion that U.S. taxpayers had already coughed up. How was all that money spent? I don't think we should give another dollar to the occupation effort until we (the body politic) have an accounting from the g-w government on the initial $79 billion already expended.
Speaking of how things are going in Iraq, g-w has sent his chief apologists--condi, rumy, colin--out on the chicken and peas circuit again to tell us how well things are going in Iraq. They stay in 5-star hotels. And after they finish eating their fancy 3-course dinner they stand up behind a glossy, mahogany podium and give us their 20-minute spin of how well things are going in the occupied territory of Iraq.
It depends on your point of view I guess. But I just don't understand how things could be "going well" with a 60% unemployment rate in the country, a lack of sanitation and safe drinking water, no electricity for some 50% of the population. In addition, two American soldiers die and ten are wounded everyday by the Iraqi resistance forces. And some 90% of the U.N. humanitarian workers have left Iraq because they could not be sure of the safety being provided by U.S. forces.
The other image of Iraq that I came across this week was found in a recent picture in the N.Y. Times. It showed U.S. Iraqi administrator, Paul Bremmer walking down the middle of a Baghdad street, celebrating the 6-month anniversary of U.S marines pulling down the statue of Saddam Hussein. So here you have the U.S. army of occupation conducting a 6- month celebration, while trying to win the hearts and minds of the Iraqi people.
In light of that celebration, can any American still wonder why Arabs hate us so much? Or why Iraqi citizens are not showering us with flowers and chocolates and kisses like the White House and the Pentagon promised just before the start of the war last March.
And the beat goes on.......
czechmate
4:50:06 AM 
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