The current approach is not working

Paul Simon’s ‘Boy in a Bubble’ must have been the anthem for The Iraq Study group:


It was a slow day
And the sun was beating
On the soldiers by the side of the road
There was a bright light
A shattering of shop windows
The bomb in the baby carriage
Was wired to the radio
These are the days of miracle and wonder
This is the long distance call
The way the camera follows us in slo-mo
The way we look to us all
The way we look to a distant constellation
Thats dying in a corner of the sky
These are the days of miracle and wonder
And dont cry baby, dont cry
Dont cry

The boy in the bubble is Bush. And the only question now, is the ability of this report to pierce his bubble. The report itself is damning and clear of the absolute need for change. Wow! What a revelation. You mean staying the course is not the best plan for a multi-faction, deeply sectarian civil war encompassing the heart of the Middle East. I don’t mean to sound supercilious but this report exposes Bush’s pure ineptitude. He is the proverbial boy in the bubble, unable and unwilling to see the truth before his eyes. The plastic bubble blurs his vision and coupled with his ideology of self-righteousness crippling his decision-making skills. What is most amazing about the Baker-Hamilton commission is the fact that Bush wasn’t the one to commission the group. Veteran GOP congressmen had to intervene. Bush never saw the need to ask for outside help. This is the most striking point. If the Baker-Hamilton Commission never existed then Bush would be plugging along with the same strategy as before. A losing strategy, doomed from the on-set by misinformation, lauded goals without any firm commitment, shifting rhetoric and abysmal planning. Bush as commander-in-chief has been a complete failure.

This is not an opinion it is a matter of current-historical record, bolstered by the facts on the ground and the 79 recommendations from the Baker-Hamilton group. Sen. Harry Reid, after the public disclosure of the report, rhetorically stated that the ‘ball is in President Bush’s court.’ It must pain everyone in Washington and around the country to hear a Senator give a civic lesson in the middle of a war. The ball has always been in the president’s court, he is the commander-in- chief, there is no other court. In fact, this commission should have been formed during the cherry picking of intelligence, before the war began. This would, at least, give an appearance of thoughtfulness and clear judgment on the president’s part. However, and most importantly, the true effect of this report will be placed squarely on the troops in harms way, my sister-in-law and my cousin and countless friends and their extended families. The report is the first sign that this administration is not just going to smokem’ out, it is a brief sign that this country is trying to make things right, not only for the Middle East but also for America. My cynical nature, at times, gets the best of me, however dissent, questioning, knowledge of the facts and personal fortitude do find their way into the halls of congress and sometimes into a bipartisan report which has the potential for real change.