On the Road to Rockbottom: How Many More People Will Die?

THE ROAD TO HELL<br?<br>
George W. Bush is on a collision course with America.  His presidency is rolling steadily downhill, as the people of this nation slowly begin to rub sleep away from their eyes. His approval ratings are in the low thirties, unheard of in history for a war president. He is in the worst trouble of his presidency, and it seems almost certain that rock bottom lies just ahead.

Without doubt, however, the most damaging of the Bush fiascos has been the war in Iraq.  Almost everything else is subject to change. Almost all the damage can be turned around by future administrations or legislatures.  But this useless war, with its unending blood and pain and suffering is so totally and so very tragically irrevocable. It may be the primary force that accelerates the downfall of this President as he hurtles to rock bottom.

But rock bottom, like so much else in the real world, is relative. While the moment of accountability for George Bush and company seems so near, in reality it is terribly far away.

George W. Bush is still the President of the United States.  He has full war powers at his disposal for another three years.  No matter what anyone else says or thinks, no matter what the people believe, no matter what happens here or abroad, George W. Bush and his neocon handlers are still in charge of the nation and its policies. No matter what the mood of the nation, they have three full years to do an enormous amount of damage between here and rock bottom.

If they are not stopped now, how many more people will die?

THE TURNING POINT

The Bush Presidency sustained itself for nearly five years with a series of remarkably successful ruses. They lied with impunity about a wide range of issues, but most audaciously about Iraq. With the corporate media as their echo chamber, George Bush, Dick Cheney, and others in the Liar’s Den were on incredible roll in the lead up to war.  The more outrageous their lies, the better they went over with the public. The more terrifying the fabrication, the more flags were taken out of mothballs.

As the warnings about Saddam and mushroom clouds rolled off the WHIG assembly line, life was good for the warmongers. As PNAC-based manipulations reverberated in the echo chambers of the media, the nation was smoothly and effectively lured into an ill-fated war of choice.

And now, it is more than two and half years and tens of thousands of lost lives later. It is more than two and half years and tens of thousands of mutilations later. It is more than two and half years of senseless slaughter later. And still, the lies go on.

In his latest tirades, George W. Bush reverted to his standard litany and once again chose to “stay the course” in Iraq. By adhering to the old deceptive dodges, he vowed to steadfastly pursue the very policies that have defined his failing presidency until now. But this time the President actually changed course without knowing it. This time he is not on course at all. Instead, he is actually heading towards rock bottom.

For suddenly, there is a hollow ring to the repeated mantras about the war.  There is an aura of distrust and suspicion in the air. Something is not quite the same. The old line is not selling quite the same way. There is an odor of treachery in the air, and the stench can no longer be washed away with the same old rhetoric. They are not quite there yet, but Bush/PNAC knows that rock bottom is closing in.

But there are three full years to go, – three long, potentially terrible years. There are more than a thousand days for the war to continue and even expand.  George Bush is in free fall, but he still holds the reins.  It’s still his war, and he calls the shots.

If he is not stopped now, how many more people will die?