Too little too late

On Tuesday an envoy of American senators met with Iraqi Prime Minister Ibrahim al-Jaafari to discuss the future of his government, his country and our war. The group of powerful and hugely influential congressmen included the ranking Democrat on the Armed Forces Committee, Carl Levin D-Mich, who expressed concerns that not enough progress is being made — that Americans are becoming impatient.\nThree years since this whole thing started, Americans think "there's been too much dawdling." Levin said at a news conference, "Baghdad is burning." Really, Sen. Levin? The Iraqi people — many without water or electricity — live in constant fear of mindless berserkers laden with homemade pipe-bombs, and Americans wish the Iraqis would hurry up already?\nThe Washington Post reported that over 1,000 Iraqis have died since mid-February, many of whom have been tortured before being executed. Hospitals, schools and infrastructure still need to be rebuilt after being razed to the ground by American dollars, but gosh darn it, who says Rome can't be built in a day? I want 60 cents a gallon at the pump!\nNow that Bush's approval rating hangs lower than Chuck Norris' left nut, the Democrats' true colors start to come out. The minority party has no interest in actually running government; they just ride the wave of public opinion as it crashes violently onto the rocky shore of hindsight. No one in government cared about the Iraqi people. Bush's neo-cons wanted poll numbers, cheap oil and a strong economy, and the Republicans wanted to maintain their strangle hold on Congress. But the Democrats wanted to stay in office so they just stopped doing their job altogether. That's why Americans are so impatient.\nThe public has no idea how to wage war; they barely know the difference between an Abrams tank and a Kalashnikov. That's why they elect people who do. They assume that Republicans will keep government efficient, and the Democrats will keep the government from being evil. But when the Republicans rack up $9 trillion in debt during a war that should have paid for itself and the Democrats let Bush run amok in the Middle East just for kicks, that's when Americans get impatient.\nNeither the Democrats nor the Republicans have any right to say that the Iraqis are taking too long. Both parties stood by as "Shock and Awe" turned into "Duck and Run," arguing among themselves instead of doing the least bit useful thing for either country. In the end, they hoped that billions upon billions of dollars would be the answer to hundreds of years of turmoil and distrust.\nWhatever Levin, the Democrats or the Republicans are thinking, it seems clear that none of them have the best interest of Iraq in mind. It's not just the Democrats who are finally calling out the president; some Republicans are also abandoning the USS Dubya. Why? Because Americans are just starting to realize that this war was a stunt, a complete waste of time and money, and when election day rolls around the politicians don't want to be on the wrong side of the issue.