Return of the Metric System � Unqualified Offerings: "So how ARE things in Iraq? We turn, as we used to, to the Brookings Institution’s Iraq Index (pdf). In crucial ways, the answer turns out to be “not so good.”"
Narrative vs. analysis is a theme here at Coming Perfect Storm. The Bush people and the military will continually churn out a narrative about the light at the end of the tunnel, or some such silliness, whether there is any narrative detail to support it or not.
The underlying reality, accessible by analysis and attention to fact, is that whatever the Bush policy and goal may be in Iraq, it does include strengthening the Iraqi State and economy.
Things will not turn out well in Iraq; they have not turned out well, narratively speaking. You can hit people over the head with "the world is better off without Saddam" just so many times before someone asks, "would we be better off without Bush and the Americans in our country/would we be better off without Bush and the Republicans in charge of our country?" and concludes, yes.
Will the situation in Iraq culminate in a dramatic demand that the U.S. leave? Very possibly.
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