Salon.com News | The Iraq war is over, and the winner is... Iran

Salon.com News | The Iraq war is over, and the winner is... Iran: "The Iraq war is over, and the winner is... Iran"



This blog is about the "Coming Perfect Storm" -- that is, the rhetorical political narrative, which hopes that Bush's failures as a leader lead to some sequence of events in which he, his fellow Republicans, and his politics, are discredited and driven from power. Those, including myself, who believe that Bush is unwise, expect that his policies will have undesirable consequences.



The truth, of course, is that the Coming Perfect Storm is a form of perverse, wishful thinking, as well as a recognition that politics is drama, theatre. It is not actual "cause and effect" in a sense , which a policy analyst, trained in economics or the other social sciences might recognize, which matter, to the course of events. It is the moral import of dramatic narratives, enacted on the political stage, which matter. Watching the car wreck, which is the Bush Administration, and being powerless to help or hinder, all one can do is hope that some drama arises, which brings these morons their just desserts and puts the country on a better course.



The sad possibility looms that no catastrophe will ever consume the Bushies, or that the catastrophe will come, and consume the innocent. A Democrat could be elected President in 2008, and then be blamed, when he has to raise taxes and withdraw from Iraq, dooming the Democrats to permanent minority status. In dramatic narrative, that outcome would be termed ironic.



But, we live in hope, however perverse that hope may be. It is only 2005, and a long time, before 2008 rolls around. Some elements of the Perfect political storm are already in place. The most important one is firmly in place. The U.S. has lost the war in Iraq.



That outcome is unalterable. It is possible, I suppose, that the Iraqis have not yet lost the war in Iraq, but I doubt it. But, a "U.S." victory is now beyond the realm of possibility.



From now until the U.S. withdraws in ignominy, Bush has to cope with having lost a war he chose to fight.



Now, we wait on the economy, and the Democrat's doubtful ability to secure some base of power in the 2006 election.