As the "Existentialist Cowboy" predicted on December 25, 2005, the violence in Iraq increased as it delineated the battle lines between Sunni and Shia. A break up of Iraq is still not out of the question as the Iran/Shia alliance portends a new axis of power in the Middle East. None of these developments had been on the horizon before Bush implemented a failed strategy: pre-emptive, aggressive war.
Would Ahmadinejad have risen to power in Iran had not Bush placed Iran among three nations comprising Bush's "Axis of Evil"? Probably not!
Would Iran have stepped up its nuclear program if Bush had not bombed and invaded Iraq? Probably not!
Would Ahmadinejad be boasting about joining the nuclear club if civil war underway in Iraq had not strengthened his alliances with the Shi'ite majority in Iraq? Maybe. Maybe not! But it sure makes it more significant.
Who has gained by Bush's utter incompetence in carrying out an utterly failed, so-called "war on terrorism"? Clearly not the United States which now must somehow deal with the blowback of the most incomptent foreign policy in this nation's history.
Ahmadinejad, meanwhile, becomes the Iranian mirror held up to Bush.
And through it all, a terrible price has been paid for arrogance and incompetence. American losses are now in excess of 2300. Iraqi civilian losses may be greater than 140,000 according to various studies. And there are continuing concerns about inhume treatment of civilians at the hands of the American occupiers. When Bush is removed from office, you can bet that there will be a rising chorus demanding full and truly independent investigations into credible allegations of war crimes, crimes against humanity, and, of course, the war itself -a crime against the peace. And, as long as Bush remains in power, there is no end in sight.
