They Don't Get It

Today the Senate voted to try and disengage ourselves from Iraq by demanding that the Iraqis get their shit together. Senator John Warner is quoted "The message that Iraqis should take from the Senate action, Mr. Warner said, is that "we have stood with you, we have done our part," and now it is time for them to do theirs. He said 2006 would be a pivotal year for the campaign in Iraq."

Well, easier said than done. Iraq has a long history of living under the dominance of one country or despot or another with a commensurate amount of violence done to its people. When we released the stopper and let the pendulum move, it moved way to the other side before hopefully eventually settling in the middle. The French revolution was violent because life before it under the monarcy and the church was violent. I am sure that there are plenty of Iraqi torturers in their prisons getting their revenge on the people they feel were responsible for their misery in the past.

So the Senate might think that in passing a resolution by magic Iraq will get their shit together. They are probably thinking that our welfare bill was effective in setting limits on the amount of time one can collect public assistance before one has to go out and find a job... but Iraq is a whole different ball of wax with a different history and sadly only time and patience and more sad lessons will probably have to happen before a liberal democratic state could eventually evolve.