Merry Christmas, Mr Bush!!

Well, it is the Christmas present that George has been wishing for. He has prayed for it. He has spoken to God about it on many occasions.

George has achieved democracy in Iraq.

Instead, the opposite has occurred. The Iraq War and occupation has brought Iran and Iraq together. Indeed, the effects of the American push for democracy in other parts of the Arab Middle East are also hurting Israel. In Egypt, the anti-Western Muslim Brotherhood have increased their presence in the Egyptian parliament. On the West Bank the anti-Israeli Hamas organization has won control of several major towns in local elections there and is expected to win at least 40 percent in the coming parliamentary vote. Israeli officials, who are not great fans of Syrian President Bashar al-Assad, have warned the Americans that their drive toward "regime change" in Damascus could end up bringing to power radical anti-American (and anti-Israeli) Islamic groups.

Finally, Iraq is adding to U.S. security problems, Patrick Cockburn writes “Islamic fundamentalist movements are ever more powerful in both the Sunni and Shia communities. Ghassan Attiyah, an Iraqi commentator, said: 'In two and a half years Bush has succeeded in creating two new Talibans in Iraq.'” Just what we need! And, if the Shia with their electoral victory consolidate their hold over the military and police and direct their attacks on Sunnis, and the Sunnis respond – we can expect the magnetic effect of Iraq – pulling anti-US terrorists to the county and the opportunity for training in terrorism to increase. A decade from now U.S. citizens should expect someone whose family or friends were killed in the U.S. occupation to strike back. Every day the U.S. remains an occupying force more people who hate Americans and more danger in the world are created.

One piece of good news from the vote: Ahmad Chalabi, the former Bush Administration favorite who was critical to misleading the United States into war, won less than a half of 1 percent of the vote in Baghdad, very likely denying him a seat in the Council of Representatives. Of course, there are still the votes to count from Iraqis in the United States but in Iraq he does not seem to have much support.

Now what, I wonder, is George going to do now that those ungrateful Iraqis have abused that golden opportunity for true democracy and elected a largely Shi’a government; sorry, make that a government riven and divided on largely religious and tribal grounds?

Worst of all, what is George going to be dreaming tonight, now that Mustaq al Sadr has been elected to the Iraqi government. What action will he have to take tomorrow or the next day given that al Sadr’s Mahdi forces are likely to become the backbone of a new “Police Force”.

ALSO NOTED –

ALL, I mean ALL of the “PTL for democracy” posts at Jersey Wing Nut have mysteriously disappeared. Very strange. Very strange indeed. I think I am one of the few leaving comments over there.

More importantly, how many of the rabid right-whingers are still lauding George’s Iraq democracy this morning…?

I wonder...