Et tu, Laura

It’s one thing to be critical of the president; he makes that easy. It’s another thing to be critical of the first lady; she makes that difficult. Librarians are usually nice people and Laura Bush is a nice person. However, last week in an interview with Larry King she opened herself to serious criticism. I passed on the opportunity to comment on it, until hearing today’s news out of Iraq.

King asked about the impact of the war on Ms. Bush. She said that she found it “wearing, worrying”. Those are just about the two mildest words that could be used about a war that went well past the wearing and worrying stages sometime in 2004. But that’s not the commentary that gives rise to this post.

Ms. Bush went on to say, "Many parts of Iraq are stable now. But, of course, what we see on television is the one bombing a day that discourages everybody." At the risk of sounding patronizing, Laura Bush is smart and articulate and only the blindest allegiance to her husband and his woebegone band of civilian warriors could ever allow her to utter something that inane. Actually, “inane” is the mildest word that could be used about a piece of commentary like that.

Today’s “one bombing” in Iraq killed almost 100 people and wounded almost 200 others in Hillah, south of Baghdad. The victims were Shittes on a pilgramage to the holy city of Karbala. Given the obvious sectarian nature of this barbaric act, we can only wait and wonder what level of barbaric act will constitute the Shia response to this Sunni atrosity. Calling this kind of bombing “discouraging” is a gross understatement that almost ignores the extent of the human toll associated with a single event of this nature.

We’ve already forgotten yesterday’s “one bombing” at a Baghdad book market. After all, it only killed 30 and only wounded 70 others – mere child’s play, that one; much more in the “discouraging” category, don’t you agree?

What could the first lady have been thinking? How delusional does one have to be to reduce the daily death toll in Iraq to “one bombing” and it’s “discouraging” impact on Americans who see it on TV? It just goes to show that partisan allegiance will trump intellegence almost every time.

Of course there are very few, if any, days in Iraq when the carnage is limited to one bombing. Today’s explosive tally certainly didn’t stop at one. There were two other bombings north of Baghdad that killed nine American troops. I wonder if that causes something more than discouragement in the East Wing of the White House? We’ve leared by now that it doesn’t in the West Wing. This is the kind of day, however, that should make the inhabitants in both Wings throw up.

The killing of Americans and Iraqis continues unabated. If it’s not in the center of Baghdad, it’s to the north and south of Baghdad. As I’ve said here before, we can stomp on the bubble under the Baghdad carpet, but the bubble will just pop up elsewhere outside of Baghdad. Today, it’s to the north and the south; tomorrow, it’s just as likely to be to the east and the west. We know that the mole we’re trying to whack somewhere today will come up out of one of a dozen different holes tomorrow, just like he did yesterday. We can’t predict how many people will die tomorrow, but we know with a virtual certainty that dozens of men, women and children who are alive at this moment will be dead somewhere in Iraq at this same time tomorrow.

One bombing a day? We should be so lucky. Discouraging? We should be so fortunate as to feel merely discouraged.

I hate to say it, but it’s time for the first lady to return to the library. She needs to study current events day and night for the coming semester – without being interrupted for interviews, or by the TV for that matter.