Don't Forget to Wear Something Green Today; But You Might Want to Forget What Wednesday Is

On Wednesday, we will mark the 5th Anniversary of President Bush's "official" invasion of Iraq, although we know the military action started prior to that day. Remember? Even if we had a state-of-the-art GPS, could we get out of this rabbit hole? We are so far down it, we have turned into moles: blind, but used to it. It's beginning to look as if we wouldn't be able to figure out how to get out of it even if we had a time machine and could go back for a do-over. Why do I say that? Because we all continue to make the same mistakes and play the same roles, from politicians to public to press, which we played 5 years ago. How much has changed, really?

Speaking of holes, our esteemed and honorable and humble Vice-president came out of his hidey-hole this week in order to, what else, tell us everything is lovely in Iraq. From the Reuters article:

U.S. Vice President Dick Cheney, an architect of the U.S-led invasion of Iraq, on Monday hailed "phenomenal changes" in Iraq on a visit to assess the success of a troop build-up five years after the war began.

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"Especially significant is to be able to return this week to mark the fifth anniversary of the beginning of the campaign that liberated the people of Iraq from Saddam Hussein's tyranny," Cheney said after meeting Prime Minister Nuri al-Maliki. Cheney said he sensed "phenomenal changes" since his last visit 10 months ago and described security gains as "dramatic".

See, kids. The veep is using his incredible sensitivity - and we know it's incredible because we've seen such abundant evidence of it - to "sense" the phenomenal changes in Iraq. Of course, he has to do it that way. I mean, you can't expect him to actually go around Baghdad physically. Hell, he's even afraid to go out in public in Colorado! You didn't really think he was going to leave the airport in Iraq did you? Okay, he did actually leave the airport. By helicopter. To rendezvous with Iraqi and U.S. military leaders at an undisclosed location. Quite the tour of duty. In other words, it's good work if you can get it.

Also from the story:

Roadside bombs and a minibus packed with explosives killed four people, including a policeman, and wounded 13 others in four attacks across Baghdad, police said. Neither Cheney nor McCain were in the area at the time.

I guess Cheney wasn't close enough to "sense" that. Or maybe he was ...

We have this headline regarding that very thing: Baghdad Rocked as McCain, Cheney Visit. Say it's not so! I'm not being sarcastic or callous, by the way. I mean somebody actually said that ... literally. Say it's not so ... from the article:

A roadside bomb targeting a U.S. convoy injured four civilians in Baghdad, while a separate bombing in the capital's Mansour neighborhood injured a policeman. Both were reported by police officials on condition of anonymity because they were not authorized to release the information.

[emphasis mine]. Not authorized? Okay.

What could bring Mr. Last Throes out into the daylight? Why, obviously "insufficient progress" had to be turned into "phenomenal progress," of course! And who better to do that than one of the only original liars left in office in this administration? According to that WaPo article, Petraeus said,"no one" in our government "thinks there has been sufficient progress by any means in the area of national reconciliation." General, have you met Dick Cheney? He'll "think" anything (or say he thinks it, anyway) that is politically expedient, no matter how absurd. Gee, maybe what the General meant is that the "4th hybrid branch" isn't in our government. I'll second that emotion.

And just who is going to challenge Cheney? You? Nancy Pelosi? The same people whose job it has been to so challenge him these last seven years? Bob Wexler will, if he's given the green light, but that's a big IF and how it can be such a big IF is still beyond my ken.

Still, the crickets chirp.