Crawling out of the Election rubble

Well the 2004 Presidential elections are over and am completely crestfallen with the results ... needed some time to recuperate and feel well enough to start anew.

Will be posting more detailed posts in the upcoming days. But for now a couple of general random nuggets:

I was thinking about the Iraq strategy by Bush and the neo-cons. Perhaps their idea was to move the terror frontline away from the U.S. shores to some land which they didn't care about.

Iraq seemed to be an ideal pick - they have oil ($$$, this is important since big companies need to back most initiatives) , it's situated between some of the most radical Islamic nations (providing a test bed for neo-con theories to democratize Middle-East, hence Administration & Pentagon thumbs-up) and then there's this tyrant Saddam (who can bring visceral reactions in most Americans and fodder for their general support).

Well we know how it all is panning out - around 1800 U.S. troops dead and countless injured and billions drained. And there's no end in sight. Bush, Wolfowitz et. al got it all wrong - theories don't work, they should have known. They should have heeded the practical advise from others in the administration and leaders of other nations.

In this quaqmire, it's virtually impossible to extricate the U.S. Army without a major civil war triggering off in Iraq which would most likely spill into the surrounding regions. It will be 100 folds more dangerous to U.S. interests and cause a tsunami in geo-politics. So, the U.S. Army needs to stay in Iraq but I don't know how long we Americans can bear the disturbing news and pictures. It's going to be a Mexican standoff (can you hear the music from the spaghetti western The Good, The Bad and The Ugly) ... and I think U.S. will be at the losing end (because it's virtually impossible to uproot terrorism and the Islamic variety is a rather persistent and socio-pathic one).

Maybe, the Democrats are the smart ones. They realize the lose-lose situation early on and want to pull out of there soon. I knew this would be the 21st century Vietnam from the day the neo-cons were sabre rattling in late 2001.

Wish I'd a crystal ball to gaze and forecast the events which will unfold. My best wishes with the families of brave soldiers out there ... I can't think of what pain and angst they must be enduring.

Anyhow, on a lighter note ... I just saw the 1982 movie "DeathTrap" directed by Sidney Lumet with neat performances by Michael Caine, Christopher Reeve and Dyan Cannon. The script was brilliantly executed and I so wish to watch the play by Ira Levin. If you haven't seen it, it's definitely a must watch.

Well I'm ready to rest on this rubble a bit ... the air still smells like evangelical spirit. Have to hold my air till 2006 and then hopefully breathe easy in 2008!