Over at Balloon Juice John Cole is thinking there is some good news re the reduction in Suicide Bombers.

Gawd. It is not that I don't appreciate his cautious optimism, but this war is illegal, immoral and probably going to take the rest of my life to resolve.

The whole occupation scenario is a loser. Has been for anyone who has tried it. When the USSR occupied a territory, they also Russified it, i.e. they put a shit load of Russians there (up to a third of the population). And see how well that worked out for them? Now, there were a lot of other reasons the USSR failed, i.e. the glue factory in Poland and the shoe factory in Belarus, pouring their treasury into weapons, and last, but certainly not least, there was always the Afghan occupation.

Maybe you can help me with the quote, but who was it who said something along the lines, “If you invade Iraq, you are going to pour your treasury into it, and later, if you are a still a superpower, you are going to cut your losses and run home.” I think it was pre- or early invasion, but I cannot recall the man who said it.

The violence in Iraq simply has too much fuel to simply abate. What exactly have many of the suicide bombers got to lose? How many families are complete, live in safety, and are enjoying prosperity?? Our military operation there is FUBAR beyond belief.

Believe me, I never imagined how bad it would be. I’m too young to recall Viet Nam, but I recall the horror my parents felt about that conflict. There are no winners here, whether we stay or go. Now, if we can keep those clusterfuckers Cheney and Bush from invading Pakistan and Iran, maybe we will still recovery from what they’ve done already.

But, like those suicide bombers, Cheney and Bush don’t feel like they have much to lose. Besides, it isn’t as if they will EVER be held accountable. No one in our government is going to spank one of their own; too ignominious for our own to face a Truth and Reconciliation committee or the Hague.

Bruce Cockburn said it best (Stealing Fire (1984))

Here comes the helicopter -- second time today
Everybody scatters and hopes it goes away
How many kids they've murdered only God can say
If I had a rocket launcher...I'd make somebody pay

I don't believe in guarded borders and I don't believe in hate
I don't believe in generals or their stinking torture states
And when I talk with the survivors of things too sickening to relate
If I had a rocket launcher...I would retaliate

On the Rio Lacantun, one hundred thousand wait
To fall down from starvation -- or some less humane fate
Cry for Guatemala, with a corpse in every gate
If I had a rocket launcher...I would not hesitate

I want to raise every voice -- at least I've got to try
Every time I think about it water rises to my eyes.
Situation desperate, echoes of the victims cry
If I had a rocket launcher...Some son of a bitch would die