360-Degrees

I know, I know. I said I'd be posting less of this of this national/world news stuff. But look, I feel like the world is being set on fire by idiots and I just can't suppress the thoughts I'm having about it. It would be unhealthy. So, I ask you (if "you" even exist, I don't even think I have any readers, but that's cool too), bear with me.

Imagine a scenario where the US invades Iraq and subquently, after a lot of wrangling back and forth, ends up throwing its support behind a Shiite-dominated government there, the largest single block of which turns out to be led by a strongly anti-American Shiite cleric by the name of Muqtada al-Sadr. His militia, the Mehdi Army, is noteworthy for it's fierce clashes with US forces earlier in the war.

As time passes, imagine if the situation in Iraq deteriorates to the point where 100 Iraqis a day are killed by sectarian civil war or US troops directly and, in the process, we find that many of the Iraqis we're training to "stand up" so that we can "stand down" are moonlighting as insurgents.

Against this backdrop, all heck breaks out on the Israeli/Lebanese border leading Israel to invade and occupy the Shiite-dominated southern region of Lebanon, vowing to destroy the Shiite movement of Hezbollah, which enjoys huge support among the Shia in that country.

OK, now imagine the US standing up and, in a single voice, declaring it's undying devotion to the Israeli campaign to destroy the Shiite Hezbollah movement, even going to the extent of publicly hinting via it's proxies in the media that it's itching to join the fight and help out by attacking Hezbollah's primary Shiite backers in other countries (Iran, for instance).

Got it so far? Good, because here's the kicker. Meanwhile, back in Iraq, the shiite-dominated government draws much of it's support from the blessings of the most influential Shia cleric in the country, the Grand Ayatollah Ali al-Sistani, who just so happens to hail from one of those very "other" Shiite-dominated nations that support Hezbollah that we're so eager to attack (Iran, for instance). And what of that anti-American militant who heads the largest single faction in the new Iraqi legislature (and whose father was s highly-respected Iranian-born cleric as well)? With whom do you suppose, by their own admission, does he and his movement most identify?... Hezbollah.

360-degrees. Something wrong here?

I'll answer that. Yes. This is what you get when you have a President who, while claiming a messianic vision to do in the middle east what no one has been able to do for generations and centuries, also had no idea that there was a difference between the shia and the sunnis until 2003, after he'd already decided to invade. Yes, he had no idea what it was he was invading and "transforming" until after he'd already set it in motion. Scared now?