Not Seeing the Forest for the Trees

For the grace of God in the desert here
And the desert far away
Democracy is coming to the u.s.a.
--Democracy, Leonard Cohen

I know you're working for the CIA
they wouldn't have you in the Mafia
Why can't we be friends?
Why can't we be friends?
--Why Can't We Be Friends? WAR
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Having a target is a great help in life, unless it is the wrong target, of course.

"A massive U.S. aerial bombing campaign launched in Iraq on Thursday attempted to strike a delicate balance — routing members of a newly resurgent al-Qaeda while trying to avoid civilian casualties that could alienate ordinary Iraqis.

"U.S. planes attacked a rural Sunni area southeast of Baghdad with 40,000 pounds of bombs during a 10-minute period. That surpassed the tonnage that previously had been dropped there during an average month, said Maj. Alayne Conway, a U.S. military spokeswoman.

"The attacks targeted suspected al-Qaeda weapons caches, supply lines and bombmaking sites, Conway said. No civilian casualties were immediately reported, she said, reflecting a central focus of the U.S. military's year-old counterinsurgency strategy: winning the support of the local population (U.S. Air Strikes In Iraq Reflect Targeted Efforts.)"

First, bombs don't do "delicate," regardless of how daintily the bombardier executes his task.

Second, note that these are "suspected supply lines, etc." Does an infantry unit assault a "suspected" enemy bunker? If the target is not hard and definitely pinned down, then it should not be bombed.

Not only does bombing suspected targets not further military objectives, it is costly and wastes valuable ordnance, misutilizing valuable assets.

Iraq Body Count reports "U.S. forces caused an average of 63 Iraqi civilian deaths per month in 2007 — down from 169 per month in 2004." Good news, unless you are one of the 63. And of course, bad news for the nine U.S. soldiers killed earlier this week at the start of a new "drive to kill al-Qaida in Iraq fighters holed up in districts north of the capital."

"Six soldiers were killed and four were wounded Wednesday in a booby-trapped house in Diyala province, where joint U.S.-Iraqi forces were driving through a difficult web of lush palm and citrus groves."

This war is so removed from any reality that might benefit America that it jars the mind. Why is the U.S. chasing this homegrown band of irregulars around their own country, getting killed and maimed in the process of gaining -- what? Al-Qaeda in Iraq didn't even exist until after the U.S. invasion of Iraq. This is not a project which will benefit the U.S. either at home or abroad. It is madness.

Dropping bombs on "suspected" targets is as insane as is building airports to facilitate pilgrimages. Who is providing leadership for this fiasco?

More good news for Iraq: U.S. tax season is approaching.