What Iraq Needs: “In the history of Iraq, more than 7,000 years, there have always been strong leaders,” said [Sheik Muhammad Bakr Khamis al-Suhail, a respected Shiite neighborhood leader in Baghdad. “We need strong rulers or dictators like Franco, Hitler, even Mubarak. We need a strong dictator, and a fair one at the same time, to kill all extremists, Sunni and Shiite.”
–“A Thirst for Final, Crushing Victory,” Edward Wong, The New York Times
Hogwash (R.I.P. Fred): “Hogzilla,” the behemoth feral porker recently killed by an 11-year-old wielding a .50-caliber pistol — this is still a great country — turns out not to have been wild. And not to have been named Hogzilla. His former owner, who bought him as a present for his wife a few years back and sold him to the hunting plantation where he met his end, called him Fred.
I just started the Edward Wong article. It has occurred to me that Bush and Co. became the new Baathists the day Saddam packed it in. Early on in the “war” people/pundits posed the question, “Did Saddam make Iraq into what it is or did Iraq make Saddam? A bit of both probably, but the President would have done well if he had looked at the nature of the rulers in that area of the world. They may not be efficient as deliverers services but they are all pretty ruthless when it comes to keeping the natives down. It may be “nationalist vanity” on my part but I don’t think Americans are well suited for the role of ruthless dictator. Mostly, we get a surrogate, a Pinochet or Nguyen Van Thieu to do the slash and burn stuff and even those results end up somewhere between mixed-bag and disaster. Bush, by way of his invasion, is the first American leader of a middle eastern nation…the only guy holding the place together. His tenure is plainly woeful and in the end he will be replaced by some sort of generalissimo who understands the culture of the place. I don’t reckon we’ll particularly like that guy.
As to Hogzilla/Fred. I thought that looked rigged. Turns out the pig was domestically raised. Shot down “like a dog” (sorry, I had to say that). Kind of a shame, like shooting Shrek.
Wow, and a .50 caliber. That has to be some nasty weapon. Wonder how close an 11-year-old has to be to get off an accurate shot. He must be a good marksman.
So Dan, I read the Edward Wong article since that last post and hell’s bells(!)…if it is as he describes the effort over there is a dead letter.