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See You in September

Iraq's Parliament is taking off the month of August. This has many Americans upset. A very vocal subgroup of the upset are members of the U.S. Congress. They'll make angry speeches about the Iraqis dereliction of duty-when they're home visiting their districts during THEIR August vacation.

Iraq's Parliament is a bad joke in the worst possible taste, and no one knows that better than the Iraqi citizenry. Its work habits, however, are not the issue. American criticism of Iraqi government goes past mere hypocrisy to some glorious spot where a just God would strike the complainers dead on the spot.

For the record, our Congress has taken August off since, well, forever. And please, spare me any sanctimony about Iraq's pols goofing off in the middle of their country's civil war while American soldiers fight and die. The Congress took off every August during OUR civil war, when American soldiers were fighting a short commute from the Capitol. And to show it really was a war between brothers, so did the Confederate Congress.

Iraq's Parliament has also failed to enact some vague "political reconcilation" legislation. Once again, that's rich, coming from us. Our Congress couldn't pass a budget last year, and probably won't this year. Where do we get off blasting run of the mill venal Third World pols for not figuring out how to stop a war where all sides would cheerfully slit their throats if they went for a walk outside the Green Zone?

If American soldiers are dying in Iraq, and they are, that is the United States' problem, not the Iraqi government's. WE are the idiots who started the war and turned Iraq into hell on earth, not them. We should certainly have the simple humility to accept our situation as our own, not blame it on others. Of course we won't. Being an American means you're perfect. Just ask us.

posted by Michael Gee @ 6:21 PM