Now that the Genie is Out of the Bottle ...
by Manuel Miles
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Special to TLE

... the warmongers are going to have a hell of a time trying to get him back in again.

The genie just released is not the Anglo/American mad dog of war, but rather that of an Islamic jihad against the aforementioned puppy. Sure as shootin' (and bombin' and `friendly firin' and collateral damagin'), the imperial occupation army is going to be one big, stupid, blundering target for every Islamic fundamentalist who wants to strike a blow against the infidel.

The plain fact is that "martyrdom operations" are not only cost-effective (a single suicide bomber can take out several hundred foreign soldiers—remember Beirut?), but they are eternally rewarding for the martyrs as well. Those who die as martyrs for Islam know that they will spend the next life in Paradise. Occupied Iraq is sure to become a "Mecca" for such people and operations.

Of course, for the American military occupiers, with their world-renowned, multi-lingual cosmopolitanism and cultural sensitivity, ruling the conquered Iraqis will be a... cakewalk. That hack of a retired "perfumed prince" general will make a dandy viceroy too, no doubt. However, just in case the chicken hawks' smooth occupation plan does get a bit bumpy, you should invest in body-bag futures.

The easy part is knocking off a tired, stupid tin pot dictator's regime (and even that hasn't been quite the baked confectionery promenade it was predicted to be); the tough bits come after. Historically, armies of occupation have not done well against populaces which are hostile to them, and the American empire has a worse record than most. [Note that the Taliban are back in Afghanistan, while the occupying army has its back to the wall in Kabul, and it rarely ventures out of the city which it barely holds despite massive occupation forces.]

Anyway, the really fascinating stage is about to begin; the orchestra has only tuned up; Islam has not yet begun to fight; phrase it however you will, just stay out of tall buildings in the USA for the next fifty years or so.

Perhaps I've been reading Bob Wallace's columns too much lately (just kidding, Bob; there's no such thing as reading your columns too frequently), but Georgie Dubbie and his neocon architects of the New World (dis)Order remind me more and more of Bullwinkle J. Moose; "Hey, Rocky, watch me pull a rabbit out of my hat! {ROWR!} ...Oops, must be the wrong hat..."

While Bullwinkle tries to stuff the rhinoceros back into the top hat, keep your eyes on G. Dubbie as he tries to stuff the genie of Islamic jihad back into "the Arab street". When the warm-up act is over, the real show will begin.

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