George Bush is insane

"Insanity: doing the same thing over and over again and expecting different results." —Albert Einstein

In announcing an increase in American troop numbers George Bush has demonstrated that he’s gone completely round the bend. He’s ignored absolutely everything: The Iraq Study Group, the stated opinions of the generals who are actually fighting Bush’s war, world opinion and—for him most importantly—the will of the American people who clearly want an end to this war.

He seems convinced that the current “leader” of Iraq, Nouri al-Maliki, will be able to control Shia militias when Malaki is in power only because of the support of the Shia warlords. What possible incentive would he have to disarm Shia militias? If he can’t/won’t, Bush’s entire “plan” (and I use that term ironically) collapses.

Iraq is not a country and never has been. It was formed arbitrarily and only kept together by force. It’s now in civil war, the only unifying force at present being overwhelming opposition to occupation forces. That civil war, and certainly that opposition, won’t be ended by increasing US troops. It’ll be made worse.

An obvious answer is to work with Iran and Syria. Neither country will ever be a friend, much less an ally, but they, too, have an interest in stability in the region we call Iraq. However, it’s impossible for the Bushies to even imagine doing that.

So what’s really going on? We can only guess, but it’s clear that Bush is dancing to his masters’ tune, and those masters are the right wing nut jobs who put him in power and who control him. Britain’s Guardian says:

Mr Bush has turned to the right, to those who argue that honour and…America's national interests require fighting on. One senses that "honour" is the more important of the two.

Putting some sort of weird notion of honour ahead of human lives is in itself a reason for psychiatric evaluation of the Bushies. But there’s more going on: Certain of Bush’s far right supporters are hoping to spark a massive war in the Mideast because they think it’ll bring the end of the word and the “return of Jesus”—their so-called “End Times”.

These people have a lot of influence on Bush’s government, even if some Bushies recognise that the religionists are nuts. Even so, it’s what’s behind the Bushies’ unblinking support for Israel no matter what it does.

Hard as it is to believe, things can still get much worse: What if Israel attacks Iran? A conventional attack would have the Bushies tut-tutting and telling the Israeli government it’s been naughty. A nuclear attack on Iran—not impossible to imagine—would create only mild irritation from the Bush team—and, probably, a world war.

I still firmly believe that Bush, Cheney and Co should be impeached and removed form office. If Clinton failing to keep his willy in his pants is a definition of a “high crime and misdemeanour,” then the Bushies should be long gone.

To let the Bushies remain in office one second longer than necessary, that is a definition of insanity.