Bush in Baghdad

I was out most of yesterday and my dsl was down when I was so I'm catching up. The good news about the dsl is that Verizon probably did me a favor since the NSA is probably listening in...

President Bush paid a surprise visit to what he just called "a free and democratic Iraq" at his morning news conference. Free? The country is occupied by about 150,000 foreign troops who have free reign to go and do whatever they please, wherever they please whenever they please. American forces are not subject to Iraqi law. American troops can knock down any door and enter any home they please and do whatever they please once inside.

I don't call that a free country.

I thought it interesting that Iraqi Prime Minister Maliki wasn't informed George W. Bush was in his free and sovereign nation until five minutes before meeting with him in the Green Zone of Baghdad. Please don't insult my intelligence by implying Maliki isn't Bush's puppet. This is incontrovertible proof. So much for Bush's statement two years ago that he was transfering "full sovereignty" to Iraq.

The White House also keeps telling us how well things are going in Iraq. Things are improving and great progress is being made. But things continue being so bad no one could be told the President was going to Baghdad, everyone had to wear helmets and flak jackets for the six minute helicopter ride to the Green Zone and no one could leave the Green Zone. The Iraqi Prime Minister wasn't even told about the visit.

The reality is that we only control two areas of Iraq: the Baghdad airport and the Green Zone.