Iraq Status Follies

What these newswire pics express is what a farcical exercise the supposed Iraq war re-authorization showdown has become.

In spite of buzz about troop drawdowns, I don’t see Chairman Bush, absent the opposition, signing on for any change at all.  As such, the martial feel of this halo shot — matching the ludicrousness of Bush’s off-the-wall speech before the VFW — seems completely fitting.

And then, there’s the whipping boy.  The non-stop, bipartisan chorus that Iraq is sinking because Malaki can’t even walk and chew gum at the same time is the most callous and yellow Washington example of “blame the victim.”

Lay it on that thick, and photo editors are only too happy to comply.

(image 1:  Jim Young/Reuters. Kansas City, Missouri, August 22, 2007. image 2:  Khaled al-Hariri/Reuters. August 20, 2007. caption: Iraqi Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki tightens his laces during a visit the historical Umayyad mosque in old Damascus city. Via YahooNews)