Has the Iraq war suddenly disappeared?

Did the Iraq war suddenly disappear? It would seem so if you get your news solely from the mainstream media. Hardly a mention of the 5 American soldiers who lost their lives in Northern Iraq by a roadside bomb, the other day.

http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20080128/ap_on_re_mi_ea/iraq_080119205312

The anchors are all whooping it up over the presidential race. When they do get serious, the talk turns to how the economy is taking a dive. Anything to take the American viewer away from the illegal war. But for the ones who are still losing loved ones. It will never vanish for them. And also for those Iraqi unfortunates who haven't the means to escape from the Bush/Neocon created HELLHOLE they call home. It will take at least a 100 years, if ever, for the nightmare to fade. Oh, there are articles of the pain and suffering because of this Illegal-War but you have to hunt for them. In case you're still interested, read this sad tale for starters: thinkingblue

http://www.usatoday.com/news/nation/2008-01-24-smalltowns_N.htm

PS: Now let's get back to Bush's base, we should never forget about them.
They are all indirectly responsible for Bush and all the horror he has
perpetrated upon us. Never should we ignore, how they, in all their ignorance, betrayed America.

Read this: The Base isn't interested in Iraq, the base is for Bush.

http://www.thecarpetbaggerreport.com/archives/10404.html

‘The base isn’t interested in Iraq; the base is for Bush’

This quote was making the rounds a bit yesterday, but I think it’s an
important bit of insight into conservative ideology right now. Tapped’s
Garance Franke-Ruta, who’s obviously quite a trooper, stopped by by R. Emmett
Tyrrell Jr.’s book party on Monday, celebrating the launch of Tyrrell’s latest
anti-Clinton screed. Garance

chatted with Grover Norquist about reports that Republicans are nearly fed
up with the war in Iraq and might “pull the plug” in August.

“The base isn’t interested in Iraq. The base is for Bush,” Norquist said.
“If Bush said tomorrow, we’re leaving in two months, there would be no
revolt.”

At a certain level, most of the reality-based community might think this
sounds ludicrous. The entire GOP apparatus and the vast majority of the
conservative movement have spent the last several years insisting that
withdrawal is not only wrong, it’s literally life-threatening. Anyone who even
considers the policy hates America. If Bush were to suddenly reverse course
and co-opt the Dems’ message, how can Norquist or anyone else expect the
president’s loyal backers to automatically reverse course with him?

The question is premised on a mistaken assumption about the conservative
movement. Norquist is almost certainly right; the base takes marching orders
surprisingly well.

Indeed, they already have. In 2004, John Kerry said it was time to increase
the size of the Armed Forces; Bush disagreed. The GOP base went right along,
emphasizing how wrong Kerry was. Last year, when Bush embraced Kerry’s policy,
the base had no problem switching gears. “Of course we need to increase
the size of the military,” they said.

Bush was against sending more troops, and the base said he was right. Then
Bush was for sending more troops, and the base agreed with that, too. Bush
said he’d listen to the commanders on the ground in Iraq, and the base
cheered. Bush then fired the commanders on the ground who disagreed with him,
and the base cheered some more.

Anyone looking for intellectual consistency is likely to be very
disappointed.

Atrios flags this nice Grover Norquist quote from Garance Franke-Ruta
and, correctly I think, notes that it doesn’t mean the base wants to leave
Iraq. It just means they will go along with whatever Bush wants to do. In
other words, Bush isn’t being obstinate about Iraq because he’s afraid that
his base will desert him. He’s not running, neither is Cheney, and neither
one of them appear to particularly care about the fortunes of the Republican
party. He’s obstinate about Iraq for purely personal, philosophical reasons
that have little to do with politics at this point.

So he is not subject to normal political pressure. As Norquist says, the
base will stick with him come hell or high water. (I believe it’s a mistake,
however, to think it has anything to do with him personally — the base of
the Republican party are authoritarians who will blindly follow their leader
no matter who he is, which is why they need to be kept away from the brown
shirt section of Macy’s.)

It creates an interesting political dynamic. Congressional Dems have a
principled stand, but they’re also considering public opinion and where voters
want the nation to go. Bush and Cheney aren’t constrained by anything but
their own imaginations. There isn’t a soul in the West Wing who feels
compelled to say, “If we don’t make a change, there will be hell to pay.”

The only audience the president needs to keep passively in his corner are
congressional Republicans, who could wreak havoc if they completely abandon
the president and give up on the fiasco in Iraq.

But it seems unlikely. Like their base, GOP lawmakers are too accustomed to
taking orders.

CAROLYNCONNETION - I've got a mind and I'm going to use it!

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YOU CAN BEAM ME UP NOW, SCOTTIE. Thinkingblue