Dubya's trip to Baghdad was a bizarre publicity stunt that shows how desperately out of touch with reality the "war council" meet-up must have been. Who thought this was a "good idea."
With the death of Zarqawi still fresh in the minds of the Iraqis' the last thing they needed was a victory visit from their "new masters" in Washington... It shows incredible insensitivity to the task ahead in Iraq...and for the new Iraqi government.
Exactly what does the "surprise trip" accomplish... Does it impress or enflame Shia and Sunni public opinion? Is it an attempt to show "state-to-state" solidarity between Washington and the "Green Zone" Government which is barely able to venture out without US protection? Did Bush want to view the body of Zarqawi? What was the reasoning here?
VERY ODD INDEED....BUT AT LEAST IT CREATES "NEWS" AND THE ADMINISTRATION SEEMS DESPERATE TO CREATE ANY KIND OF NEWS THAT CAN BE SPUN AS "GOOD."
This was likely seen, by the Rovian strategists, as leveraging the Zarqawi Kill Story in the media....
BUT IT WILL TURN OUT TO BE JUST ANOTHER TOP GUN MOMENT IN THE DISMAL HISTORY OF THIS OPTIONAL WAR....
