Isn't It Ironic, Doncha Think?
The Bush/Cheney administration can now officially be renamed The Gang Who Couldn't Shoot Straight. Nothing, and I mean absolutely nothing, that they stated as their intentions for this escapade in Iraq has proven true or come to fruition. OK, I'll give them the overthrow of Saddam--but that's a gimme. From the Washington Post:

When the Bush administration decided to invade Iraq two years ago, it envisioned a quick handover to handpicked allies in a secular government that would be the antithesis of Iran's theocracy -- potentially even a foil to Tehran's regional ambitions.

But, in one of the greatest ironies of the U.S. intervention, Iraqis instead went to the polls and elected a government with a strong religious base -- and very close ties to the Islamic republic next door. It is the last thing the administration expected from its costly Iraq policy -- $300 billion and counting, U.S. and regional analysts say.
[...]
Yet the top two winning parties -- which together won more than 70 percent of the vote and are expected to name Iraq's new prime minister and president -- are Iran's closest allies in Iraq.

Thousands of members of the United Iraqi Alliance, a Shiite-dominated slate that won almost half of the 8.5 million votes and will name the prime minister, spent decades in exile in Iran. Most of the militia members in its largest faction were trained in Shiite-dominated Iran.

And the winning Kurdish alliance, whose co-leader Jalal Talabani is the top nominee for president, has roots in a province abutting Iran, which long served as its economic and political lifeline.

"This is a government that will have very good relations with Iran. The Kurdish victory reinforces this conclusion. Talabani is very close to Tehran," said Juan Cole, a University of Michigan expert on Iraq. "In terms of regional geopolitics, this is not the outcome that the United States was hoping for."

I know, I know. It's hard work, and things don't always go according to plan. But that's why you over-prepare for things that might go haywire, things that aren't coming out of the blue, but that have been warned by analysts in your employ. And this doesn't just affect Iraqi citizens or budgetary/policy decisions--it's affecting US citizens directly by having to continually play catch-up to the reality of the situation. I was reminded of this over the weekend watching PBS's NOW (formerly hosted by Bill Moyers, now hosted by David Brancaccio), which focused on US armed forces troop strength and the need to rely more and more on National Guard units, retired personnel, and so-called stop-loss commands of troops who are eligible to leave either the military or a combat zone due to the end of a tour of duty. The gentleman that was at the center of NOW's profile, former Major Rick Howell, is being called back to duty through the Individual Ready Reserve, which:

primarily consists of "individuals who have had training, have served previously in the Active component or the Selected Reserve, and have some period of a military obligation remaining. IRR members are in an active status, but do not perform regularly scheduled training." The Standby Reserve consists of personnel who maintain their military affiliation but are only subject to involuntary active duty under full mobilization orders from the President.

The program showed the contract that military personnel sign, and this IRR clause is certainly not printed in a tiny font. Still, you can't fully expect to be called back to duty, especially, in Major Howell's case, when you're a disabled veteran whose elbow was crushed and can't lift more than 20 pounds with that arm. Despite applying for a special dispensation (which can be granted to those with precarious economic or familial situations), this disabled veteran and new father has been told that he needs to report to duty by March 6.