Tom Engelhardt: How Permanent Are Those American Bases?

Iraq has always been "South Korea" for the Bush Administration (Good riddance to them). Finally the great American disconnect may be ending. "Only" four years after the unlawful invasion of Iraq, the crucial facts-on-the-ground might finally be coming into sight for Americans: Not the carnage or the mayhem, the suicide car bombs or the chlorine truck bombs, the massive flight of middle-class professionals, the assassination campaigns against academics, the collapse of the best health-care service in the region, the spiking of American and Iraqi casualties, the lack of electricity, the growth of Shia militias, the crumbling of the "so-called coalition of the willing", or the uprooting of 15% or more, of Iraq's population, the sharp increase in fundamentalism and extremism, the rise of al-Qaeda in Mesopotamia, the swelling of sectarian killings, or the inability of the Iraqi government to get oil out of the ground, or an oil law, designed in Washington, and meant to turn the clock back decades in the Middle East, passed inside Baghdad's fortified "Green Zone". NO, NONE OF THAT! What's finally coming into view is just what George W. Bush, Dick Cheney (may they rest in hell!), the top officials of their administration, the "civilian" leadership at the Pentagon, and their "neocon" (=new con-artist) followers had in mind, when they invaded and occupied Iraq in 2003. Nevertheless, our "runaway military" continues, providing ample reason to embrace a communist form of government, though presently mentioning that sort of language is not advised, unless one wishes a lengthy prison sentence! David Sanger of the New York Times hits the nail right on its nasty head: "Administration officials and top military leaders declined to talk on the record about their long-term plans in Iraq, but when speaking on a not-for-attribution basis, they describe a fairly detailed concept: It calls for maintaining three or four major bases in the country, all well outside the crowded urban areas, where casualties have soared. They would include the base at Al Asad in Anbar Province, Balad Air Base about 50 miles north of Baghdad, and Tallil Air Base in the South.