Republicans Anonymous

President Bush claims his victory in the recent elections "vindicated" his administration's Iraq policies. The BBC reports:

The (Washington Post) asked Mr Bush why no-one had been held responsible for wrong information about weapons of mass destruction in Iraq or mistakes made after the US-led war.

"Well, we had an accountability moment, and that's called the 2004 election," (Mr. Bush) replied.

"And the American people listened to different assessments made about what was taking place in Iraq, and they looked at the two candidates, and they chose me, for which I'm grateful."

Interestingly, when ex-governor Gray Davis beat an ultra-conservative Republican using the same type of negative campaigning Mr. Bush employed, the Republicans successfully unseated Mr. Davis in a recall election. Too bad we can't recall Mr. Bush...

Meanwhile, back in the land of reality, the CIA reports that in all probability Mr. Bush's Iraq policies resulted in an Iraq Fouled Up Beyond All Repair (FUBAR.)

Iraq could become a breeding ground for terrorists, with survivors taking their experience to use around the world, a new US intelligence report warns.

<> Veterans of jihad in Iraq could eventually replace the al-Qaeda hierarchy, the CIA's National Intelligence Council says.
...
US President George W Bush has described the war in Iraq as part of the "war on terror".

But the report suggests that terrorists could thrive in Iraq, and go on to "supersede" those who earned their stripes in training camps in Afghanistan.

"The al-Qaeda membership that was distinguished by having trained in Afghanistan will gradually dissipate, to be replaced in part by the dispersion of the experienced survivors of the conflict in Iraq," it says.

Apparently Mr. Bush feels his Iraq policy was "vindicated" even though in all probability he turned Iraq from an insignificant threat into a terrorist-generating factory posing a mortal threat for many, many years to come.

My dictionary doesn't list FUBAR as a synonym for "vindicated." Maybe I need a new dictionary. On the other hand, maybe not - my dictionary has a picture of George W Bush next to the definition of "folie a deux." (Psychiatric term for a shared delusion.)