Happy Fourth Birthday, Iraq War!

Well, here we are on the fourth anniversary of the war. Our little boy is so grown up, isn't he? He's starting to surge already, and he's getting so big, he's threatening to engulf the whole region in giggles and chaos! Personally, I never thought we should've even had the baby, but Daddy Bush insists that this lil' troublemaker's gonna turn out just fine. So keep clapping real hard and don't ask too many questions.

Anway, in lieu of a full, non-sarcastic rant (though I will note this editorial by The Nation magazine gets it about right), I will post the following recommended anniversary reads.

-Think Progress: A TIMELINE OF THE IRAQ WAR

-KCRW's 'To The Point': Americans and the Bitterly Controversial War in Iraq

-Bob Geiger: Yo, Republicans, Micromanage This

-Chicago Tribune blogs: At war's fourth: Bush v Democrats

For anyone who has family/friends serving over there, you have my sympathy and support.

(UPDATE 12:30pm: President Bush delivers an anniversary speech that-- judging by its briefness, its virtual ignoring of the actual facts of this war's history thus far, and its rehashed call for 'patience'-- sounds like it should've been delived at the four-week mark of the war, not the four-YEAR mark. Sadly, I imagine a new version of this same speech will be delivered next March as well.

And Tony Snow to reporters inquiring about the White House's plan: Shut up.)

[PS- See the human element of all of this in 'Hometown Baghdad'.]