Jim Hightower

Message to George W: Contact Earth if your spaceship ever comes near our planet.

We've known for quite a while that the president is way, way, out there in his own happy orbit, drifting far beyond the gravitational pull of reality. But, good grief, his recent declamation on the "Great and Glorious Success of America's Excellent Adventure in Iraq" took the meaning of delusional to new heights.

On the fifth anniversary of his Iraq debacle, Bush traipsed over to the safe haven of the Pentagon to tell a captive audience that his invasion has been a "remarkable display of military effectiveness," and that his war policy has placed America on the brink of a great "strategic victory." Hmmm. Four thousand American's dead, many thousands more maimed (and deprived of adequate veterans care), a dollar cost that is already reaching into the trillions, a devastated and broken society in Iraq, a gross stain on America's reputation, an energized enemy that makes our country more vulnerable to terrorists, an exhausted U.S. military, an Iraqi army that can't secure it's own country, and an Iraqi government that is dysfucntional and perpetually dependent on American largesse.

Way to go, George.

For the past few months, Bush has been claiming that his surge policy has worked, lessening the violence in Iraq. However, the explosion of new violence in recent weeks–including brazen attacks on the locked-down bunker known as the Green Zone–reveals that his claims were a sham. In fact, the temporary calm that had occured in Iraq had nothing to do with Bush. Instead, it was due to a self-imposed, unilateral cease fire by Muqtada al-Sadr, the powerful Shiite cleric.

Now, with new eruptions from parts of al-Sadr's Mahdi army, Bush's talk of "strategic victory" is exposed as delusional and deadly silliness by a failed leader.