BAGHDAD TET

Acknowledging the parallels of Vietnam and Iraq and linking the failure of the US effort in recent months to stem the tides of ruthless sectarian butchery in Baghdad with the shocking violent events surrounding the 1968 countrywide Tet Offensive, Mr Bush denied on ABC News that the rising number of Iraqi and US military deaths in Iraq meant the campaign there was failing-- Out of speculative curiosity is this the tutelage of Henry Kissinger coming to the fore of Bushspeak??-- Tet 1968 entailed coordinated attacks against American Troops not just anywhere but everywhere in country and all at the same time ultimately extinguishing 'the light at the end of the tunnel' ('stay-the-course' of its day) and dooming the Presidency of Lyndon Johnson as well as the American misadventure in Vietnam-- If the Green Zone embassy fortress in Iraq were under round the clock siege resembling Khe San the linkage might be more pertinent-- Tony Snow was quick to spin the Bush statement into one tiresomely etched in Churchillian resolve--

If October so far has not produced the most monthly American casualties of the entire conflict it's not far off with The Day of the Dead and All Soul's Day aptly more than a week away-- No wonder Major General William Caldwell expressed "disheartening" morale as the US military admitted expectations aimed at lowering Baghdad's brutal sectarian mayhem had failed-- 'Failed' is not a word used lightly at any juncture of a military conflict but certainly one used here to fit unambiguous facts-- That the murderous chaos in Iraq has become uncontrollable is no longer as a fact susceptible to the smear tactics of politicized doubt--

As the list of valid options dwindles at the speed of Mach3 comes the rumor of The Coup-- Al-Malicki's prime ministership is Dead Man Walking and though his life has always been in danger, the danger is that much closer and clearly more severe-- Subjected to a series of most likely blood-curdling ultimatums from the likes of Senator Warner and scattershot leaks from the Baker Plan more than hinting that the present tense will not be maintained much past the midterm elections which are themselves already beginning to bear the tint of fiasco, an indeed rattled Malicki needed a Bush initiated phone call to reassure him of continued support-- Robert Dreyfuss posted an interestingly provacative piece about the coup rumors swirling around DC's intel houses and it's end-game punditocracy-- If it occurs the nod always as good as a wink to a dead horse (al-Malicki)will come from the Bush war cabinet's gapingly open pandora's box -- According to Dreyfuss' sources those waiting to step into the Chamber of Carnage haven't been determined but a former-Bathist contender tops their wish list-- Former Iraqi Army Generals under Saddam living in Jordan have been approached by our coupmasters, according to Dreyduss report, with some adamantly opposed to the idea but others interested--The Iraqi Government purple-fingered into inception by a fantasia of neocon hubris is about to be be-headed (Isn't this what al-Zarquawi was attempting to do???) and scrapped entirely in the process-- The proposed coup idea if that option were chosen would then provide the US an exit-strategy, an excuse to leave-- The fabulous Baker boys top-secret report clearly not immune to deliberate leakage for election purposes may propose re-deploying troops to regional bases beyond Iraq but still close enough to respond with aid to their coup of choice-- If Bush opts for the Bathist cabal, Al-Sistani the de-facto leader of the Shiite majority as well as al-Sadr's Mahdi Army will be less than pleased but the Baker boys appear to be maneuvering if not grovelling for help from both Iran and Syria-- Why would Iran and Syria be willing to aid the installation of a Sunni Bathist is not explicated by the leak??-- Money??? Arms for hostages??-- Susurrant intonations from the supplicant Doctor of Real Politik and his angst-supported ghost of Peace with Honor beggar for a second chance to refight Vietnam from the misnomered Tet of Iraq-- One thing is very clear, the sustained relentless and effective insurgence in Iraq with such increasing ferocity may demand immediate implementation of some proposed decisions once back-burnered for post election consideration-- Ultimatums, timelines and deadlines all aswirl in the sense of immediacy seeping beneath the ordinary radar of White House spin(the latest being 'We were never "stay-the-course" '), but the indecipherable element appears to be which political party most fears this corrosively charged election--