On May 1, 2003, President George W. Bush landed his plane on an aircraft carrier, and jumped out to proclaim victory in the one-sided war against the Iraqi people. “Mission Accomplished,” read the banner behind him. That the bulk of the killing in this war took place after that date has not dissuaded Bush’s successor from trying to bamboozle Boobus with the electioneering charade that, once again, that awful war is over, and the troops are coming home. Except, of course, the war is not over, and some 50,000 American troops will remain in Iraq to protect corporate-state interests. These soldiers will be redefined from a “combat” to a “transitional” status.
It is to the credit of most Americans that they do not seem to be buying into this latest snake-oil swindle. I vividly recall the end of World War II. I had been at a movie theater in Lincoln, Nebraska, and came out to seemingly tens of th0usands of cheering people crowding the streets. They knew that awful war had come to an end. I did wonder, a few days ago, when the propaganda arm of the present empire made its announcement, how long it would take for the established order to resurrect the worst Hollywood film to ever win a “best picture” Oscar: The Best Years of Our Lives, a 1946 post-war effort in defense of the war system. Over this past weekend, I was in Palo Alto, California, and saw the following theater marquee:
