Slow on the writing, I know. My other project is coming along well (though slowly), but I’m back here, so let’s just launch right into things.

The President delivered his big ol’ address, which marked the second of two huge public spectacles concerning Iraq that surrounded the 9/11 anniversary, the first being Petraeus’s speech. I find it interesting that we have a cluster of performances pumping up the Iraq Fiasco right now, apparently they’re hoping to make people forget that the two are entirely distinct from one another.

Anyway, Bush’s speech. The thing is so full of dishonesty and delusion that it’s almost impressive. But I’d like to focus on one situation more than anything else.

One year ago, much of Baghdad was under siege. Schools were closed, markets were shuttered, and sectarian violence was spiraling out of control. Today, most of Baghdad’s neighborhoods are being patrolled by coalition and Iraqi forces who live among the people they protect. Many schools and markets are reopening. Citizens are coming forward with vital intelligence. Sectarian killings are down. And ordinary life is beginning to return. One year ago, much of Diyala province was a sanctuary for al Qaeda and other extremist groups, and its capital of Baqubah was emerging as an al Qaeda stronghold. Today, Baqubah is cleared. Diyala province is the site of a growing popular uprising against the extremists. And some local tribes are working alongside coalition and Iraqi forces to clear out the enemy and reclaim their communities. One year ago, Shia extremists and Iranian-backed militants were gaining strength and targeting Sunnis for assassination. Today, these groups are being broken up, and many of their leaders are being captured or killed.

Keep in mind that one year ago the United States was in its third year of the invasion. One year ago from the date of Bush’s speech, we were on our 1273rd day of the Iraq campaign. One year ago from the date of Bush’s speech, we were on our 1231st “post-Mission Accomplished” day.

One year ago, when Bush admits that Baghdad was in flames and safe havens for Al Qaeda were littered about the nation, the United States had been occupying Iraq for nearly 42 months. Bush is admitting that in the course of those three and a half years, the nation collapsed into chaos and ruin.

The claims of progress would mean something were it not for this somewhat inconvenient fact. The argument of improving situations would mean something were it not that those situations came about at his doing. If I set a fire, I can’t expect praise for putting part of it out, but that’s exactly what Bush is doing.

Make no mistake, any time the president attempts to garner support by pointing out a time where Al Qaeda has been beaten away from their Iraqi stronghold, he is the reason they were there in the first place. Lacking any actual progress by way of stabilizing the country, we’re at the point where our leader is expecting us to sing his praises for partially cleaning up his own messes.

In 2002 we were promised that the country would fall right into place once Saddam fell. Rumsfeld and the boys famously refused to consider post-war planning because that was supposed to be the easy part. Sweets and flowers, greeted as liberators, as soon as Saddam was out of power, so we were told, everything would be hunky dory. Five years later, the greatest progress we have is that Baghdad isn’t the shithole it was last year.

Bush said it best himself. “Ordinary life is beginning to return.” The Iraqi people are still waiting for the country to be as habitable as it was when Saddam was still there.

And people can’t imagine why I would never trust Bush to start up a war with Iran even if it were conclusively proven that Khamenei had a nuclear bomb pointed directly at my house.