If America Were Iraq

The Koufax Awards for lefty bloggers have just been announced. The winner of the best single post for 2004 was Juan Cole's post on September 22, 2004, explaining what America would look like today in Iraq's situation. This is particularly appropo considering that yesterday witnessed the single bloodiest suicide bombing of the war with at least 116 dead. I encourage you to read it all but here is just a taste:

"Thus, violence killed 300 Iraqis last week, the equivalent proportionately of 3,300 Americans. What if 3,300 Americans had died in car bombings, grenade and rocket attacks, machine gun spray, and aerial bombardment in the last week? That is a number greater than the deaths on September 11, and if America were Iraq, it would be an ongoing, weekly or monthly toll.

And what if those deaths occurred all over the country, including in the capital of Washington, DC, but mainly above the Mason Dixon line, in Boston, Minneapolis, Salt Lake City, and San Francisco?

What if the Air Force routinely (I mean daily or weekly) bombed Billings, Montana, Flint, Michigan, Watts in Los Angeles, Philadelphia, Anacostia in Washington, DC, and other urban areas, attempting to target "safe houses" of "criminal gangs", but inevitably killing a lot of children and little old ladies?"