The New York Times reports here that U.S. forces in Baghdad are building a wall to partition off a section of Sadr City near the Green Zone. The U.S. has also built walls in other parts of Baghdad, which have been successful in stemming insurgent attacks, according to the article. If putting up walls in Iraq will help U.S. and Iraqi troops restore order there, I’m in favor of it. The trouble is that Bush, our nation’s first performing monkey president and his organ grinder, Cheney (see photo), have a disturbing proclivity for throwing up walls in response to difficult problems.
Photo of Bush (l.) and Cheney (r.) orchestrating policy
From a cement barrier on the U.S. border with Mexico, to a wall of secrecy around the White House, to a prophylactic ring-fence around Bear Stearns, Bush and Cheney are pretty fond of barriers. (Oddly enough, they’re against condoms.) Putting a fence around a problem, however, is a desperate remedy of last resort.
To be sure, illegal immigration, economic crises, and geo-political threats are difficult problems. They can all be solved, however, through fair and reasoned analysis, creative thinking, and informed, well-executed policy. Which is probably why Bush and Cheney hardly even try anymore. They have a perverse Midas touch–everything they tackle turns to crap. They seem to recognize they’re too dumb and incompetent to solve the nation’s problems. The best they can do is put these unpleasant things in a box (a pandora’s box, as it turns out) and hope someone smarter and more capable than they comes along to deal with them.
Our country once had Republican presidents who tore down walls and brought nations together. Ironically, the only thing the fruit of their actual and ideological loins are any good at is divisiveness.
