The Iraqis and Karl Rove

The Iraqis, for all their problems, are not a stupid people.

It's easy to think that they are ignorant savages, bent on self-destruction on a national scale. But that ignores reality. It also plays into the hands of the propagandists.

The Iraqis, are, above all else, pragmatists. They have learned to be, under both Saddam and the US/UK/Other. This is why, in southern Iraq, the Iraqis are more or less ignoring the British. The British gov't has indicated that it plans to draw down it's presence there. That means the Iraqis have to look around, and see who the new power will be. It may be the Iranians. It may be the US. But since it won't be the British, well, there's not much future in returning their calls. This irritates the British, because they already feel as if they are the junior partner in the coalition, and having their phone calls ignored in an area they nominally control.. well.. it gets up their nose a bit.

I can understand their point of view, but at the same time, it comes back to the Iraqis. They are pragmatists. If you're not going to be around, theirs no point in talking to you.

Enough of Iraq, for a moment. I want to talk about Karl Rove.

I don't "hate" Rove. I do dislike him though. My reasons for doing so are multiple:

1) He's a political operative. That is, he is a man who makes his living at playing politics. That's creepy on a couple of levels.

2) He's a "win at all costs" type of political operative. It is a FACT that he smeared John McCain terrifically during the Presidential primaries in 2000. He's willing to destroy people he agrees with if he's not their hired gun. There's no higher morality with him.

3) He believes that "winning is the only thing". In that payback of someone like Ambassador Wilson is MORE important than maintaining the national security of the United States of America. It is a FACT that he leaked Valerie Plame's name multiple times to multiple reporters. He'll never be called to account for it, of course, but he did real damage to our national security. And for no other reason than to be a little punk.

The sum of my dislike for him is that he is a consummate political gamesman, and he does not care even a tiny bit about how much damage he does to some of us, or all of us, as long as he can play his games. I have met other political operatives like him from the other side, and I don't like them either. They all, combined, lower the political discourse in the US to a bunch of childish slogans being shouted over one another. He's not only part and parcel of that political devolution of the United States, he's a willing, even enthusiastic, participant.

It's not about the (R) after his name for me. It's the complete and utter willingness to stomp on a child's head if it'll get his guy elected. I just can't respect someone with no ethical core.

And by the way, it's disingenuous for anyone to imply that he is *just* an aide. He was the Deputy Chief of Staff and is the person primarily responsible for all the political activities of the White House. He's *just* and aide the way Eleanor Roosevelt was *just* a wife.

Regards,
-Bouncer-