Iraq 5 Year Anniversary

Today marks two anniversaries - the 5th year of the war in Iraq and the day the swallows return to nearby Capistrano. I think by the end of the day we'll find that there's more collective intelligence in a flock of swallows than a flock of antiwar protesters.

Take for instance this photo from Zombie up in Berkeley where Cindy Sheehan was making an appearance:

Apparently English grammar is not a priority in their lives (for any antiwar types reading this post, it should read "too many", not "to many"). Always the entertainers.

President Bush made a major speech on the Iraq issue:

WASHINGTON - Five years after launching the U.S. invasion of Iraq, President Bush is making some of his most expansive claims of success in the fighting there. Bush said last year's troop buildup has turned Iraq around and produced "the first large-scale Arab uprising against Osama bin Laden."

Massive anti-war demonstrations were planned in downtown Washington to mark Wednesday's anniversary of the war, which has claimed the lives of nearly 4,000 U.S. troops. Across the river at the Pentagon, Bush was to give a speech to warn that backsliding in recent progress fueled by the increase of 30,000 troops he ordered more than a year ago cannot be allowed.

"The challenge in the period ahead is to consolidate the gains we have made and seal the extremists' defeat," he said in excerpts the White House released Tuesday night. "We have learned through hard experience what happens when we pull our forces back too fast — the terrorists and extremists step in, fill the vacuum, establish safe havens and use them to spread chaos and carnage."

Bush added: "The successes we are seeing in Iraq are undeniable, yet some in Washington still call for retreat."

Democrats took a different view.

Imagine that. So, how did the Dems react?

"On this grim milestone, it is worth remembering how we got into this situation, and thinking about how best we can get out," said Rep. John Dingell, D-Mich. "The tasks that remain in Iraq — to bring an end to sectarian conflict, to devise a way to share political power and to create a functioning government that is capable of providing for the needs of the Iraqi people — are tasks that only the Iraqis can complete."

Wow, he even worked in "grim milestone", the media's favorite catch phrase for every phase of the war. However, since Dingell is a Michigan Democrat and his own party won't count his primary vote, I don't think we need to count his opinion here.

Look for more protests and mudslinging today, but the only mudslinging that will have any meaning is the mud the swallows will be slinging to build their nests around the mission in San Juan Capistrano.