More Hap Hap Happy Stories from Iraq It is amazing the disconnect between what some folks say and what others say about Iraq. But there sure seem to be a lot of people that think that the world of Iraq is the polar opposite of what the Bush Administration is telling us...and they are not democrats. Here's another happy analogy from someone in Iraq:

So its happened to me now. That which has happened to every Iraqi friend of mine. Everyone here knows someone personally who has died an untimely death. Ater telling me about this horrible story, Aziz said, “It is getting worse by the day here.” How is life possibly going to get better in Iraq? Kids are being raised to fight against the most powerful military the Earth has ever known. Every U.S. soldier who comes here knows they will be in-country for at least one full year. More troops are on the way. More soldiers have been killed near Ramadi and Fallujah recently. The truce in Najaf and Kufa came and went. A man has been selected by the IGC as the president whom every single Iraqi I know thinks is an absolute bastard. One man I know, when asked what he thought about Alawi, said frankly, “He will be killed, insh’allah.” Another Iraqi friend said, “If he lasts a month, he’ll be very lucky.” So as the Bush and Blair camps race about trying to paint a picture of stability and structure in Iraq, with June 30 is now just a month away -- this place is coming apart at the seams. For each step forward the coalition makes, two disasters occur... whether they take the form of deadly attacks on the occupying forces, more mortars blasting into the CPA, sabotage of a pipeline or powerplant, a murder, another SUV of secret service or security mercenaries taken out by an RPG, or something less obvious...

Of course, the President, of our country, is a man who will "stay the course" and "provide steady leadership". The fact that staying the course leads to disaster and steady leadership doesn't do much to stem a hurricane is of small comfort. But Bush has nothing if not cognitive dissonance. No amount of bad news will shake his profound belief that every moment takes us closer to the rapture. I'd say he'd make a great cult member, but that would imply that he is not in one already.