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The architects of War: Where are they now?

As the candidates for the US presidency dance around the issue of America's involvement in the Iraq War - and what the US is going to do, if anything, to withdraw from the war-torn country - Think Progressive raises the interesting question of what has happened to the architects of what has turned out to be a "venture" doomed from inception.

"President Bush has not fired any of the architects of the Iraq war. In fact, a review of the key planners of the conflict reveals that they have been rewarded — not blamed — for their incompetence."

Read the piece here.

On the subject of that "surge" in Iraq which the politicians and some of the media are touting as having had positve results, well-known journalist, Patrick Cockburn, who writes for The Independent, has the following report from Baghdad:

"Life in Iraq, the Pentagon boasts, is returning to normal. But the truth is a very different story."

Meanwhile, over at truthdig.com Robert Scheer reflects on, in America, who has actually benefited from the Iraq War:

"Ever since "we" invaded Iraq, most of us have gotten nothing to show for it other than an enormously increased national debt that we will be paying off for decades to come and an economy that is sputtering into recession. Oil sold for $22.81 the year before the war was launched against a country with the world's second-largest holding, and the average price last year was almost three times that, at $64.20.

With oil bouncing up to $100 in the fourth quarter, Exxon recorded the highest corporate quarterly return ever. Chevron, the country's second-biggest oil company, saw profits rise 29 percent that quarter, contributing to an enviable profit of $18.7 billion for 2007. Clearly, what's good for big oil is not good for most Americans, few of whom would look back on 2007 with favor.

It's easy for the Bush big shots to equate the fortunes of big oil with that of the nation. After all, George W. got to be president only because his failed career in the Texas oil industry exposed his charms to the big energy guys, who then bankrolled his political career. Dick Cheney was an out-of-work defense secretary when picked to be CEO of Halliburton, which has profited mightily from its dealings with Exxon, not to mention running the Iraq franchise."

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