With the Bush government in high celebration of the Iraqi election, and all the TV news reporting from the Green Zone that all is going great - even though they only know what the US Army tells them - it seems a good day to post what I have not heard yet. And that is this reminds me of the "Mission Accomplished" celebration on the aircraft carrier at the "end" of the war back in May 2003. So today they celebrate the beginning of "democracy" in the Middle East.

Juan Cole has a column today that any thinking American would benefit from reading. He reminds us of the history of democracy in Iraq and how Bush was opposed to an election by all Iraqis and that it was Ali Sistani - the Shiite cleric - who forced Bush to allow a democratic election. He points out that Iran had a much more fair, open and civil democratic election in 1997 - a country we are preparing to bomb and invade. Bush tried hard to force a dictator in the Iraqis in the person of Chalabi.

We will not see our American news media break down the election results to show how few voted in the zones controlled by US troops and how many more voted where we are not in control. The civil war that will result from this - and the assassination of newly elected people - will be explained away. Juan Cole reports that some Sunni Iraqis did not know their names were put on election lists - and they are now quite mad. Democracy? How mad. The beginnings of democracy? No. The beginning of our US government's excuse for pulling out of a quagmire like Vietnam that is going nowhere. Retreat with honor. Wonder if we will have dramatic video of the last helicopter out of Baghdad.

There is a saying that good intentions often do great harm. Now we have Bush saying our intentions are good. As we set the country aflame in civil war and as we destroy cities and kill tens of thousands of innocent civilians. Yes, the Spanish just wanted to spread Christianity to the Indians - the gold was just a pleasant secondary interest. And yes, the British just felt the white man's burden to spread civilization to India - and the plunder of wealth was just a secondary interest.

Read Juan Cole. We can humor ourselves with corporate propaganda and feel good or we can actually want to know what is happening in the world. The contrast from what he says and what all the TV news channels are saying is seemingly about two different events.