Oh Yes, We are the Great Pretenders!

Bush and Al Maliki are drinking each other's Koolaid.

Get this: Iraqi Green Zone Prime Minister Al-Maliki is visiting Basra, which has had its relative calm suddenly erupt in sectarian violence. Surrounded by our mercenaries, he puts his foot down:

We are hearing of security breaches which we fear may escalate and worsen.

We shall hit with an iron fist the heads of the gangs or those who threaten security. And we shall request all security departments to draw an effective and quick plan to achieve security to a standard which would give citizens the feel of security.

That's what he says. But, as of yesterday, he can't fill his defense and interior ministry posts. That's what he says, but yesterday, 50 people were kidnapped yesterday, not including four Russians. That's what he says, but yesterday 24 people, mostly students were executed.

Let's pretend.

How did that song go, by the Platters? (With apologies):

Oh yes, we’re the great pretenders
Pretending that we’re doing well
Our policies’ duff – we pretended too much
We’re lying but people can tell

Oh yes, we’re the great pretenders
Adrift in a world of our own
We played the war ‘game’ but to our real shame our intelligence failed
and led us to score an own goal

Too real was the thrill of make believe
We can only repeat – we believed, we believed

Oh, yes, we’re the great pretenders

WMD all around
The world we agree is now safer, you see
Yeah, we killed and we maimed in a ‘civilized’ way,
Our cluster bombs scattered around

Too real was this thrill of this make believe
The threat seemed so real that we almost believed

Oh yes, we’re the great pretenders,
Combat was complete months ago,
Security’s fine, it improves all the time
Abu Ghraib was a mirage, we’re sure
Just pretending we uphold the law...

As sung by Bush and B.Liar and written by Phil Hong