On little bits of history repeating

Okay, so it took all of seventeen months in Afghanistan for George W. to get bored and jog off to find himself a new party in Iraq. We shouldn't be surprised, then, that, sixteen months after we headed into Baghdad with all kinds of shock and awe, his attention is starting to drift:

WASHINGTON -- President Bush said Monday the United States is exploring whether Iran had any role in the terrorist attacks of Sept. 11, 2001, a scenario discounted by the CIA.

Well, great.

Flashback to September of 2001, when Richard Clarke was telling Bush that all of the 9/11 hijackers had been Saudi, and Bush told him to find a connection to Iraq. Why? Because "there aren't any good targets in Afghanistan" - Iraq would make a much better war.

I guess we're running out of good targets in Iraq.

Or maybe President Bush just isn't feeling terribly comfortable with poll numbers that indicate Americans aren't entirely pleased with the job he's doing in Iraq. It's finally getting through to him that his "Mission Accomplished" banner was just a bit premature and that the ticker-tape parade he was expecting won't be forthcoming, and rather than trying to fix what's probably broken beyond repair, he's decided to scrap it all and try again with a new bunch of Arabs. He's desperate to get one good war in before Americans go to the polls in November.

God help Iran. And God help whoever is in line after Iran (North Korea, maybe?). And if He's still willing, God help America.

Mad props to Atrios for the link.