Has the Iraq war suddenly disappeared?

It would seem so if you get your news solely from the mainstream media. Hardly a mention of the 5 American soldiers who were killed in Northern Iraq by a roadside bomb, the other day. http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20080128/ap_on_re_mi_ea/iraq_080119205312

The anchors are all whooping it up over the presidential race. When they do get serious, the talk turns to how the economy is taking a dive. Anything to take the American viewer away from the illegal war. But for the ones who are still losing loved ones. It will never vanish for them. And also for those Iraqi unfortunates who haven't the means to escape from the Bush/Neocon created HELLHOLE they call home. It will take at least a 100 years, if ever, for the nightmare to fade. Oh, there are articles of the pain and suffering because of this Illegal-War but you have to hunt for them. In case you're still interested, read this sad tale for starters:  http://www.usatoday.com/news/nation/2008-01-24-smalltowns_N.htm

PS: Now let's get back to Bush's base, we should never forget about them. They are all indirectly responsible for Bush and all the horror he has perpetrated upon us. Never should we ignore, how they, in all their ignorance, betrayed America.
Read this: The Base isn't interested in Iraq, the base is for Bush.

http://www.thecarpetbaggerreport.com/archives/10404.html

“The base isn’t interested in Iraq. The base is for Bush,” Norquist said. “If Bush said tomorrow, we’re leaving in two months, there would be no revolt.”

At a certain level, most of the reality-based community might think this sounds ludicrous. The entire GOP apparatus and the vast majority of the conservative movement have spent the last several years insisting that withdrawal is not only wrong, it’s literally life-threatening. Anyone who even considers the policy hates America. If Bush were to suddenly reverse course and co-opt the Dems’ message, how can Norquist or anyone else expect the president’s loyal backers to automatically reverse course with him?

The question is premised on a mistaken assumption about the conservative movement. Norquist is almost certainly right; the base takes marching orders surprisingly well.

Indeed, they already have. In 2004, John Kerry said it was time to increase the size of the Armed Forces; Bush disagreed. The GOP base went right along, emphasizing how wrong Kerry was. Last year, when Bush embraced Kerry’s policy, the base had no problem switching gears. “Of course we need to increase the size of the military,” they said.

Bush was against sending more troops, and the base said he was right. Then Bush was for sending more troops, and the base agreed with that, too. Bush said he’d listen to the commanders on the ground in Iraq, and the base cheered. Bush then fired the commanders on the ground who disagreed with him, and the base cheered some more.

Anyone looking for intellectual consistency is likely to be very disappointed.

Atrios flags this nice Grover Norquist quote from Garance Franke-Ruta and, correctly I think, notes that it doesn’t mean the base wants to leave Iraq. It just means they will go along with whatever Bush wants to do. In other words, Bush isn’t being obstinate about Iraq because he’s afraid that his base will desert him. He’s not running, neither is Cheney, and neither one of them appear to particularly care about the fortunes of the Republican party. He’s obstinate about Iraq for purely personal, philosophical reasons that have little to do with politics at this point.

So he is not subject to normal political pressure. As Norquist says, the base will stick with him come hell or high water. (I believe it’s a mistake, however, to think it has anything to do with him personally — the base of the Republican party are authoritarians who will blindly follow their leader no matter who he is, which is why they need to be kept away from the brown shirt section of Macy’s.)

It creates an interesting political dynamic. Congressional Dems have a principled stand, but they’re also considering public opinion and where voters want the nation to go. Bush and Cheney aren’t constrained by anything but their own imaginations. There isn’t a soul in the West Wing who feels compelled to say, “If we don’t make a change, there will be hell to pay.”

The only audience the president needs to keep passively in his corner are congressional Republicans, who could wreak havoc if they completely abandon the president and give up on the fiasco in Iraq.

But it seems unlikely. Like their base, GOP lawmakers are too accustomed to taking orders.