Déjà vu all over again on Iraq

EDITORIAL

Two news reports Wednesday document the Bush administration's unfortunate continued blindness, one might even call it delusional thinking, on Iraq.

First, U.S. President George W. Bush once again defended the war, saying it was necessary to topple Saddam Hussein. Speaking at the Pentagon, Bush was unapologetic while commemorating the fifth anniversary of the beginning of the U.S. invasion of Iraq. He once again maintained that "removing Saddam Hussein from power was the right decision.".

Bush then repeated his recent mantra that the "surge" in U.S. troop levels and the new -- certainly more effective -- counter-insurgency policy pursued over the past 14 months by U.S. Gen. David Petraeus had already achieved "a major strategic victory in the broader war on terror".

That same day, however the British Broadcasting Corporation suggested a far different reality. The BBC reported that the death toll from Monday's terror bombing in the Iraqi city of Karbala had reached 52. Another 75 people were injured in the explosion, which occurred as U.S. Vice President Dick Cheney was on a tour of the country.