War is Peace, 2008 is 2006, etc.

Just yesterday, I heard one of the dozens of interchangeable pro-war talking heads declare on tee-vee that the civil war is over in Iraq and that talk of ethnic, religious, and political violence is "2006 news." Since the pro-war talking heads endlessly recycled on tee-vee are never wrong, it follows that it is still 2006, despite what our calendars seem to indicate, because this is what's happening now:

Heavy fighting broke out Tuesday in two of Iraq’s largest cities, as Iraqi ground forces and helicopters mounted a huge operation to break the grip of the Shiite militias controlling Basra, and Iraqi forces clashed with militias in Baghdad. The battles, along with indications in recent weeks that militia and insurgent attacks had already been creeping up, raised fears across Iraq that Moktada al-Sadr, the renegade Shiite cleric, could pull out of a cease-fire he declared last summer ... There were also serious clashes in the southern cities of Kut and Hilla.

Adjust your calendars accordingly.

As it was in 2006, so it is now: whatever set of facts are presented, the Bush-Cheney junta's answer will be the same as the McCain answer: continued occupation, indefinite occupation, ceaseless occupation, war without end. This war can only end when we deprive the warmongers of political power.

[this is cross-posted at my personal blog, faith in honest doubt]