2 July 2004
Sidney Young
The day after the handover
The day after
the handover
of sovereignty
in Iraq,
three more Marines
are killed
by a roadside bomb
Just like the day before
the handover
of sovereignty
in Iraq
Pretty soon,
the American death toll
in Iraq
will be nine hundred
Good chance it will
reach a thousand
in time
for the Bush coronation
near Ground Zero
Is that the kind
of nice round number
that will, at long last, impress the media?
Just about as many
dead soldiers
as delegates
at the Republican convention
Nice symmetry, eh?
"Bring 'em on."
Indeed
Now that the Iraqis
are in charge,
who tells our troops
where to go?
And when?
What if they tell
our troops
to stay at their base
and not go anywhere?
What if they turn
our troops
into sitting ducks?
What color
is the threat code
in Baghdad today, anyway?
Yellow?
Orange?
Tutti-frutti?
What if the Green Zone
turns into the Red Zone?
The Hot Zone?
The Bull's-eye Zone?
The Zone With the Big Red "X"
in the Center?
What if the Iraqis say
Don't call us
We'll call you?
What if Baghdad
turns into Beirut?
Remember
what happened
there?
Two hundred
and forty-one
of our troops,
mostly Marines,
and most of them asleep,
killed in their barracks
on a Sunday morning
"Pearl Harbor II," starring Ronald Reagan
Will history
repeat itself
in Baghdad?
Are we sure
the president of the United States,
the Yale and Harvard legacy student,
the cheerleader with the gentleman's C's,
the guy Marilyn Quayle calls Frat Boy,
ever studied history?
Or reads history?
Or even cares about history?
One thing's for sure:
Those who fail
to learn from the mistakes
of history
are condemned
to repeat them
Should we be hopeful
that the lessons we need
from history
can be found
on the pages
of "My Pet Goat"?
Copyright 2004 by Buffalo Report, Inc.