And a bottle of Rummy

I got into a spirited discussion/pseudo-argument at a recent Canada's World shindig, the topic du jour being the "cause" of the Iraq war. (Indeed, I know how to pick 'em). Speculation abounded: It was oil. It was the power of the Israeli Lobby. It was Bush playing second fiddle to his executive. It was doing what daddy had not done in 1991. It was part of a liberal grand strategy to install democracy in the Middle East. It was Cheney. It was Rumsfeld. It was Rove. Yep, that's the cause. Based on the evidence. Well, depending on how you read the evidence. Er, which evidence you read.

It occurred to me, after nearly a half hour of this sort of cherry-picking (*gasp*, could it be all of the above?), that discussions of these sorts are now largely irrelevant. The sad fact of the matter is that the U.S. is in, hands dirty, knees bent, and Iraq for its part has been invaded, occupied, liberated, dismantled, remantled, reconstructed, deconstructed, and screwed and nailed in lopsided bits and pieces into a giant fucking mess.

Was it for the oil?
Does it matter?
And if it does, is this really worth so much of our attention?

~

On an aside, DFAIT, as part of its decades-long, never-ending budget cut, is selling its expensive embassies and properties in a bid to raise cash.

Canada is reviewing properties abroad that have been owned for 25 years or more that are too big for their diplomatic functions, too costly to upkeep and too far from business centres, said Foreign Affairs spokesman Rodney Moore. When a property is sold, it will be replaced by a more economical leased or purchased property.

Getting rid of expensive, limited-function overhead is, of course, wise resource management. But why do I get the feeling this yard sale is a bit of a public cry for help in the face of more systemic cash-related problems?

*cough*

~