First I want to thank all the other Vietnam combat vets who showed up here and gave their opinions. More than ever, we have something to say because we are experienced. And more than ever, nobody really gives a damn. What happened to us 35 years ago just plain doesn't matter. There is no draft, so most American kids don't give a fuck about the war because it won't affect them. The government doesn't care what we say because they don't have to. They are going to do what ever the fuck they are going to do and no advice, no voice of experience is going to stop them. In fact, the Neocons thrive on chaos.

I'm with those here who say we aren't leaving Iraq because we are building hard fortresses at every strategic piece of ground in the country. The most glaring example is the new U.S. embassy.

This amazing compound, a modern re-creation of a medieval City State, is being constructed in plain sight, yet hardly anyone is talking about it.

Some of the features of this world wonder are said to include totally self-sufficient resources to survive no matter if an all-out war is raging outside its gates. It has it's own water wells, electrical generators (gas turbines fueled from nearby gas fields), a battalion-sized quick reaction force, and with close air support, it is able to withstand a full-on siege for months without re-supply.

The complex includes 21 buildings on 104 acres, larger by far than the whole Iraqi government's Baghdad infrastructure. In other words, our government IN Iraq takes up more space than the government OF Iraq.

To put it in perspective, the U.S. Fortress Baghdad's 104 acres is six times larger than the United Nations compound in New York, and two-thirds the acreage of Washington’s National Mall. It's not only the largest embassy in the world, it is unique and unprecedented in nearly every way.

It might well be described as a Vatican-like state-within-a-state. According to MSNBC, Iraq’s interim government transferred the land to U.S. ownership in October 2004, under an agreement whose terms were not disclosed.

Naturally, as with nearly everything the Bush administration does, it's all "undisclosed." We don't need to know its final cost (well over $1 billion) and please don't even ask who the building contractors are because they ain't gonna tell you!

But you can guess, right? They say it's "five American companies."

In case you are worried that our diplomats, security forces, spooks and wheeler/dealers are going to suffer the hardships of living in concrete bunkers, MSNBC reports that "Besides two major diplomatic office buildings, homes for the ambassador and his deputy, and the apartment buildings for staff, the compound will offer a swimming pool, gym, commissary, food court and American Club, all housed in a recreation building."

A bubble city for our bubble boy president to fly in and out of to serve the occasional turkey dinner and give victory speeches.

Bottom Line Salon Readers:

Don't listen to what they say, watch what they do. We ain't leaving Iraq in your lifetime. Adjust your expectations accordingly.

Have you seen the new "Kurdistan" commercial on CNN?

At first, I re-checked the channel to make sure I had not flipped over to Comedy Central and was watching a Jon Stewart or Saturday Night Live spoof.

"Have you seen the Other Iraq?" the unctuous voice-over whispered.

"It's spectacular."

"It's peaceful."

"Welcome to Iraqi Kurdistan. Where democracy has been practiced for over a decade. It's not a dream. It's the other Iraq."

Had I really heard this right? Kurdistan? Huh? Well OK, to be fair, the voice did say Iraqi Kurdistan. But there is no official country called Kurdistan. There are "Kurdish-inhabited areas in Iraq, in Turkey, in Iran and in Syria. Kurdistan only really exists in the minds of the Kurdish separatists who have longed for their own country for centuries. In their minds, they never were part of Iraq. It was forced upon them. The Kurds would love nothing more than to cut loose from the coalition government in Baghdad and tell the Shiia and the Sunni to go to hell. (And America too).

Welcome to "The Other Iraq." It's like "Pork, the other white meat."

The smooth voice-over continued with a pitch to come on over, there's no war here, you can drink the water, plenty of free parking and humble folks without temptations etc.

"The people of Iraqi-Kurdistan invite you to discover their peaceful region, a place that has practiced democracy for over a decade, a place where the universities, markets, cafes and fair grounds buzz with progress and prosperity and where the people are already sowing the seeds of a brighter future."

Oh, but they left out something important, I think.

The "New Kurdistan" just happens to be sitting on top of the world's sixth largest oil field. About 45 billion barrels of oil according to the CIA Factbook.

Furthermore, the Kurdish oil pipelines are up and running! They are exporting oil and gas to western Europe through Turkey to the Black Sea.

So come visit the New Iraqi Kurdistan. Bring the family. Enjoy the outdoor cafes. Tour the oil fields. Invest in your future, America. Invest in the Balkanized remains of Iraq. There is no God but God, and their ain't no Oil but BIG OIL.

People in the military only appear to be right wingers in public. Commissioned officers are prohibited under the UCMJ from criticizing their commanders. Enlisted personnel are under no law, but the consequences can be even more devastating.

Read the Army Times, the best-read newspaper of the rank and file troops and you'll get the real picture.