More and more, the modern Mordor is the USA, with the ever hungry Eye of Sauron being whomsoever thinks that the USA has to be the ruler of the Earth.

"There And Not Back Again"

The road - despite being a dead end - goes ever on ... and on ... and on ... and on ...

Yep, the eye of Sauron is, indeed, fixed on Iraq. He sees there the ring of power that will 'fuel' and 'feed' his war machine.

With it, he hopes to conquer all of Middle Earth and bring its peoples under his evil dominion. If not opposed, vigorously and SOON, he will secure the ring and bring darkness to all the lands (beginning, quite likely, with Iran)...

Of course, Ricky missed the main point here:

SAURON=BUSH ADMINISTRATION!

It's not literary, but when I think about the Iraq War and War on Terror, I'm reminded of "All Good Things," the last episode of Star Trek: The Next Generation. The basic plot involves the Enterprise investigating an anomaly in space that threatens to destroy the universe. With the help of the alien being Q, Captain Picard shifts back and forth in time trying to figure out what is going on. Picard saves the universe by understanding a paradox - that his actions are causing the very problem he is trying to solve. This realization is proof enough for Q that mankind is still worthy of development.

Yes, it's television, but contrast that story with the executives running the War on Terror. Their lack of imagination regarding the causes and solutions to international terrorism, as well as their arrogance and incompetence...it's no wonder we are where we are.

Bush has been compared to Prince Hal, the wastrel heir who rejects his partying buddy Falstaff and rises to the kingship in part 2 of "Henry IV," then inspires his troops to win the battle of Agincourt in "Henry V."

Of course, conservatives who drape Bush in the robes of monarchy (perhaps expressing a wish for a king rather than a President?) overlook the dire predictions for the future in the play's epilogue. The defeat of the French at Agincourt encouraged the English to continue making war upon France, which bled both countries dry and ultimately resulted in England's defeat and expulsion from the continent.

Cheney strikes me as kind of a Richard III, manipulating people behind the scenes to gain power and quite gleeful in his evil.

And the Congress is a pack of Shakespearean fools that will soon be turned into donkeys.

Bush, of course, is the bumbling Poohbear: "I am a bear of very little brain - long words bother me."

Cheney is Christopher Robin, organizing this little "Expotition" to Iraq:

"You'd better tell the others to get ready, while I see if my gun's all right. And we must all bring (Halliburton) Provisions."

...with Rumsfeld as Rabbit:

"Hallo, Rabbit," Pooh said, "is that you?"

"Let's pretend it isn't," said Rabbit, "and see what happens."

"I've got a message for you."

"I'll give it to him."

And of course the Democrats as Eeyore:

"All right," said Eeyore. "We're going. Only Don't Blame Me."

and later:

"this isn't an Expo--whatever it is--at all, it's simply a Confused Noise. That's what I say."

Personally, I think the correct Tolkien metaphor is that the French (and the protestors!) are like the Elves (who will hereinafter be refered to as "Freedom Fairies") (by me, at least) - to be looked down upon for their rejection of the realities of life in "Middle Earth." Check it - they're trying to get on their ships and head out for their utopian "Undying Lands," but if Sauron manages to conquor the world, they'll eventually find that NOWHERE IS SAFE. You must confront evil where it lurks, before it starts lurkin' right 'round your magical ornate art-nouveau-style front door.

That's why I support George W. Bush for re-election in 2008!

. . . and I haven't read the others yet, but -- if this friggin' fiasco isn't "ALICE IN WONDERLAND", then i'm Kurt Vonnegut (who appears to be W's speech writer, except W is missing the satire)!

Two words: Moby Dick.

Has anyone else seen the Great White Whale of mid-east democracy? Or is it only our Captain Obsession and his five mortal flaws?

John Steinbeck's novella is about two men -- one who is stupid and dangerous (Lennie Small), and his friend (George Milton) who looks after him and takes him from migrant job to migrant job whenever he gets into trouble.

Lennie Small is George W. Bush, and George Milton is the U.S. voting public.

For some reason, George Milton keeps bailing out Lennie after he keeps getting the both of them into deep trouble. This is much like how the U.S. voters voted for and kept re-electing and re-supporting Bush in spite of his continued failures such as not finding Osama bin Laden, not balancing the budget, putting more arsenic in drinking water, and dozens of other sad, poignant mishaps.

Each of these mishaps is similar to the mice that Lennie (George W. Bush) keeps in his pocket to pet. But because Lennie is clumsy and stupid, he keeps crushing the mouse and it has to be thrown away because "it ain't fresh." This is much like how George W. Bush's incompetence keeps killing every domestic and diplomatic endeavor he touches, rendering it as un-fresh as an Estate Tax on a deceased billionaire.

Though Lennie escapes trouble, the potential for harm only gets worse when he starts working for the mean Curley (the Neo-Con establishment), who keeps his hand in a glove of vaseline (Middle Eastern oil). In spite of this dangerous relationship, Lennie soon becomes fascinated with Curley's Wife (the Neo-Cons' whorish foreign policy), and wants to pet it like he pets his mice. That means invading Iraq.

Meanwhile, the old man Candy, who cries himself to sleep after failing to kill his own dog, is like the Democratic Congressional leadership. They take a nosedive in the polls because they bow to pressure to authorize the Iraq war instead of standing up for their own dog, er, principles. Either way their pet (their ability to get U.S. votes) would have died -- but their sorrow is compounded by their failure to take responsibility when it counted.

Soon after Lennie (George W. Bush) make his oafish moves on Curley's wife (Iraq), he squeezes too hard, breaking the country's neck. Lennie is dumbfounded, and tries to shake things back to life, to no avail.

Lennie Smalls (George W. Bush) seeks solace in the aid of George Milton (the U.S. voters). "Tell me about the freedom-loving rabbits, George," he pleads, and Lennie dreams of "living off the fatta the land" (investor-based economic growth) and having a pen chock full of rabbits (Middle-Eastern countries that have embraced democracy while remaining U.S. allies).

"Of Mice and Men" ends in a painful but inevitable and necessary way: There is only one thing George Milton can do -- he must put Lennie Small out of his misery before he does more fatal harm. So too must the U.S. voter remove George W. Bush (and his source of strength, the Republican dominance of Congress) from power.