A telling juxtaposition

Looking at the online edition of today's Boston Globe, there are two headlines about Iraq, one beneath the other, as follows:

"Iraqis told to arm themelves"

then

"Iraq may not meet goals set by Bush."


The United States broke the state of Iraq and confidently expected cheers and gratitude from the Iraqi people. President Bush believed that there were hidden(very well hidden!)democratic antecedents there that would miraculously emerge with the offing of Saddam. When the components of the artificial Iraqi state went to their sectarian corners and began fighting themselves and the occupiers, the US decreed that there should be elections and that Iraq should be administered by carefully chosen Iraqis. When neither those carefully chosen Iraqis nor the US military could stop the sectarian violence in the country, President Bush put them on notice that dire consequences would ensue if the Iraqis failed to meet benchmarks set by him. Now, after the most recent spike in the unceasing fratricidal warfare, against which those very same well-chosen politicians are now advising people to ARM THEMSELVES, it seems that...those benchmarks might NOT be met(!)

Gee, ya think? Nothing gets by some of these newspaper reporters.