Deadly Arrogance

Contemplating Changing The Name Of This Book To ‘Chebu’

Author's Note: For some time now I've been writing a book on the Iraq war titled, Cherub: An Iraqi War Diary. It is not so much about the war as it is about the American people - their moods, doings, and odd ways both preceding and during a time of war. What follows is a reflection on one aspect of that book.

I don’t know, ‘Chebu’ has kind of an ethnic ring to it, possibly something from an African country or some ethnic polity in South America. That could be misleading since I’ve never written anything about either Africa or South America.

Possibly I should, especially Africa since so many of the nations there have engaged that encouraging progression from sheer savage butchery to civilization. Eventually, as those scenarios work themselves out, some dictatorial thug is chased out of said country and onto an island spa somewhere. Perhaps oil then is discovered in the country, the U.S. takes a mighty interest, and the next thing you know people are gobbling up brand new Fords and Chevrolets (probably a good thing since they’re sure not gobbling them up in their native country).

Following that, elections are held, a democratic government is put into place, and then the followers of Islam begin to riot and blow themselves up because it’s all just wrong, wrong, wrong.

Anyway, the question is whether or not Chebu ought to take over – Chebu as in Cheney and Bush – now that Cherub – as in Cheney, Rumsfeld, and Bush – is in something of a defunct state, the election this week so hugely awful for the Republicans that the First Bush actually fired Rumsfeld.

He’s named Robert Gates, formerly of the CIA and one of Boompa Bush’s advisers, as the new SECDEF, but I don’t know if I can go with something like Chegabu since it sounds perilously close to an ethnic slur in the English language.

Besides, I don’t know if it would be ethically proper to absolve Rumsfeld by removing him as the centerpiece of this carnage. It was, after all, Rumsfeld who gave us an inadequately-equipped and undermanned force in Iraq, all in the name of streamlining the military and making it more deadly and efficient.

Deadly it has been since we’re now approaching 3,000 U.S. soldiers killed and, according to a study released by Johns Hopkins University, more than 600,000 Iraqis killed.

Look for “the Don” to land back at Halliburton. You heard it here first.

I also think I'll stick with Cherub.