I admit to having somewhat of an addiction to talk radio of all stripes (right, left, sports, and NPR when I need genuine intellectual dialogue or need sleep).

So today, I'm listening to local right wing talker Mark Belling spout off about the war in Iraq, evil, liberals hating America, etc. He is pounding his fist about how we shouldn't settle for Muqtada al-Sadr trying to turn Iraq back to the days of Saddam Hussein. As a public service to Belling and those who think like him, I'll point out at this point that al-Sadr's uncle, parents, and brothers were all killed by Saddam Hussein's regime. You see, Saddam Hussein was a Sunni Muslim, and al-Sadr is a Shiite cleric. Historically, these two groups have not gotten along well to say the least. Sunnis are a minority of the population and ruled the country until the US invaded Iraq in March 2003.

Now supposedly our intention is to set up a democracy there. If you love Iran, you'd certainly love Iraq as a democracy. We're talking fundamentalist Islamic state as Shiites make up a majority of the population. My point here is it's just one more example of willful ignorance and naivete that has painted how the right is approaching this war. It's amazing the number of people who still believe Saddam Hussein had a role in the attacks on New York and Washington on September 11, 2001.

Bonus lesson: Osama bin Laden (for those who've forgotten, he's the one who actually attacked this country) and the hijackers were from Saudi Arabia. This is a country where women are persecuted, and have virtually no rights, a country where they don't have elections, and they breed terrorists. In addition to rebuilding Afghanistan, you'd think we'd focus on that country during this "war on terrorism." Apparently President Bush's ties to the Prince Bandar and the Saudi Royal Family trump those concerns.

Class dismissed.