You, me, 28 million Iraqis and almost a million US soldiers – we are just pawns in a colossal vanity project. Yes, I’m talking, of course, about the Iraq War. We are only on this planet to play small roles in the most extravagant military snafu in history. Our opinions and our plights are just fodder for op/ed pieces and blogs, because The Decider has decided.

Last week the White House announced its ”˜new’ plan is to send 21,500 more troops into Iraq. There are 150,000 troops (give or take Poland) currently on the ground, so the ”˜surge’ is more of a spittle. That’s like seeing a man whose leg has just been blown off and handing him a Band-Aid coupled with some platitudes, “My plan is to heal you. We cannot fail. The consequences of failure are clear. We must win.” Oh, and the Band-Aid has to cost a quarter of a trillion dollars.

Yes. The Iraq War is just like that – only slightly more ridiculous.

But what do I know, I’m just a cog. When people oppose George Dubya he just repeats himself and talks slower the next time. I’ve seen people talk louder when they find out someone is blind, but it takes a special type of intellectual giant to act as if you got off the short bus for disagreeing.

During the interview on 60 Minutes Scott Pelley asked, “How can you escalate the war when so many people in this country seem to be against it?”

To which, George Dubya tellingly threatened, “I might have to keep explaining.”

Because Americans are so stupid we won’t even give a new plan (which is exactly like the old plan that wasn’t working) a chance not to work.

We’re not even supposed to judge George Dubya unless we are History. Only those not living through this have an opinion that matters. This makes as much sense as anything else we’ve heard about this war. Since when do we as a country invade other countries because they have WMDs? Usually, when you invade a country that has weapons of mass destruction ”” they USE THEM ON YOU BECAUSE YOU INVADED THEM. Countries that actually have WMDs, our conflicts with them are always a little frigid. You could call them COLD.

At some point we have to ask, “Who is this war for?” Iraqis, because they should have democracy in the Middle East? Nothing screams ”˜freedom’ more than imposing your will upon people. For Halliburton, the ambulance chaser of construction companies? For Americans, so we can feel safe” by comparison? No. None of those satisfy as an answer. No, a blunder of this scale and duration can only be explained by one thing: unchecked narcissism.

You can just imagine George Dubya pumping his fists in a comic book villain type of way. “I must succeed! I must! If you generals don’t agree with me ”” I’ll fire you all and find some that will! I’m not going to withdraw even if Laura and Barney are the only ones supporting me. Bah hahaha!”

Narcissists only like people who agree with their grandiose fantasies. Everyone else is a threat. Narcissists also know what is best for everybody, because it’s what is ultimately best for themselves. Only a narcissist would think God speaks directly to him and therefore every decision he makes is divine.

Usually in a democracy it does matter what people think. Usually in a democracy, it’s the will of the people (note that ”˜people’ is plural). Maybe we are the ones not explaining ourselves well enough. Maybe it’s time to repeat ourselves – more slowly this time – louder and using very small words.