Denial looks like this

George W. Bush appeared before the enraged glare of the American people yesterday and told some real whoppers about Iraq. And who could blame him? America is entering the sixth year of a disastrous war that has cost $600 billion, with a projected tab of $3 trillion before it's over, and ended the lives of nearly 4,000 U.S. soldiers. Meanwhile, the economy continues to crumble before our eyes, the mood of the nation is dark, and Bush's approval ratings are starting to resemble stock in Bear Stearns.

If you ask Bush, the war is going swimmingly, though his view is very narrow. He's right to say that violence has quieted relatively in the months after the troop surge. But he's dead wrong to say that the invasion has been a success, or that the nation is embracing democracy. How can Iraqi citizens embrace a government system they don't understand and didn't ask for when they're too busy dodging bullets and suicide bombers? What good is the right to vote when you face destruction and death just by going to the local market?

Think about it. We've reduced much of Iraq to rubble. We've killed hundreds of thousands of innocent Iraqis. We've destroyed families, human services, industry, infrastructure -- and that's just the limited view we're allowed to see. All this chaos and slaughter, and all we really accomplished is installing a bitterly feuding government composed of Muslim factions who hate each other. The invasion has undoubtedly fueled a new generation of America-hating terrorists who relentlessly attack their own people and our soldiers on the ground. Not only are they willing to die for their cause, they're willing to kill themselves for a bigger death toll.

The cost for this so-called "democracy" is nothing short of tragic. We found no weapons of mass destruction (allegedly our reason for invading in the first place), but we've displaced 4.5 million Iraqis. The American toll: 3,900 dead Americans, with an additional 29,451 wounded, and no end in sight.

According to the Philadelphia Enquirer, an estimated 2 million Iraqis have fled the country, and 2 million more have been displaced from their homes. The quelled violence isn't exactly an open invitation for them to return, either, because security is tenuous at best, the newspaper reports.

Sure, things were crummy under Saddam Hussein. His tyrannical rule was incredibly oppressive. But five years later, I don't think anybody can argue that we've done any better. When Iraqis have to choose between food and electricity or living under an oppressive regime, I would venture to say they don't have much of a choice at all.

At this rate, Iraq will never be free. The hatred for America runs too deep, and any democracy there will be a constant symbol of our influence in the region. A democracy by force will never be truly accepted by the violent factions that have vowed to fight against Western culture. The ocean of oil that rages beneath the Iraqi lands is a constant motivator for corruption, greed and dictatorship.

If this is the best news Bush has to offer, I think we as Americans should be terrified of the bad news.