The More Things Change, The More They Stay The Same: What does General McChrystal's Ouster Mean for America's Longest Running War?

As Obama Relieves McChrystal Over Critical Remarks and Names Petraeus as Replacement, I find myself thinking about what will happen if Obama does not withdraw our war zone troops by July of 2011 as promised. Does it even matter any more? I mean, we all seem to have relinquished control to the point that we accept no responsibility for our elected leaders' actions once we vote them in. Are we responsible? Back in February I posted an essay by Michael Sandstrom (originally written in 2006), titled Boxing, Wrestling, and the American Dream, which attempts to unravel the smoke and mirrors of the entertainment complex that has become America (with references to Roland Barthes). It argues that after taking a backseat to the fake theatrics of of World Wrestling Entertainment (WWE), boxing was trying to make a comeback, and goes on to posit that perhaps the reemerging yearning for boxing (and boxing movies) along with the sudden dismissal of the smoke and mirrors of the WWE, was directly related to the hope and desire to relinquish the "no holds barred" attitude of the Bush Administration.

Yet, as I stated back in February...
when reflecting upon my re-reading of the essay, the more things change, the more they stay the same. Is the removal of McChrystal just another political maneuver by the puppet masters to yet again divert public attention? Is the negative attention caused by the BP oil spill starting to threaten political stability? Do civilian Americans even know why we are in the Middle East anymore? Did we ever know? Read Boxing, Wrestling, and the American Dream for yourself and see if it makes you think differently about what is happening in the world right now. At the very least there are some interesting parallels between the smoke and mirrors of WWE replacing the hard and fast rules of the boxing ring and the horrible officiating that took place during the NBA Finals, and continues to take place in the World Cup. I'm just sayin'....

Below is a recording of Obama's original commentary regarding the war in Iraq and his position on the matter leading up to his election. Enjoy!