How long will we be in Iraq? Well we are building permanent military bases, so permanently?

The airbase at al-Asad is the biggest marine camp in western Anbar province. It is in the midst of the most rebellious region in Iraq, where thousands of insurgents have been killed in a series of operations over the past year.

But get "inside the wire" and this stretch of desert increasingly resembles a slice of US suburbia rather than the front line in a war zone.

Its restaurants include a Subway and a fast food pizza shop. There is a coffee shop, football pitch and even a swimming pool.

A cinema shows the latest films while the camp's main recreational centre offers special dance nights - hip hop on Friday, salsa on Saturday and country and western on Sunday.

Well so much for another of the Bush administrations big lies. The lie that we are not going to be occupiers of Iraq. How can we make these kind of long term plans when the facts demonstrate how ridiculous those choices would be?

• We know that over 80% of the Iraqis want us to leave.
• We know that as long as Americans are in Iraq the insurgency will continue indefinitely.
• We know this conflict is draining the resources of our government and hurting us here at home.
• We know that with our military bogged down in Iraq that we have severely limited our ability to respond to other threats in the world or natural disasters here at home.
• We know all of these things and yet we are still planning to stay in Iraq?

Oh! I forgot. We know all of these things. The Bush administration doesn't know dick!

Let me just take a moment again to thank my Republican brethern for foisting this moronic president on my country. Good job guys!