Imagine the SS Iraq, a very, very large vessel within rowing distance of land. The US has bombed, strafed and torpedoed the Iraq, boarded it, amd caught and hung the Captain, the only person in living memory able to keep the ship afloat.

It has suffered grievous damage, mortal damage in the attack. The only thing keeping it afloat are the troops bailing it out, and they can't keep up with it. The weight of more troops makes bailing that much harder, making the ship sink faster. The troops and crew are working themselves to death, more dying all the time as the vessel sinks faster and faster.

The Commander-in-Chief tells the troops to keep bailing, that if they stop it will sink.

Naval experts tell the Comander-in-Chief that it will take assistance from neighboring vessels and from the Iraqi's crew to keep it from sinking. They are unanimous that bailing alone will not work. It will sink. It is sinking.

The Commander-in-Chief, who was in the navy but went AWOL rather than board a ship, says he doesn't like the captains of the other vessels, and hollars at the native crew to work harder.

And sends more people to bail, even though that hasn't worked, isn't working and won't work. And more and more of them die because if they don't the ship will sink.

Which it will do anyway. Because the CinC would rather see in sunk and salvaged by people he doesn't like than work with other interested parties to keep it afloat.

Arf