Now is the time for all psychologists to come to the aid of their country and properly assess the mental state of John W. Howard.

The opening paragraph in today's front page Age article, PM stares down war opponents, reads:

In the face of growing despair and pessimism over Iraq, Prime Minister John Howard is set to strongly reaffirm his commitment to the war, and to flag a significantly increased Australian military involvement in Afghanistan.

On the other side of the front page is this: 'US regime worse than Saddam' says statue toppler. Wait until the right wing commentariat gets hold of him. First a hero for pulling down Saddam Hussein's statue in the days of "Mission accomplished," now a traitor. The fact that this man is not blind to the daily slaughter all around him for the last four years will get no mention. The fact that more people have been killed by the Coalition of the Willing than by Saddam will simply be overlooked.

What Howard and his larval fellow travellers truly believe is that Iraq is better off having got rid of Saddam Hussein. This is outright madness. The "statue-toppler," overjoyed at the time, now says, "The Americans are worse than the dictatorship. Every day is worse than the previous day."

It's hard to say who is the more delusional among the Axis of Western Evil: Bush, Blair or Howard. For an assessment on all three mis-leaders, see: Damage control. Tony Blair seems the more tragic figure, in that he has visibly deteriorated over the years as he has tried to convince himself and the people of Britain that he was right. But Bush and Howard remain, as we have always pictured them, as inauthentic fools, mad little kings bent on taking everyone down with them.

Their entire justification for the war now rests on an ill perceived moral imperative to remove Saddam Hussein because he was a dictator. Well! Shouldn't all dictators be removed? What about the other, equally insane, dictators, Kim Jong Il and Robert Mugabe? What, no oil there?

It's all so transparent and stupid. Worse, it is outright denial. Howard and Bush and all their supporters are unable to admit to us or to themselves that the war was a catastrophic mistake. Unchecked, they will take their denial to a deadly bitter end. "The invasion of Iraq, I believe, will turn out to be the greatest strategic disaster in US history," says Yale University professor Lieutenant-General William Odom, quoted in the above Damage control.

Such denial renders them unfit to hold office. It places them in the same league with past delusional leaders. Stalin and Hitler may have been responsible for the murder of millions, but Howard, Bush and Blair have the deaths of thousands on their incapable hands, just as did Saddam Hussein before them. To the dead, does it matter who the name of the perpetrator is?

John W. Howard, George W. Bush and Tony Blair are mad as hatters. The polls in their respective countries show that a vast majority of people agree. They should be removed from office immediately.

-- Olney Garkle