President Obama may be crowing about the ostensible “historical moment” that the fake end to the Iraq War has created, but his highest ranking throwback to the previous administration is somewhat more grim about the situation.
According to Secretary of Defense Robert Gates the lack of weapons of mass destruction, the initial justification for the invasion, would forever cloud the “outcome” of the war and spoil its view in the face of many Americans and Iraqis.
Of course the massive number of deaths, 4,416 American troops and an unknowable number of Iraqi civilians (estimates put the figure at over a million) are probably doing some of that clouding as well.
But while Secretary Gates laments the difficulty in convincing people that the war was “worth it,” the enormous number of dead people and conservatively three quarters of a trillion dollars spent are a difficult cost to come to grips with, even as President Obama insists that it is time to “turn the page” on a war that, despite all official indications, is still going on.
The war was a mistake, a tragedy and a crime.
That's funny, it's not at all cloudy to the rest of us who are paying for it.
In fact, it is very clear it was a lie to make alot of murderous, corrupt criminals hella rich!
And for those who were fighting it, a chance to come home a hero? Not in my book!
Ignorance is no excuse anymore. And, just how are these "hero's" going to behave
back on US soil? So far, I hear it's not good.
Here's a suggestion for future wars: if the leaders are so sure that an invasion is needed "for our national security," then how about they all prove it … by cutting off a finger? The president, the Secretary of Defense, the Secretary of State, the chairman of the National Security Council, and the chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff.
After all, they are going to send thousands and thousands of men off to die, and to kill hundreds of thousands more. It is not too much to ask that their honesty about the war's necessity be proven by cutting off a finger – such a small sacrifice.
Or are they perhaps invading other countries on behalf of the Israeli lobby, which gets its way in every policy issue that concerns the Middle East? Prove you are not acting out of selfishness and corruption, Robert Gates and the rest. Prove that you really mean it when you talk about great sacrifices being needed.
I'm glad Obama crowed about an 'hysterical moment!' It is hysterical that any sane person could see the total chaos in Iraq as a success.
America destroyed a whole civilization, left it in ruins. The Iraqis that survived must be hysterical when they see how much they have lost for no gain. None!
Hopefully they will sue America, force it to pay for the damage and deaths!