The Iraq War: Five Years and Counting

Wednesday 19 March marks the start of the sixth year of the seemingly endless ongoing Iraq War. It is without question one of the greatest, if not greatest, blunders and misjudgements in American history, greater than the Mexican-American War, the Spanish-American War, the decades-long wars against Native Americans, and the War Between the States. What has been accomplished in these five long years of war in Iraq ? Besides the ousting and execution of a tyrannical, maniacal, murderous despot - not much. Life for Iraqis is worse and over one million of them are dead with countless more wounded and hurt. The costs for Americans is tragic and disgusting: almost 4000 lives lost thus far; over 30,ooo wounded and increasing; pain, grief, and loss forever by families and communities; expenditures over $500 billion with a final cost nearing or surpassing $3 trillion; a loss of respect and prestige internationally across the planet by most nations and peoples towards America; a generation of lost opportunities, investments, and programs; skyrocketing record high fuel and energy prices; and the American economy decimated and headed into a deep recession if not worse. The historical legacy of the Bush presidency will be eternally one of utter complete failure and misguided wrongful vision and policy. The final 307 days of his reign cannot elapse fast enough. It is the ultimate disgrace to America for its government to be led by criminals. And anyone with any brains or insight saw this all coming over five years ago.

http://www.csmonitor.com/2008/0320/p01s04-ussc.html

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2008/03/19/iraq-casualties-iraq-cos_n_92303.html

http://roguecolumnist.typepad.com/rogue_columnist/2008/03/five-years-that.html#more

http://www.nytimes.com/2008/03/19/washington/19cost.html?_r=2&ref=world&oref=slogin&oref=slogin

http://www.latimes.com/news/nationworld/nation/la-na-watchlist18mar18,1,4529250.story

http://www.breitbart.com/article.php?id=D8VGJT8G1&show_article=1

http://www.metrotimes.com/editorial/story.asp?id=12643

http://www.commondreams.org/archive/2008/03/19/7777/

http://www.truthdig.com/report/item/20080318_bushs_legacy_of_failure/

http://tomdispatch.com/post/174907/greg_mitchell_getting_it_right_on_iraq

http://www.independent.co.uk/news/fisk/robert-fisk-the-only-lesson-we-ever-learn-is-that-we-never-learn-797816.html

http://www.miamiherald.com/851/story/461978.html

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