Many fumed when on May 1, 2003, Bush presented us with his"Mission
Accomplished" speech in which he pretended that the end to major combat
operations in Iraq was at hand. Many knew that
was totally false, and the carrier landing aboard the USS Abraham
Lincoln and his following speech was a photo op that would make Hollywood
blush. That was merely a harbinger of what was to come later, almost a year
later, March 2004, to be exact. Bush appeared at the annual black-tie dinner of
the Radio and Television Correspondents' Association and narrated a "humorous"
slide show. It showed him looking under White House furniture and around
corners for those weapons
of mass destruction that his administration had assured Americans would be
found in Iraq in profusion, and which, of course, were nowhere to be seen.
"Those weapons of mass destruction," the president joked, "have got to be here
somewhere." That is not tasteless humor; it is macabre humor and most
un-Presidential-like. For many, the blood boiled.Some began to thing we have a
reincarnated Nero for President.
Today, the Iraqi death toll varies wildly from Iraq Body Count (96,000 to 105,000,April 2010) to Opinion Research Business survey(1,033,000, Aug. 2007). Who knows? The U.S. military doesn't do body counts. The number of deaths of our American troops is a bit more precise, as one would expect. As of May 11, 4,397 of our troops have died in Iraq, the number of wounded, 31,790. There is virtually no count of dead and wounded involving armed contractors, or hired guns if one prefers, who exceed the number of American troops in Iraq.
Additionally, the fact is that military spending is destroying the U.S. economy. As economists Linda Bilmes and Joseph Stiglitz demonstrated in The Three Trillion Dollar War. Their book is an accounting of the cost of the Iraq war alone, adding in debt payments on moneys borrowed to fight that war, long-term care for veterans wounded in it, the war's impact on energy prices, and other macroeconomic impacts, stating that the current tax bill for the Iraq war must be at least tripled and probably quadrupled or more to arrive at its real long-term cost.
As in Afghanistan,the war in Iraq gets worse as days go by. In what turned into Iraq's worst day of violence this year, scores were killed or wounded Monday, May 10th,in two suicide bombings and nine coordinated attacks on security checkpoints across Baghdad and nearby towns, showing how easily the fractious country can teeter back into chaos, particularly amid political uncertainty. The Christian Science Monitor reports, "Two months after landmark elections that have yet to be certified, Iraq remains without a governing coalition, set back by squabbling, recount demands, and jockeying by complex cross-sectarian factions. Gunmen attacked the six checkpoints at dawn today, killing seven soldiers and policemen, Reuters reported. Bombs exploded at three other checkpoints, as well, though none were killed at those locations. Separately, a suicide bomber killed at least 13 people at a marketplace in al-Suwayra, 30 miles southeast of Baghdad, and yet another suicide bombing Monday and two car explosions killed an additional 40 people outside a textile factory in Babil province, 60 miles south of Baghdad. The Associated Press reports that the day's death toll was 75, turning this into Iraq's bloodiest day of the year so far." Iraqi officials stated that 200 were wounded.
That's not all. American commanders, worried about increased violence in
the wake of Iraq's inconclusive elections, are now reconsidering the pace of a
major troops pullout this summer, according to U.S. officials. Again, many knew
this would happen. Obama's dream of withdrawing all combat troops from Iraq by
Aug. 31,2010, is merely an illusion, as is the Status of Forces Agreement
between Iraq and the U.S. which calls for all American troops to be out by the
end of 2011.
The problem is with these two wars is the U.S. is unable to use its military might, to wit: Our massive air power and our missilry. Were we able to use these weapons as in the mantra of WWII, wherein German and Japanese cities were merely bombed out of existence, these two wars would be over in a heartbeat. But, in today's world, we cannot do that. We would become a pariah nation in the world's community of nations. So, our troops have one, or two, hands tied behind their backs. They are reduced to using small arms, very similar to the enemy. The problem with that is our troops are in "Indian Country" and vastly outnumbered.
Remember!!! And learn all you can. That is all that is asked.
As busy Americans attempt to gleam some minuscule of news from the MSN in between long and frequent advertisements and health awareness segments that belong on another channel, but occupy half of the half-hour evening news, please endeavor to be cognizant of our two "enduring" wars without end that are destroying them ... and us.
Today, the Iraqi death toll varies wildly from Iraq Body Count (96,000 to 105,000,April 2010) to Opinion Research Business survey(1,033,000, Aug. 2007). Who knows? The U.S. military doesn't do body counts. The number of deaths of our American troops is a bit more precise, as one would expect. As of May 11, 4,397 of our troops have died in Iraq, the number of wounded, 31,790. There is virtually no count of dead and wounded involving armed contractors, or hired guns if one prefers, who exceed the number of American troops in Iraq.
Additionally, the fact is that military spending is destroying the U.S. economy. As economists Linda Bilmes and Joseph Stiglitz demonstrated in The Three Trillion Dollar War. Their book is an accounting of the cost of the Iraq war alone, adding in debt payments on moneys borrowed to fight that war, long-term care for veterans wounded in it, the war's impact on energy prices, and other macroeconomic impacts, stating that the current tax bill for the Iraq war must be at least tripled and probably quadrupled or more to arrive at its real long-term cost.
As in Afghanistan,the war in Iraq gets worse as days go by. In what turned into Iraq's worst day of violence this year, scores were killed or wounded Monday, May 10th,in two suicide bombings and nine coordinated attacks on security checkpoints across Baghdad and nearby towns, showing how easily the fractious country can teeter back into chaos, particularly amid political uncertainty. The Christian Science Monitor reports, "Two months after landmark elections that have yet to be certified, Iraq remains without a governing coalition, set back by squabbling, recount demands, and jockeying by complex cross-sectarian factions. Gunmen attacked the six checkpoints at dawn today, killing seven soldiers and policemen, Reuters reported. Bombs exploded at three other checkpoints, as well, though none were killed at those locations. Separately, a suicide bomber killed at least 13 people at a marketplace in al-Suwayra, 30 miles southeast of Baghdad, and yet another suicide bombing Monday and two car explosions killed an additional 40 people outside a textile factory in Babil province, 60 miles south of Baghdad. The Associated Press reports that the day's death toll was 75, turning this into Iraq's bloodiest day of the year so far." Iraqi officials stated that 200 were wounded.
The problem is with these two wars is the U.S. is unable to use its military might, to wit: Our massive air power and our missilry. Were we able to use these weapons as in the mantra of WWII, wherein German and Japanese cities were merely bombed out of existence, these two wars would be over in a heartbeat. But, in today's world, we cannot do that. We would become a pariah nation in the world's community of nations. So, our troops have one, or two, hands tied behind their backs. They are reduced to using small arms, very similar to the enemy. The problem with that is our troops are in "Indian Country" and vastly outnumbered.
Remember!!! And learn all you can. That is all that is asked.
As busy Americans attempt to gleam some minuscule of news from the MSN in between long and frequent advertisements and health awareness segments that belong on another channel, but occupy half of the half-hour evening news, please endeavor to be cognizant of our two "enduring" wars without end that are destroying them ... and us.
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