I don't know about you, but it's difficult for me to think about the war in Iraq (and yes, despite the lack of media attention these days, there is STILL a war in Iraq) without marveling at the ability of the Bush Administration to avoid accountability, and culpability, for the more than 4000 young American lives sacrificed on the altar of lies, propaganda, and fear-mongering. While the children of middle-class, small-town America have laid down their lives for...well, I'm not really sure what, actually, policy makers in the White House dragged our country into a war that had NOTHING to do with 9.11 and the terrorist threat facing this country. The sales pitch used to sell their illegal and immoral war have long since been proven to be lies, propaganda, and fudged intelligence...and yet where is the hue and cry demanding that those with blood on their hands be held accountable?
Remember when people like Dick Cheney, Douglas Feith, Paul Wolfowitz, and Richard Perle that war in Iraq would be surgical, a virtually bloodless effort in which we could easily and professionally rid Iraq of a bad actor (Saddam Hussein) who supported terrorists? We would be recognized as liberators, and Iraqis would strew rose petals before the feet of our brave soldiers and Marines in appreciation? Never mind that there was no terrorist presence in Iraq until our invasion helped to create the very threat we are now sworn to fight to the death. Never mind that Osama bin-Laden and his cohorts were in Afghanistan and now Pakistan before, during, and after 9.11. IRAQ was the problem. Never mind that "MISSION ACCOMPLISHED" never was. Never mind that Our Glorious and Benevolent Leader © bears responsibility for the creation of al-Qaeda in Iraq. Yes, The Worst President EVER © created the very terrorist threat that murdered so many of our children. Never mind that The Decider © (and his Excellent Adventure in Iraq ©) bears responsibility for the deaths of what has been estimated to be 151,000 innocent Iraqi civilians- noncombatants who couldn't be bothered to live long enough to give "the surge" a chance.
If this doesn't make you ashamed of your country, I don't know what will....
Despite the lies, the manipulated intelligence, and the wasted young American lives, it remains extremely unlikely that any of the policy makers responsible for this generation's Vietnam will ever be brought to justice. Meanwhile, the families and loved ones of the fallen are left to ponder their loss and make sense of the senseless as best they can. For those who remain, the war continues to reach out and pull many of them back in, even though they've done their time in Hell. Then again, it's easier for the rich and powerful to continue feeding the meatgrinder that is the war in Iraq, secure in the knowledge that the closest their loved ones will ever come to combat is a College Republican kegger.
NOW CAN WE IMPEACH THE LYING BASTARD...AND THE WAR CRIMINALS HE SURROUNDED HIMSELF WITH? Mine may be a minority opinion, but for me justice would be seeing Commander Codpiece © facing a firing squad wearing a cigarette and a blindfold. 'Course, being a Republican means never having to say you're sorry...or worry about being held accountable.
