Five Years and 3,990 American Lives Later...

Today marks the fifth anniversary of the American journey into the abyss that is Iraq. I can vividly remember watching Dan Rather late into the night five years ago after the United States launched a surprise attack utilizing bunker buster bombs on Dora Farm, where it was thought Saddam Hussein was visiting his children. He wasn't and American forces moved in the very next day to depose the dictator, who supposedly possessed stockpiles of weapons of mass destruction and supported al-Qaeda. Remember the line that news agency drew around the center of Baghdad, which when crossed, Saddam Hussein would unleash an arsenal of biological and chemical on the rapdily advancing American forces. This never happened, as we have since found out, there were no weapons. Remember the staged scene of the Saddam Hussein statue being toppled in Baghdad by overjoyed Iraqis. Remember "Mission Accomplished" and the president in that orange jumpsuit aboard the U.S.S Abraham Lincoln on May 1, 2003, a mere 41 days after the bombs were dropped on Dora Farm. The president's speech that day started with:

"Major combat operations in Iraq have ended. In the Battle of Iraq, the United States and our allies have prevailed. And now our coalition is engaged in securing and reconstructing that country."

In hindsight this seems confusing, as to date, 3,990 Americans have died in Iraq, of which 3,851 have died since the president's victory speech. This was the president's "Dewey Defeats Truman" moment. Like the Chicago Tribune on November 3, 1948, President Bush did not wait to see how things played out before declaring victory. What has ensued since the president declared victory can be best described as chaotic. The United States was not welcomed as liberators and civil war quickly broke out. The Rumsfeld Defense Department possessed no plans for a post-invasion Iraq, thus military commanders had no guidance on how to proceed. Reports of American abuse of Iraqi prisoners and civilians emerged when Seymour Hirsch published photographs from Abu Ghraib in the New Yorker in April 2004. While these incidents should be viewed as exception to how Americans conduct themselves in a war zone, it is still significant, as it undermines American creditbility in a part of the world that is not as enamored with America as we are. If George Bush's approval rating is only 30% here, imagine what it must be in Iran, Syria, and Jordan. The Iraq War lacks the great battles like wars past that are glorified on the History Channel. There is no Veracruz, Gettysburg, Vicksburg, Somme, Verdun, Ardennes Forrest, or Normandy in Iraq. It is a more static war zone where improvised explosive devices dominate the day. In January of last year the president launched his "surge strategy," which is complex military code for escalation. While this is certainly a better strategy, it has come too late. A recent uptick in violence makes this point.

The lack of weapons notwithstanding, the way the Bush adminstration linked this American misadventure with the attacks of September 11, 2001 is the ultimate betrayal and is unforgivable. With Vice President Cheney leading the way, the administration embarked on a campaign of deception and misinformation that played to the fears that engrossed many Americans in the aftermath of those attacks. It was at this point five years ago today that the United States lost its way in its War on Terror. A war that was initially waged to find Ossama bin Laden. This war has created a safe haven for al-Qaeda in Iraq, not disturbed one that already existed. It has led to the death of nearly 4,000 American service personnel and there is no end in sight. This war needs to end...