Mission Accomplished??

It was five years ago today that President Bush exclaimed that the mission had been accomplished in Iraq aboard the USS Abraham Lincoln. According to the White House website, which houses all of the president's addresses and their related press releases, "President Bush Announces Major Combat Operations in Iraq Have Ended" (see here). The White House addressed this paradox yesterday with White House Press Secretary Dana Perino inanely uttering:

"President Bush is well aware that the banner should have been much more specific and said 'mission accomplished' for these sailors who are on this ship on their mission. And we have certainly paid a price for not being more specific on that banner. And I recognize that the media is going to play this up again tomorrow, as they do every single year."

Is that English because I do not understand. All signs seem to indicate that combat operations are still ongoing (see my chronicle of this fact here) and have been for five years. The number of U.S. troops that died in Iraq in the month of April was 47, the highest casualty rate in seven months. So much for decreased violence. I will argue that Dana Perino was right in saying that "we have certainly paid a price for not being more specific on that banner," but not for the same reason as the press secretary. She is of course talking about the political fallout related to the placing of that utterly moronic sign on a U.S. aircraft carrier while U.S. troops were still fighting and dying in two Middle Eastern countries (Pfc. Jesse A. Givens was killed in Iraq on the same day the president was taking a joyride in an S-3 in front of the cameras). We the people have lost 4,308 of our fellows citizens since this PR stunt. Imagine how many it might be if combat operations had not come to an end.

My Patience Has Run Out

General Petraues made a return trip to Capitol Hill today to update Congress and the American people about the never-ending saga that is the Iraq War. In anticipation of the general's testimony, every news outlet characterized what we were to hear from the top American military commander the same way, apparently he was going to urge patience with regard to the Iraq War. The patience of we the people has been sought since the days after 9/11. In his radio address four days after the attacks of September 11, the president claimed, "[t]he message is for everybody who wears the uniform: get ready. The United States will do what it takes to win this war. And I ask patience of the American people." In his address to the nation on October 7, 2001 announcing the beginning of combat operations in Afghanistan, the president claimed that "[i]n the months ahead, our patience will be one of our strengths -- patience with the long waits that will result from tighter security; patience and understanding that it will take time to achieve our goals; patience in all the sacrifices that may come." When asked in a June 2003 press conference about the lack of findings with regard to Saddam Hussein's imaginary WMD arsenal, then White Press Secretary, Ari Fleischer, said "I think what it suggests is the need for patience." In his September 6, 2006 radio address, the president continued to ask for patience, claiming, "[t]he path to victory will be uphill and uneven, and it will require more patience and sacrifice from our Nation. " A White House Fact Sheet released in association with the fourth anniversary of the Iraq War in March 2007, entitled "Four Years Later: New Strategy Requires Patience and Determination," claims that "achieving our goals will require patience and determination." What are our goals?

If anyone was hoping that General Petraeus would be able to help us figure this out through his testimony today, I am sorry to report, he did not. His call for a 45-day "period of consolidation and evaluation" where troop withdrawals are suspended with no timetable for their renewal is a very unwelcome development in this nonsensical war. It would appear that "stay the course" will be the Bush policy for the remainder of his presidency. To date, 4,514 Americans have died in the president's War on Terror. And given the testimony of his top general, it appears that the American commitment to Iraq will not end any time soon.

Unfortunately, those that serve and die for a lost cause are not given their due by the media. Maybe if there wasn't a presidential campaign to cover, the media could take 15 seconds and mention that Sgt. Terrell W. Gilmore from Baton Rouge died in an IED attack in Baghdad or that Maj. William G. Hall from Seattle died while conducting combat operations in Al Anbar province on March 30. Maybe if the coverage of every person Senator Obama knew while living in Chicago were not so important, Fox News would take time to remind people of the service of Spc. Durrell Bennet and Pfc. Patrick J. Miller, 22 and 23 years old respectively and both from New Port Richey, Florida, who died from wounds suffered in a March 29 IED attack in Baghdad. Maybe if MSNBC could take a break from over-analyzing and rehashing every mistake made by the Bush administration, they might find time to do a short segment on Sgt. Jevon K. Jordan of Norfolk, Virginia, who died on March 29 from wounds suffered in an IED attack in Abu Jassim. If only the cable news king himself, Bill O'Reilly, could squeeze in a brief report on Spc. Joshua A. Molina from Houston in-between the latest all-important body language segment and "Miller Time." Spc. Molina was 20 years old when he was struck down by an IED in Baghdad on March 27. But those of you who watch Mr. O'Reilly know that the body language of politicians and celebrities, as well as the inane witticisms of a comedian turned political commentator are very important to maintaining the number one rated cable news show. The list continues to grow. If I had more time I could mention the service of Pvt. George Delgado, Staff Sgt. Christopher M. Hake, Pfc. Andrew J. Habseiger, Spc. Jose A. Rubio Hernandez, Sgt. Thomas C. Ray II, Spc. David S. Stelmat, and Sgt. David B. Williams, all of whom have died in Iraq since March 22. All of those who claim that it is better in Iraq view the world only in the reds and blues of the political spectrum. I will counter such claims by saying that any day where a single member of the U.S. military dies trying to Americanize a country in the center of the Middle East does not constitute better. The fact remains that since February, the violence has increased, but thus is the nature of asymmetrical warfare. President Bush and General Petraeus might seek my patience when it comes to the Iraq War and the forgotten thousands who still fight and die in Afghanistan, but my patience ran out long ago...

*Credit to Chris-Floyd for the photo.

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...

Something Must Change

Further proof that the American people want actual change is exhibited in the latest round of approval ratings for President Bush and the Democrat-led Congress (read story here). Both executive and legislative branches of the government are closing in on all-time lows with little hope of change given the impending presidential election. The fact that the president can be put in the same sentence as Richard Nixon in 1974 and Harry Truman in 1952 when it comes to low approval ratings is hard to believe but demonstrates the partisan divide that has taken control of political discourse in this country. Is it possible to change this? A second Clinton presidency would merely exacerbate this divide and make many Americans numb. A McCain adminstration would rile up the most vitriolic from the far ends of the political spectrum, right and left. But there is always Senator Obama, so there is hope...