Iraq War - 10th Anniversary

Vietnam. Iraq. Afghanistan. Our next useless war? Iran?

Huff Post: "We don't get it. We really don't. We may not, in military terms, know how to win any more, but as a society we don't get losing either. We don't recognize it, even when it's staring us in the face, when nothing -- and I mean nothing -- works out as planned. Take the upcoming 10th anniversary of George W. Bush's invasion of Iraq as Exhibit A. You could describe what happened in that country as an unmitigated disaster -- from the moment, in April 2003, U.S. troops first entered a Baghdad in flames and being looted ("stuff happens") and were assigned to guard only the Interior Ministry (i.e. the secret police) and the Oil Ministry (well, you know what that is) to the moment in December 2011 when the last American combat unit slipped out of that land in the dead of the night (after lying to Iraqi colleagues about what they were doing)."

Bee Gees - I Started A Joke - Lyrics - YouTube

Where have all the flowers gone? Live - YouTube

Comments: 27

Bert B. Mar 9, 2013, 10:37pm UTC

It makes me sick when I think about the waste...in money, equipment, and, most of all...in the lives of our young people.
All for nothing...to assuage the egos of Bush, Cheney and his neocon friends who thought the US should stand astride of the world and declare our omnipotence.
Would that THEY had gone to fight the war instead of the kids they sent to their deaths.
As I said...it makes me sick.

Jim G. Mar 10, 2013, 11:29am UTC

Me too, Bert. The vast majority of the lives of those killed had only just begun, to say nothing of those wounded physically & mentally for the rest of their lives.

Vicente Duque Mar 10, 2013, 12:28pm UTC

Excellent post Jim !

I can say of John McCain, Lindsey Graham and other prominent Republicans and "Pundits".

Vietnam : Lessons Learned : None

Iraq : Lessons Learned : None

Afghanistan : Lessons Learned : None

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Jim G. Mar 10, 2013, 12:46pm UTC

Thanks, Vicente. "Those who ignore history are doomed to repeat it."

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Yoshi k. Mar 10, 2013, 3:17am UTC

Those who choose to view permanence as a reality cannot accept the delusions of their own perception:).

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Thomas R. Mar 10, 2013, 12:51pm UTC

It's just a matter of who and when!

Jim G. Mar 10, 2013, 1:00pm UTC

Was it Polyanna who said "Hope springs eternal"?

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Clarke M. Mar 10, 2013, 1:17pm UTC

The shameful practice of torture goes, in spite of the fact many of our military know it destroys the torturer and morale of the force.

Jim G. Mar 10, 2013, 1:26pm UTC

It's the CIA that has been behind "Enhanced Interrogation", not the military. The military, for the most part, knows that touture results in inaccurate information & invites retalliation against our own troops.

Clarke M. Mar 10, 2013, 2:21pm UTC

No, Petraeus and other generals were responsible for torture. General McCrystal was opposed to it because it destroyed morale;also ,notes the effect of drones is counter-productive.

SEE James Steele: America's mystery man in Iraq - video
www.guardian.co.uk

Watch a full-length documentary on how General David Petraeus, commander of multinational forces in Iraq, was linked to special forces James Steele, a veteran of American proxy wars in El Salvador and Nicaragua.

Lori F. Mar 10, 2013, 2:26pm UTC

bush and cheney had no problem with torture in fact cheney seemed to get off on it.

They are the ones ultimately responsible.

Clarke M. Mar 10, 2013, 4:16pm UTC

Yes, Bush and Cheney were responsible but tell that to the military who knew Petraeus' successful PR to cover his failure in Iraq and Afghanistan, and how many American lives it cost. Obama has continued the same policies.

Jeff H. Mar 10, 2013, 6:48pm UTC

Yeah, Bush and Cheney dunked a few terrorists heads in water, terrorists who bragged about being behind 9/11, and you guys still shed crocodile tears over the terrorists plight. Now your messiah is shooting hellfire missiles into buildings to kill a terrorist that "might' be in there with no regards of the other [people living in or around the building and not one peep. Why should anybody take you hacks seriously?

Thomas R. Mar 10, 2013, 10:28pm UTC

We probably brought back the use of mustard gas and germ warfare too!

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Susan G. Mar 10, 2013, 7:26pm UTC

Seems to me that we are doing all the things we used to accuse the USSR of doing right down to asking children to spy on and report their parents and wars of aggression to convert other countries to our system.

Jim G. Mar 10, 2013, 7:27pm UTC

The Gather wingnut trolls are out today, Susan.....

Susan G. Mar 10, 2013, 7:54pm UTC

I'm well aware of that. They do so love to attack on the Lord's day. On the other hand, they are strong supporters of waging war on other nations to bring them the blessings of our freedom. Twas from a republican I learned of one school system in Missouri demanding the children report the type of weapons, how many of each, and the number of rounds their parents own. I don't know that it is totally factual but it sure got a rise out of the gun toting parents. I had visions of an arms race between the parents and teachers. I know from personal experience while waiting for a train that one hears over and over demands we report any suspicious behavior or packages. It does so encourage paranoia as we passengers eyeball each other with suspicion.

Jim G. Mar 10, 2013, 8:58pm UTC

Sounds like Hitler's Germany when citizens were urged to spy on each other.....

Susan G. Mar 10, 2013, 9:30pm UTC

Hitler was a bit before my time. I associate all those things with the USSR during the cold war. I find it distressing to see it happening here.

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George Shaw Mar 11, 2013, 7:16pm UTC

The Pentagon does not have a brilliant history since WWII (actually, it might be a good thing that it didn't exist during WWII).

Jim G. Mar 11, 2013, 7:37pm UTC

Yes, the Pentagon's record is not good, & it seems to have gotten that way with it's melding of policy with the CIA.

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Iraq War - 10th Anniversary

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