Think for myself

This Thursday marks the 5 year anniversary of the start of Operation Iraqi Freedom.

US involvement in WWII started December 7th, 1945. VE Day was May 8th, 1945. VJ Day was August 15th, 1945.

The Iraq War has lasted longer than US involvement in WWII.

US casualties in Iraq are fast approaching 4,000. More that 29,000 US soldiers have been wounded. The cost of the war in Iraq is over $500,000,000,000.00. Iraqi casualty estimates range from 40,000 to almost 1,000,000.

For some reason all of that reminds me of this former administration officials quote:<!--more-->

"I can't tell you if the use of force in Iraq today will last five days, five weeks or five months, but it won't last any longer than that."

Well, it's been one hell of a lot longer than 5 months. It's been 1200% longer than 5 months. So where are we at?

The infrastructure of Iraq is still not functional.

The security forces of Iraq are still not functional, and they are hopelessly infiltrated by people who have no desire for a peaceful and prosperous Iraq.

The government of Iraq is not functional.

An average, each American has dumped over $16,500 into this mess. That's not per household. That's per person. The average family of 4 has put over $66,000 into a failed and miserable mess that currently has no foreseeable future and whose only plan is to keep throwing money and lives at the mess.

It's over. Done. It's a stagnant mess of a situation.

I propose that it's time for the Middle East leaders to pull themselves up by their bootstraps and stop bickering over the First Caliph and learn to deal with each other. They have the oil wealth, and it's time they spent it taking care of their own problems rather than supported bloated royal families' extravagant lifestyles. It's time for them to get off the pot about Israel and have an actual plan to deal with them.

I say, until this happens, we tell them what we think by hitting them in their pocket books. It's still a little too cold out, but tomorrow morning the motorcycle that gets 50 mpg is coming out and I will drive to work on that. The heater gets turned off and I will put on a sweater. I am done contributing to this perpetual cycle of nonsense.

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william the wierd

I agreed with you up until the second to last paragraph.

The two major Christian churches in Iraq are Chaldean (Neo-Babylonian) and Assyrian. The Sabean sect is purportedly made up of those who still follow John the Baptist as the Messiah. These folks haven't put their house in order in 5,000 years I don't think they will either.

Socio-biology and selection is a fact of life and death not a political option

Politics is a continuation of war by other means

Calling congress a parliament of whores insults the morals and principle of crack whores

caffeine

So the US only joined 4 months after the war ended? What was the point in that?

Sorry, I'll be quiet now.