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Apr-30-2008 23:50printcomments

Five Years After Bush's Triumphant Carrier Landing...

Almost 4,000 American soldiers have lost their lives since Bush said it was over, nearly 30,000 have been wounded, and nearly half a trillion dollars has been spent.

Bush aboard the U.S.S. Lincoln May 1st 2003
“Admiral Kelly, Captain Card, officers and sailors of the USS Abraham Lincoln, my fellow Americans, major combat operations in Iraq have ended. In the battle of Iraq, the United States and our allies have prevailed” – President George W. Bush, USS Abraham Lincoln, May 1st 2003.

(SALEM, Ore.) - It has been five years since the President declared victory in the battle for Iraq, and yet more than 3,900 American troops have been killed since that day – bringing the total number to well above 4,000.

There are still 150,000 American troops in Iraq, the same number as in May 2003 – but the number of soldiers from other countries fighting alongside them has fallen by more than half, to just 9,800. Obviously, there weren't very many to start with.

We have also learned that tens of thousands of Americans are fighting the war as mercenaries under contracts that have soared out of control since the Bush Administration took office. Groups like Blackwater USA have come under increasing scrutiny since it came to light that they were connected with the deaths of civilian non-combatants in Iraq. Then we learned that these contractors did not have the same checks and balances in place to regulate their behavior as American armed forces in Iraq.

Recent pullouts from Basra followed reports of British SAS agents dressed as Arabs caught by Iraqi Police attempting to stage a terror attack in Baghdad. These countries have not all left under the best circumstances, but the Coalition armies which did help out have mostly been welcomed home.

People in Iraq say they are tired and that the occupation, however well intended, has taken a toll on the people there that no American could ever imagine, except those who have spent time as part of the operation. In the mix are tens of thousands of Americans trying hard to help the people of Iraq and they are always in danger. The people of Iraq are in more danger. The mental and physical injuries for many will be a lifelong struggle to deal with if and when it ever does end.

Soldier in Iraq makes an unusual entry
Photo courtesy: U.S. Army Public Affairs

One of our sources is a woman who lives in Baghdad. She asked how long I thought the U.S. military would be there, and I bounced the question back to her. She wrote this to Salem-News.com today: "I don’t think it will ever end. The people here are de-sensitized but yet cry every day. I don’t think words can describe the evil going on here. All people can do is pray and be patient."

This individual's reference to evil is not intended toward American troops specifically, but at the entire scenario that has enveloped the city she was raised in. Americans are influenced by different sources, some are accurate like Salem-News.com, and some that are highly inaccurate like FOX News.

There is a big difference and people who stick to the facts know that Iraq was a peaceful country when we attacked it. There was a cruel dictator in place but they are running countries all over the world and the ones without oil just seem to miss the 'importance' rating on our national radar somehow.

Under the strain of repeated deployments, two-thirds of Army brigades at this time are rated "not combat ready."

American servicemembers have taken their third and fourth tours in some cases. The cost to the American economy has reached $1.3 trillion ($16,500 per family of four) and in the end will likely rise to $3 trillion ($35,000 per family of four).

Anti-war grops say Iraqi civilian casualties are in the hundreds of thousands, and four and a half million Iraqis have been forced from their homes. The Iraqi economy is stagnant with oil production and electricity below prewar levels. Pregnant women can not go to the hospital to deliver if it is after curfew, and doctors are killed by insurgents for trying to keep people alive.

But Americans keep remembering an image of a President landing on an aircraft carrier five years ago to announce the end of that war that so far, has not ended.

"Major combat operations in Iraq have ended. In the battle of Iraq, the United States and our allies have prevailed." - was the statement made by President Bush May 1st 2003.

Since President Bush declared mission accomplished five years ago, nearly 4,000 American soldiers have lost their lives, nearly 30,000 have been wounded, and nearly half a trillion dollars has been spent.

Let's not mention the thousands and thousands of combat veteran suicides taking place constantly from Post Traumatic Stress Disorder. The doctors at Veterans Affairs answer is to dope veterans up on hard drugs and make them become vegetables. We have heard that same story time and time again through our veteran advocacy here at Salem-News.com.

So when and how does this poorly thought out war fought valiantly by Americans, Iraqi's, other Coalition countries going to end?

The one person who has the biggest chance of being able to continue the policies of George W. Bush is Senator John McCain, the top Republican Presidential Candidate.

He supported Bush five years ago, saying "It’s clear that the end is very much in sight. And, today I think Americans should be very proud of their leadership."

As a heroic Vietnam War Navy pilot who spent years in captivity as a prisoner of war, it is unfortunate that this man did not use his military experience more effectively in assessing the early "victory" statement. Perhaps he thought it was the right thing to do at the time, but it is more likely that it is an example of McCain's political history of blowing in the wind like a flag on a gusty day.

The war has cost more than ten times what President Bush said it would cost and without an end-game strategy, it could cost our country $3 trillion, according to Nobel Prize winning economist Joseph Stiglitz.




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Henry Ruark May 2, 2008 11:50 am (Pacific time)

To all: Mis-spelled the key-word in my comment: "contend" NOT "contenT" Please substitute that action-word when you read. We need IMPEACHMENT, the Constitutional remedy, rapidly for the record, and to then-force further remediation in selection, too. See past Op Eds in some depth and detail; "heavy" documentation available on request with ID to Editor for direct contact.


Henry Ruark May 2, 2008 7:54 am (Pacific time)

To all: Historic blowback on this one proves indisputably that even master-of-spin sooner or later drops the dish-spun. For me, the image-of-banner, in context as presented, was and remains indelible memory of insulting credit-seeking action; and lame explanation e banner-stated "mission" being that of personnel on carrier is just that: VERY-lame after-fact excuse trotted out NOW that realities strike home with full consequential costs for American people --not to mention families and parents of those we now have forever lost. WHY do we not "listen" very carefully to what our Founders left to us, to content with precisely such situations ? !!

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Sean Flynn was a photojournalist in Vietnam, taken captive in 1970 in Cambodia and never seen again.

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