The Real Story of the Iraq War(a special editorial by John Lucia)

General Petraeus and our ambassador to Iraq are scheduled to speak before committees of congress all this weak concerning the war in Iraq. Congress would do well to ask questions concerning the real story about the Iraq war and not get caught up in Petraeus' report.

The real story is the price being paid by our men and women in uniform, the Iraqi people and the country itself over WMD that did not exist. The neocons, who made up the President's Iraqi policy group, said the war would be a cake walk. They care nothing about our men and women in uniform fighting this war. Over 2 million Iraqi's have fled the country; utilities are a hit and a miss for the people and over 60% of Iraqi professional people have left the country. That's lawyers, doctors, teachers, engineers, etc. Think of what that is costing the people and the country. The people of Iraq are less safe today than they were prior to the invasion and occupation. Iraq and the region has been destabilized. The reckless decision of President Bush to order the invasion and occupation of Iraq and his failure to have a plan to deal with the situation that has follows has placed our troops in jeopardy and in the middle of a civil war. All the President can offer is to pass the problem on to the next President.

Now when the President tells Iran to stop sending people and munitions to Iraq, Iran says we did not start a war in Iraq over WMD that did not exist, you did; we do not occupy Iraq, you do with 160,000 troops; this is not your part of the world, it is ours. This is the sad situation that our men and women in uniform are exposed to.

Presidents Eisenhower and Kennedy two leaders who wore the uniform of their country during their generations war and served in combat would never have committed our country and our men and women in uniform to an unnecessary war and occupation of a foreign country over WMD that did not exist.

This is the real story of the war in Iraq that is now well into its fifth year. Neither the President nor those who continue to support the war can articulate how it will end nor how many more lives will be lost in order to "win".