President Obama announced Friday that the Iraq war will come to an end eight years and nine months after being launched by President Bush over WMD that did not exist at any time during his administration. December 31, 2011 will be the ending date according to the President and our troops will be home for the holidays.
ThePresident displayed leadership and courage with his decision to end a sad chapter that took the lives of over 4400 brave Americans who served their country well and without complaining. Over 30,000 of our troops were wounded, many severly with the loss of limb and a life they once knew.
The reaction of most republicans to the decision was the usual so called tough talk about how we should stay in Iraq and finish the job. What job are they talking about? It is ironic that most of the tough talk comes from those who never wore the uniform of their country. The President's decision will still be the right decision even if Iraq restarts their civil war. That, along with Al Queda in Iraq and the road side bombings were born because of Bush's decision to launch an unnecessary war and occupation over WMD that did not exist. None of that violence was happening in Iraq prior to our invasion.
CBS announced that the cost of the war so far was in excess of $800 billion. And who paid the price of the war. Our men and women in uniform with many deployments, loss of life and limb and their families. Bush and the republicans did not think the people back home had to pay for the war or make a sacrifice. It all fell on the back of our troops.
It is a sad piece of American history to think that an American President used his power to start a war and occupation of another country over WMD that did not exist and for eight years and nine months be treated by the news media and the administration as just a footnote in history. Our men and women in uniform that paid a terrible price deserve better. And make no mistake about it, George W. Bush knew Iraq was no threat to the U.S. and had no WMD.
During the Cuban missile crisis of 1962 President Kennedy showed the American people and the world intelligence photo's of Russian missiles and war heads in Cuba. There was no doubt. Bush never did so with Iraqi's WMD because he knew along with the CIA they did not exist. There was nothing to take a photo of.
The past is still the key to the future and it is up to the people, the news media and our future Presidents to make sure an unnecessary war never happens again to our country.
Note 1: See my past two part commentary titled: The Rosetta Stone to The Iraq War dated 12-8 and 12-11, 2007.
