Long Past Time to End the War
It was five years ago that the United States invaded Iraq. Over a million people have been killed and wounded since the war began. One in five Iraqis have been driven from their homes.
Although those responsible for the war made the dubious claim that the invasion was necessary to protect the security of the United States, even their most credulous supporters eventually saw the unlikelihood of any true threat from a nation so much smaller and more vulnerable than our own.
Now the argument made by war supporters is that the invasion opened a can of worms and the invaders can’t leave without first attempting to recreate the security that they destroyed and establish democracy in Iraq.
If you bother to ask the Iraqis themselves what they want, however, you find that Iraqi public opinion opposed the invasion and occupation from the beginning, which is hardly surprising. So much for democracy. As far as security is concerned, most Iraqis believe that the country would be a safer place if U.S. forces left. A consistent majority of Iraqis have been in favor of the U.S. ending the occupation since the war began, with 72% opposing the U.S. presence and 62% saying that the U.S. presence makes the security situation worse in a poll taken last month. The same poll reveals that 45% of Iraqis have had someone in their family murdered since the invasion.
A majority of the U.S. public also opposes the war, of course.
So why has it continued? One reason may be that the war has made many of those who planned and executed it a lot of money, the bulk of it provided by U.S. taxpayers. In the process, a permanent private army of mercenaries has been established that can continue to profit from future wars and perform functions, such as disaster relief, once carried out by government agencies, at a much higher financial cost to citizens, and make a tidy profit in the future.
To read more bloggers’ posts about the occupation, visit the blogswarm to end the war.
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The Chawed Rosin 
What do you mean, didn’t Duh-blya declare this thing of his won a while ago?? Hasn’t it been over??
At least he is not blaming Iraq for 9/11 anymore.
I was struck by a news poll that showed, many Iraqi’s were glad we had come, but now that we captured and killed Saddam, wanted us out now and were pretty upset about our lack of an exit plan. This poll was two or more years ago.
I wish I could believe that the private army of mercenaries, most notably BLACKWATER, would be used only for disaster relief. They scare me. I urge everyone to read “The End of America” by Naomi Wolf. Our country is headed in one heck of a bad direction. Thanks for this excellent post. Your blog is really excellent. Vote for Obama – he’s our only hope! – Morna