Major props to President Obama today for his speech confirming that his administration will meet one important campaign promise on the button:
"As a candidate for President, I pledged to bring the war in Iraq to a responsible end," Obama said today. "I made it clear that by August 31, 2010 America's combat mission in Iraq would end. And that is exactly what we are doing--as promised, on schedule."
Congratulations, color me ambivalent. While I'm happy to hear these words from a President who actually means them -- and really knows WTF is going on (unlike somebody we know) -- I'm still bent about how the war was foisted on the American people and I still have to ask the question: Was the travesty in Iraq really worth all we've been through?
The answer quite clearly, is a resounding NO.
Let's set aside the 8 years of war, 4413 dead American soldiers, 31888 wounded, untold trillions of dollars wasted, estimated 1.3 million dead Iraqis, 4.7 million Iraqi refugees...and let's look at one very simple statistic: Today in Iraq, residents of Baghdad have electricity for a scant 3 hours each day. [Most did not even see the President's address, because they had no power to turn on their televisions.] Under Saddam Hussein, the lights shone, televisions blared, air conditioners hummed and the power flowed 24 hours a day, 7 days a week. Nice going, America.
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