Iraq: 5 Years & 4,000 Lost. . .Are We Winning Yet?

Photo from Reuters

As I posted earlier, we have sadly reached a grim milestone of 4,000 US servicemen dead in Iraq. This news carries no glee or celebration from the left, despite what the knuckleheads at Free Republic and elsewhere would like you to believe. What it does is give us a newsworthy reason to re-examine the whole idea of Iraq. It gives us (as we humans attach numbers to round numbers) cause to ask, "what did they die for?"

There has been a lot of caution given to even talking about the subject. The very last thing anybody wants is for the families of these soldiers to feel their son or daughter died in vain. But if it is true, what then? We're 5 years in, and nobody will clearly spell out what "victory" is. Or even what the mission is. We're told we can't pull out when things are going well, and we can't pull out when things are going poorly. The badly named, now year-long "surge" is allegedly working--meaning we have to stay. Huh?

We're constantly told that "we're fighting them over there, so we don't have to fight them over here," a ludicrous statement only a child could believe. The spectre of Al Qaeda is attached to virtually any threat, and used as a bogeyman. Much of America has gotten to the point where we don't trust anything we hear out of this administration.

The President himself seems to think that we'll only realize far in the future what a great President he was, and how brilliant his Iraq invasion will be viewed. Maybe he's right. I think he's delusional.

[Excerpt]

Bush Says Iraq War Deaths Not in Vain

President Bush has marked the deaths of 4,000 U.S. forces in Iraq, saying that their sacrifices have "laid the foundation for peace for generations to come."

The president made his comments at the State Department after a two-hour briefing on Iraq and U.S. diplomatic efforts around the world.

Speaking of the 4,000 deaths, Bush said that "I hope their families know that citizens pray for their comfort. . ."

Read more at: AP