Five Years Gone

Five years ago today, the United States officially launched its invasion of Iraq. As of the time I write this post, 3992 American soldiers have been killed, as have 175 British troops and 133 soldiers of the other nations involved in the coalition. Many more innocent Iraqi civilians have lost their lives for no other reason than the branch of Islam that they follow, or even worse...for no other reason than their presence in the wrong place at the wrong time.

By a purely material count, the American taxpayers (people like you and me) have financed this war to the tune of $500 billion ($500,000,000,000). It is estimated that when all is said and done, with veterans' healthcare and withdrawal costs factored in, the Iraq war will have cost the United States more than $4 TRILLION.

I do not want this to be construed as an attack on our troops in any way, as some would have you believe. American soldiers have served our country with the kind of bravery and honor that have become legendary, and I have the utmost respect for each and every one. I have friends in several branches of the Armed Services, and I will welcome an argument with anybody who denigrates them or the job they do. It is the mission itself that I criticize, and those that sent them to complete it. It was poorly envisioned, poorly planned, and poorly managed, and we are paying for it in American lives.

Why are our men still there? What are they enduring snipers and bombings for? What are they dying for? It has been well-documented that there were no chemical or biological weapons in Iraq before our invasion, and Saddam Hussein and his regime have been overthrown. It is said that we are there to preserve the freedom and security of the Iraqi people, and as noble a goal as that is, that is not the job for the United States military. Stability in Iraq will not be restored until Iraqi police and military forces take over for our troops.

The Iraqi Defense Force might not have reached the same level of readiness and skill that the United States Marine Corps has, but the time has come to allow them to do their jobs. At the moment, they are viewed by the Iraqi people as nothing more than our puppets, a perception not dispelled by the sight of American troops backing them up. We have built the foundations of democracy and security in Iraq, but our continued presence is beginning to undermine it. It is time that we allow the Iraqi people to stand on their own feet and restore their nation.