Iraq War Costs

A US soldier in Iraq allegedly shot and murdered two other US soldiers.

I don't know the facts in this case so I won't speculate on the reasons this happened which could be almost anyhting.

But the fact which I can comment on is; Two More Deaths.

Does anyone not connected care at all? Does the politician who uses the War (pro or against) know about this situation? Does any of the true cost and horror being visited upon people register at all? The Surge (and the disgusting rush to capitalize upon it's success in lowering violence) has allowed people the ability to compartmentalize the War costs.

A la the narrator speaking with Tyler Durden in Fight Club, "That's the last sofa I'm gonna need. Whatever else happens, I've got that sofa problem handled."

To many of the American People that Sofa is the Surge. "Golly gee I sure don't need to worry about that darn Iraq War anymore."

Maj. Gen. Anthony Cucolo called the deaths "a tragic and senseless loss of two professional soldiers..." The problem is the entire war is a tragic and senseless loss of thousands of lives.

VICTORY! YES!

I am proud to declare on my blog Super Duper Iraq Victory Day! 19 March 2008! (Oh and also 1 May 2003) shall go down in American history along with November 11, May 7 and 8, and August 15 and April 12. The war is over... Again.

I apologize for my ignorance at the victory which, as it turns out, was right around the corner. We have won in Iraq. Period.

In the soon to be immortalized words of The President Bush from his Victory Speech of 19 March, "The surge ... has opened the door to a major strategic victory in the broader war on terror," (emphasis mine). "No one would argue that this war has not come at a high cost in lives and treasure," Bush said. "But those costs are necessary when we consider the cost of a strategic victory for our enemies in Iraq." (Fortunately no one from the Imperial Bush family had to serve in Iraq)

We have stopped THEM from achieving a strategic victory in Iraq, ergo WE have acheived a strategic victory in Iraq!

And Cheney echoed Bush, "Think about what would have happened if Abraham Lincoln had paid attention to polls, if they had had polls during the Civil War. He never would have succeeded if he hadn't had a clear objective, a vision for where he wanted to go..."

Bush has succeeded in Iraq the same way Lincoln succeeded in the Civil War.

And when asked if he was certain of victory, Cheney replied, "I am."

I am literally crying for joy here a my keyboard. I can only hope those brave souls who have been fighting the Culture War here on the homefront have emerged unscathed by the slings and arrows of those Anti-War terrorist lovers. Sure the likes of Jason Mattera, Ben Ferguson, Matthew Continetti, Chris Vucovich or the other College Republican Chicken Hawks never had to face IEDs, Mortars, snipers or skin-lesions from contaminated water, but they did fight against the mothers of US soldiers here in the US.

And Gathering of Eagles, Melanie Morgan, Rush Limbaugh, Bill O'Reilly, Sean Hannity your tireless efforts and Support for the Mission ensured those serving in the Regular Army, National Guard, Active Reserves, THE CORPS, US Navy and Air Force ending up going 3 or 4 or even 5 times to Iraq showing your true dedication to the Troops! Because if there's one thing those serving in the military know it's your efforts had nothing to do with politics and everything to do for your care about the people spending years away from home.

Hell, the fact you never mention the thousands of veterans who have PTSD, suffer depression, attempt suicide, suffer at Walter Reed and attack anyone including anti-war veterans whom Rush calls "phony soldiers" who disagree with your political view points, never crosses their minds.

And if something were to happen in Iraq (like the continuing deaths of US service members or the revelation of the number of Iraqis killed) why all you patriotic americans can blame the "Moonbat" Anti-war Veterans just as Bush continues to Blame the Troops for not winning Iraq for him earlier.

IVAW: Winter Soldier Testimony

Listen to the stories of Iraq Veterans Against the War.

Update 03/18:
The IVAW website is temporarily unavailable I'll re-link to videos of the testimony when it comes back on line.

Democracy Now has a transcript from the Winter Soldier II testimony.

Slap on A New & Improved Label and the People will love War

This is so disgusting. JFCOM pays $400,000 to commission a study on how to re-sell the war to the American people.

But since the U.S. military invaded Iraq in 2003, its "show of force" brand has proved to have limited appeal to Iraqi consumers, according to a recent study commissioned by the U.S. military.

The key to boosting the image and effectiveness of U.S. military operations around the world involves "shaping" both the product and the marketplace

Who writes this tripe? "Show of Force brand" has limited appeal to Iraqi consumers? I guess seeing your grandfather blown to bits by an errant GBU-31 or having your mother thrown to the ground, zip tied and bagged tends to irk people. Also the 655,000 who have been killed in this imperialist adventure no doubt have dampened the rose petals and liberation parades.

A few years back, as we prepared for OIF 2.5 in Ramadi, a good friend clearly articulated the selling of Iraq. The War on Terror (which chicken hawks like Sean Hannity and Rush Limbaugh can shout for hours and hours and hours on their radio shows) is an easy to handle slogan, he stated, whereas the War to realign the Middle East to conform to American business and military interests, by simultaneously protecting Israel and Saudi Arabia, placing a puppet regime in Iraq with which to gain access to their oil reserves and possessing force projection ability towards both Syria and Iran just wouldn't be an easy sell.

But, hey Americans don't want to know the truth. The truth is brutal. Americans can't be bothered.

Fortunately there are some heroes bringing the truth for Americans to see: IVAW and Operation First Casualty.