For a war that President Bush victoriously declared over back in May 2003, this weeks grim body count milestone must surely come as an tragic embarrassment.
No doubt the Bush administration is disappointed that the weeks other milestone in the region, the successful referendum on a draft constitution, came on the same day that a 2000th American soldiers body was wrapped in a body bag and prepared for the the final flight back to America, this time in a coffin draped in the stars and stripes.
With a recent Ipsos/AP poll suggesting that his public support is at an all-time low of 39% for two straight months, President Bush told Americans that no-one should underestimate the difficulties ahead and that they should brace themselves for more casualties. He went on to say “each loss of life is heartbreaking” but stated that he felt the best way to honor the dead soldiers was to “complete the mission and lay the foundation of peace by spreading freedom”.
Of course the number of troop casualties is dwarfed by the number of Iraqi’s who have been killed and injured since the war began. Various estimates put the figure anywhere between 20,000 to 30,000. Though with the country still in disarray the actual figure may never be fully calculated.
The war in Iraq has recently been re-branded as ‘the front-line’ in President Bush’s ‘war on terror’, despite his earlier insistence that the two wars were not in the slightest bit connected. Iraq was initially invaded in order to find and destroy President Saddam Hussein’s amassed collection of WMD’s (weapons of mass destruction). No such weapons nor any evidence of them were ever found, so the war was re-branded ‘the liberation of Iraq.’ Elections were held and victories in liberty were declared, but still the star spangled coffins keep returning the the United States.
History will be the better judge of President Bush and his efforts to do whatever it is he’s actually trying to do in the Middle East. Personally I wonder whether the number of young men and women willing to strap explosives to themselves and detonate them near American and other western targets has actually increased since the invasion of Iraq?
Some say the situation there is better than it was before, and who knows maybe they’re right. But I don’t think we’re anywhere near being far enough away from the epicenter of this most unholy of wars to make a fair assessment of whether any of this will have been worth it in the end.
I hope that history will remember President Bush as a man who brought stability and peace to a region historically torn by bitterness and bloodshed. I fear the reality will be nothing of the sort.
Wrote the following comment on Oct 26, 2005 at 4:42 pm
That’s a great post.
Wrote the following comment on Oct 26, 2005 at 5:00 pm
I really wish I knew what to say.
Wrote the following comment on Oct 26, 2005 at 6:29 pm
glad you got your car back…..$1300 — ouch. :-(
Wrote the following comment on Oct 27, 2005 at 11:38 am
There is a fair argument that the news should stay on point and try to avoid being sensationalist. However, I think much of the UK and US news tries too hard to avoid sterilising images that shock and appal. al Jazeera aren’t nearly as careful, but that’s more of a cultural thing than anything else. I think here and in the United States, a big reason why they prefer to show the more polished news is that it might become hard to sell space for soap powder and SUV ads between scenes of bloodshed and horror.
The music is ‘Prelude’ by Yanni.
Wrote the following comment on Oct 27, 2005 at 5:36 am
I wish we could remember President Bush as the guy who quit before he got too far behind, only it’s too late for that.
We’re going to be paying the price for his idiocy for the next generation.
Wrote the following comment on Oct 27, 2005 at 5:53 am
Wow Simon! What a post! Did you make the picture of Bush? Who’s faces are those. We don’t enough see pictures like that last one. I felt sad for the families of those three soldiers when I saw that. The music seemed to fit the pictures too.
Wrote the following comment on Oct 28, 2005 at 6:16 am
I have spoken, and will continue to do so whenever the opportunity presents itself, to many of the soldiers who have been on the front lines in Iraq (I live in a military base-rich community). Not once have I heard anything other than they felt like the difference they are making is worth the sacrifice. And I don’t think it is a party line because some of these guys are registered Dems/Independants.They mostly speak of the women and children who have suffered greatly, and who are eager to make a change. For the most part the Iraqi people welcome our soldiers as liberators of an evil regime.This change will take at least a generation, just as any significant change does. It will not be a quick fix.
But, as I speak to these men and women who serve I am awed by their conviction and sacrifice. They feel as if they are a part of important history.The one thing they all say…unprompted…is that to believe and understand why they are there you must be there. The news is completely filtered.
They wish that people could see for themselves, to see the faces of those they are giving hope to, and then they would understand.
Wrote the following comment on Oct 28, 2005 at 3:00 pm
“The one thing they all say…unprompted…is that to believe and understand why they are there you must be there.”As well as that is true I’m sure, it seems from the outside looking in, that America (and the UK) is meddling in matters on the other side of the world that do not concern them where the culture is far far removed from anything that most of us can easily understand.
Maybe, as I say, history will look back on this war and see what the troops can see. Right now though, it would seem that the vast majority of the world feel that this is a futile and foolish that was born out of questionable motives, ill conceived notions and little understanding.I too have spoken with British servicemen, and like the troops you have spoken with, they also feel they are doing good work. Honestly Patti, I truly do hope that they are.
Wrote the following comment on Oct 30, 2005 at 5:45 am
it’s difficult to assess the situation when bush & his cohorts choose to be less than honest about everything … at this time, it does not seem to be worth the sacrifice of so many lives…
Wrote the following comment on Oct 30, 2005 at 9:16 am
I know you hope so Simon.But, how can you look at these soldier’s faces as they speak of what they have contributed to, and doubt? I can’t…wait, check that. I won’t.
Let’s hope for better days, shall we?
Wrote the following comment on Oct 31, 2005 at 8:07 am
The soldier may be doing good, but he is a small part of a much bigger picture, and it ain’t no oil painting!
Wrote the following comment on Nov 1, 2005 at 3:38 am
Perhaps an Oil Painting is precisely what it is?