Historians call Korea "the forgotten war." Even viewers of MASH assumed it was set in Vietnam. But at least it took a couple of decades and another war for people to forget the Korean War. By way of demonstration: it's past 3 o'clock, and I hadn't realized today's significance until now. Six years after Operation Iraqi Freedom began, the war persists but it's outtasightouttamind for the taxpayers who are footing the tab.

And that still-open tab is a pricey one. It runs $800 billion, roughly the same price as the TARP banker-bailout--another initiative enacted by scare tactics--but at a far greater cost. Let's face it: 4,000+ Americans didn't lose their lives because of the bailouts. Financiers lost their minds to bring us to this sorry state, but they didn't lose limbs as a result.

Like the bailouts that rewarded bankers for failing, Operation Iraqi Freedom cannot help but undermine its purpose. Rather than discourage rogue states from obtaining weapons of mass destruction, Iraq encourages them (You don't see us attacking Pakistan or Iran, do you?); instead of serving as a model for other democracies in the region, Iraq is a massive negative advertisement for representative government; and in place of crushing terrorism, Iraq has served as a breeding ground for it.

If this war is the forgotten war, it is partly because it is an idiotic war. Americans, who supported the war by greater than 2-1 majorities initially, now oppose the war by greater than 2-1 majorities. Who wouldn't want to forget once serving as a booster for the Donner Party or the Hindenburg? Like the war-whooping Confederates ignoring the warnings of party-pooper Rhett Butler at the beginning of Gone with the Wind, those speaking of a "cakewalk" in Iraq quickly slammed into reality. (Well, not exactly. Few of this war's war whoopers, unlike those clowns at Twelve Oaks, actually fought in the war.) That the reality has been so horrible has to do with the irreality of the casus belli. Americans didn't find any weapons of mass destruction in Iraq, even though the Bush administration pinpointed their imagined locations. The rationalization that suceeded the initial illusion has proved equally tenuous: transforming the sand people from Star Wars into New England-style town meeting members is a fool's errand. The protracted nature of the war is precisely a cause of the amorphous nature of the war aims.

When Barack Obama had no power in the federal government, he spoke out against the Iraq War. Now that he presides over the federal government, he conducts the war. He should have learned a lesson from his distant predecessor who presided over the demise of that other "forgotten war." Six months after taking the presidential oath, Dwight David Eisenhower had orchestrated a Korean War cease fire. Barack Obama, whose words opposed the Iraq War but whose actions perpetuate it, promises to bring the troops home by 2011.

Obama's lyin' and people keep dyin'.

Dan, you couldn't be more wrong.

The "breeding ground" for terrorism argument has been discredited. We won, and you can't accept it.

http://hotair.com/archives/2009/03/17/video-the-most-relentlessly-upbeat-iraq-news-segment-youll-ever-see/

Here's one Iraq War vet wishes the nay-sayers would admit that they were wrong. This war wasn't easy, but so what? Is that our policy now? We only fight easy wars and we run from the first sign of difficulty?

You're right about a lot of things, but you are absolutely wrong about this war--its justification and its execution.

the economy is in the tank thanks to this war... in my mind, the 'terrorists' (that never existed in Iraq, mind you) have won.

Maybe the USA and Britian should have avoided enforcing international law and the 18 UN security resolutions that Iraq had broken, this would have been good in the sense that it would have completely dicredited that wortless organization taking up prime real estate in New York. It would also save the taxpayers money.

The left claims to place international law,in importance above the US constitution and the UN as the only way the US can regain it's status in the international community (translation European socialists, whom USA Democrats worship), this would have completely dicredited those worthless individuals ho pull a paycheck for the UN.

The leader of Sudan is completely taunting the UN security resolution calling for his arrest and trial before the international court. The limp wristed American and Euro socialists have never mentioned one single word about international law being broken and flaunted in the "international communities" face.

The UN is as worthless as any organization that I have ever seen. Those "citizens of the world" that run the UN are cowards and completely unwiling to enforce security resolutions.

Weakness in the face of a threat like Islamic funadamantalism is naive and dangerous.

I think Michael Moore,Goerge "Nazi collaborator"Soros, Nancy Pelosi, or Patrick Leahy should take KSM into their homes and allow him to be a houseguest, afterall they have stated numerous times that the detainees are innocent victims.
Maybe Tony Romero and his gay lover, of the ACLU, should step up and at least pretend to be a man and offer to house KSM until his criminal trial in which the Marxist law firm Center for Constitutional Rights (funded by that freak Soros) or the ACLU will turn a trial into a complete carnival and farce as well as putting the US on trial.

Iraq had acceded to and handled the demands of the U.N.

Hence the lack of WMDs . . . the whole point of those resolutions, remember?

The 2011 withdrawl date is the date agreed by the United States and Iraq's soverign government. With that said the withdrawl will likely be completed much sooner than that. I expect it will be completed by the end of this year or early next year. Once completed there will be no American military forces of any type in Iraq, combat forces, trainers, or otherwise.

The only way to change the date for complete withdrawl would be if the Americans and the Iraqis both agree to do so. The Iraqis might ask the Americans to stay longer but they know the Americans aren't going to want to do that. Therefore they aren't going to ask. Bottom line is all American and coaliton forces will have left Iraq before 2011.

Something to keep in mind here is how much Democrats like to get into and maintain their wars.

Dan this war is a big victory. our warriors are outstanding! had to fight a determined enemy, a public that had no stake in it and the nay-sayers. iran is going to have a nuke you aholes, and we are in there back yard. and if sadam hazbin was still in power what could we do? well you and a bunch of people here dont care, ah its not our problem ah they have rights to a bomb, well i dont think so, this country has called for our destruction for 30 yrs.

If little Barry doesn't stop with the creme puff routine of sending flowery love letters to people who would love to see the United States destroyed, we will be.

Then again, might that not be the plan?