March 19, 2008 marked the 5th anniversary of the war in Iraq, but yesterday marked another somber milestone: 4000 American lives lost, 97% of them after “Mission Accomplished”. Of course that doesn’t count the hundreds of thousands of Iraqis who died. All because Bush knowingly lied to congress about the danger posed by Iraq.
No argument that Saddam was a despicable person, but was he any worse than Kim Jong Il? Were his human rights violations any worse than those of China against Tibet, or those in Burma? Was the situation of the Iraqi people more desperate than those in Sudan? It is clear that Iraq posed no threat to us or any other countries. By toppling their dictator, we created a power vacuum that destabilized the country and the entire region as every rival group scrambled for power. The chaos provided a perfect opportunity for Al Qaeda and other extremist groups to move in and expand their power. Are the Iraqi people any better off today than they were before we invaded?