Richard Dalton's Sad Summary of the Year in Iraq

As 2007 winds up, I'm reminded that we are still waging war in Iraq "against terror." I wonder if "terror" refers to what the 79,000-86,000 Iraq civilians felt before they were killed (Iraq Body Count database-www.iraqbodycount.org).

Lost in the endless wrangling about appropriations and the success or failure of the "Surge" is the fact that this war need not have been-- should not have been--fought at all. The best way we could "support our troops," Bush's favorite simple-minded, jingoistic slogan, would have been to leave them at home.

Have we all forgotten the chicanery that trumped up a case for Iraqi invasion? Anyone remember pleas from the Iraqi citizens for the immediate overthrow of Saddam Hussein? Instead, we treated Iraq as though it was our protectorate and invaded their country because we decided to make things better for our little friends. Oh... and to eliminate the imminent threat of Iraq's nuclear, biological, and chemical weapons that would be launched against the American Homeland. Anyone remember that?

North Korea's nightmarish leader Kim Jong il is at least as bad as Hussein was and his country even has real, authentic nuclear weapons with rockets to deliver them. We were able to turn that problem around with skilled diplomacy, not invasion. What a concept.

In 2006, overwhelming public opinion against the war caused the Republicans to lose control of both houses of Congress. Since then, the Democrats have put on an amazing display of impotence, hurling threats at Bush and acquiescing on every war appropriation. It makes me sad to see how flaccid democracy can be. How painful it is to see hope dashed on the rocks of political compromise.

The total cost of the Iraq war is fast approaching $480 billion with a new authorization of $70 billion just passed by congress. That's a spending rate of $275 million a DAY or a total of about $4100 a family (so far). California residents please note: everyone is tearing their hair out over the $14 billion budget shortfall anticipated next year. California's share of the FY 2008 appropriation to fund the Iraq war is $28 billion, folks. And remember, that's just 2008.

Meanwhile, we are spending ourselves into bankruptcy and cutting taxes for the well-to-do. China is buying up our chits wholesale and Abu Dhabi just bailed out struggling Citicorp, our No. 1 bank. Families living under the poverty line rose from 12.1% to 12.5% of the population. The number of people uninsured rose 1.4 million to 45 million, close to 15% of the population.

Is any of this related? The cost of the Iraq war in FY 2007 would provide health insurance for almost 40 million people. Or 23 million university scholarships. Or more than one million affordable housing units--like in New Orleans and the Gulf Coast. Or...

Decades from now, people will look back on the Iraq war fiasco as one of the premiere examples of governmental incompetence. Bush and his crew will receive appropriate amounts of scorn, but Congress will be viewed as a handmaiden to the tragedy. I'm afraid the American people, myself included, will be viewed as a mystery. How could we, in a democratic society where we have ballot box constraint on our government, have allowed this to happen, much less continue.

Briefs

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• The Huckmonster Returns to Another Monster: Dick Morris
• Bhutto: The Coverup Begins