TENTH ANNIVERSARY OF THE 2ND IRAQ WAR

There is abundant discussion of the misrepresentation of information that brought us into the Iraq War-II.  There has been less discussion of the ruthless manipulation of mass hysteria in the dark age leading up to the war.  The French, for example, that were with us on Afghanistan were demeaned because they were not with us on the Iraq War-II.  Remember even the childish renaming of French fries to Freedom fries in the congressional dining rooms?  Anyone who spoke against the war was implied to be unAmerican and cowed the opposition.  And then there was Presidential candidate John Kerry who was for the war before he was against it.*  There were some congressmen who did manage to say that it was an "optional war" and get away with it.  The administration exercised a masterful manipulation of mob psychology over using "bogus facts" to promote an uncalled for war.  There was the chilling announcement by Condoleezza Rice** that we don't want the smoking gun to be a mushroom cloud when there was no evidence of an Iraq effort on making nuclear weapons.  The period should rank beside McCarthyism as a dark period in modern U.S. history, but will it?

So we entered a war where 1-1/2 times our troops were killed as died in 9/11 with more than 30,000 injured, many with life changing disabilities at a huge financial cost of more than a trillion dollars.

The way it looks today is that Iraq will eventually split into three countries: a Shiite country, a Sunni country and a Kurdish country.  Perhaps there will be some lose confederation between them or maybe not, but the outcome won't be what we wanted.  Despite our objections, for example, the Iraq administration still permits overflights of Iran arms to the Syrian regime.

* http://www.cbsnews.com/2100-250_162-646435.html
** http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Condoleezza_Rice