The road to the disaster known as the Iraq War was paved with anologies from the Second World War.
But then, all American wars are, it seems. Every enemy is the new Hitler. For the neocons, it's always 1938 and the West is always about to have a failure of Will and sell out Czechoslovakia to Hitler Germany.
But here's something about the Second World War that actually provides some kind of useful measure for the Iraq War: Why has Iraq war lasted nearly as long as WWII? by Kenneth Janda Chicago Tribune 08/14/06. He writes:
The United States has been fighting in Iraq since March 19, 2003, when President Bush launched Operation Iraqi Freedom with air strikes against Baghdad. Monday marks the 1,245th day of the Iraqi conflict. By that reckoning, Americans troops will have fought in Iraq for as long as they fought Germany in World War II.
Our war against Germany lasted 1,245 days, from Dec. 11, 1941, (when both nations declared war) until May 8, 1945.
Our war against Japan from Dec. 7, 1941, until Aug. 15, 1945, lasted somewhat longer - 1,348 days.
So one cannot yet say that the war in Iraq has been longer than World War II. ...
Nov. 25, the Saturday after Thanksgiving, will mark the 1,348th day of American involvement in the Iraqi conflict. It is not a date to celebrate.
2 comments:
I just finished reading Fiasco by Thomas Ricks of the Washington Post. Having previously read Cobra II and The Assassin's Gate, I think I will move on to another topic for my reading. I need something a little less depressing. (When is Shakira coming to NJ?)
One thing I found frustrating in the final pages of Fiasco is Ricks's aargument that America will have to remain in Iraq for many years, or will have to re-invade the country if Iraqis cannot establish a government that will suppress jihadist terrorists.
I think most Americans are ready to cut and run, as the Bushies like to call it. We are fed up with a war we didn't want in the first place -- hell, even those who thought they wanted it have figured out that they got suckered into it. Real consent is not won by lies - when the truth is known, consent is withdrawn. No American government can sustain a war without that consent.
This war is over. But we will have to wait till after the election to begin the withdrawal. In the meantime, we will continue to sacrifice American and Iraqi lives for George W Bush and the GOP war machine.
Neil
Sad but true.
And I do highly recommend a Shakira concert as an antidote to the war news!
She was in Atlantic City on September 1. The nearest concert to New Jersey after that is Atlanta this coming Tuesday. She's scheduled to be in Miami Sept. 15-16. I'll bet those shows will draw exceptionally enthusiastic crowds.
Post a Comment