Seven Years of Waste, Fraud and Abuse

[deminks]

http://blogs.alternet.org/speakeasy/2010/03/18/iraq-war-anniversary-seven-years-of-waste-fraud-and-abuse/

Today is the 7th anniversary of the U.S.-led invasion of the Iraq war.

There’s a temptation as we begin to end our combat presence in Iraq to search for the happy ending. Newsweek, for example, recently ran a cover photo of President Bush with the infamous “Mission Accomplished” banner in the background, declaring that now, finally, we have “Victory At Last.” But that’s an awful revision of history. We have an obligation to insist on uncompromising truth rather than the versions that make us feel better about ourselves. Tens of thousands of dead people demand it.

No “mission” was accomplished in Iraq because we went to war on false pretenses. We failed the moment we invaded.

More than 4,300 American lives. At least 95,600 Iraqi civilians dead, with some estimates more than six times that number. More than $747 billion spent so far, which, combined with the effect on oil prices and with indirect costs, helped lead to the economic crisis. Reduced, not enhanced, American security.

The Iraq war, like the Afghanistan war, is a massive case of waste, fraud and abuse.

(end snip)