on this day in 2003, our president declared major operations in iraq complete. with all the tact, discretion and humility we would expect from our leader after launching a pre-emptive war on a developing country based on faulty intelligence , he declared "mission accomplished" after landing a fighter jet on the deck of an aircraft carrier-all broadcast on live tv! now it's five years later and, unable to deny that no mission was accomplished on may 1, 2003 (unless that mission was to destroy a country and make the world more unstable - and i'd like to believe that even this administration is not that callous), he's back-tracking from this statement. it's no longer that the mission in iraq was accomplished; rather it's the specific mission that the men and women serving on that aircraft carrier that was accomplished. spin it however you'd like, mr. president, we're not that dumb.
this got me thinking - what has been "accomplished" in the five years since the end of major combat operations in iraq?
2004: the CIA admits that there were no weapons of mass destruction; car bomb attacks routinely rock baghdad; militants bomb trains in spain killing 190; political corruption plagues the UN oil for food program; genocide continues in darfur; the abuse at abu ghraib is exposed; sovereignty is transferred to the interim iraqi government; war crime hearings begin against saddam hussein; hurricanes charlie, frances, and ivan bring death; peace continues to elude the middle east; osama bin laden is still around; the first democratic election in iraq is delayed; terrorist attacks around the world - russia, indonesia, saudi arabia to name a few; close to 200,00 people die in southeast asia when a massive tsunami hits; the war in afghanistan continues; 849 us soldiers are killed in iraq in the year after the mission was accomplished.
2005: the governor of baghdad is assassinated; no peace in the middle east; george bush is inaugurated for his second term; more bombs in spain; north korea has nukes-maybe; hiv continues to spread rapidly throughout africa; bombings in qatar, egypt, pakistan, london, bali, jordan; the worst us school shooting to date takes place in minnesota; suicide attacks in iraq; katrina and rita strike; oil prices on the rise; elections in afghanistan as the war there continues-almost unnoticed; another 846 us soldiers are killed in iraq.
2006: more of the same - terrorist attacks throughout the world; no peace in the middle east; oil on the rise; iraq's as unstable as ever; iran is enriching uranium; war in afghanistan; saddam hussein is executed; 822 us soldiers killed in iraq.
i wish that i could tell you that things have gotten better in 2007 and 2008, but they haven't-our economy's in a free-fall; the military death tolls don't even account for the astronomical numbers of wounded soliders who will never be the same and the fact that the us government seems less than interested in taking care of them ... and on and on.
of course, it would be naive and just plain wrong to attribute all of the death, destruction, and decline in our world since the mission was accomplished to the failings of our president, but this was a time that we needed a true leader and it's not what we got. just saying ...
if you'll bear with me for just one more moment - after that long rant, i think that pink already said it best. and so i leave you with the lyrics to "dear mr. president" -
Dear Mr. President,Come take a walk with me.
Let's pretend we're just two people
and You're not better than me.I
'd like to ask you some questions if we can speak honestly.
What do you feel when you see all the homeless on the street?
Who do you pray for at night before you go to sleep?
What do you feel when you look in the mirror?
Are you proud?How do you sleep while the rest of us cry?
How do you dream when a mother has no chance to say goodbye?
How do you walk with your head held high?
Can you even look me in the eye And tell me why?
Dear Mr. President,Were you a lonely boy?
Are you a lonely boy?Are you a lonely boy?
How can you say No child is left behind?
We're not dumb and we're not blind.
They're all sitting in your cells
While you pave the road to hell.
What kind of father would take his own daughter's rights away?
And what kind of father might hate his own daughter if she were gay?
I can only imagine what the first lady has to say
You've come a long way from whiskey and cocaine.
How do you sleep while the rest of us cry?
How do you dream when a mother has no chance to say goodbye?
How do you walk with your head held high?
Can you even look me in the eye?
Let me tell you 'bout hard work
Minimum wage with a baby on the way
Let me tell you 'bout hard work
Rebuilding your house after the bombs took them away
Let me tell you 'bout hard work
Building a bed out of a cardboard box
Let me tell you 'bout hard work
Hard work Hard work
You don't know nothing 'bout hard work
Hard work
Hard work
Oh How do you sleep at night?
How do you walk with your head held high?
Dear Mr. President,You'd never take a walk with me. Would you?
