Not ‘just’ the 4,500 dead. How many tens of thousands maimed and crippled physically and mentally? How many marriages ruined and children scarred by repeated and extended deployments? What really is the price in blood and treasure? I think it is astronomically, incalculably high.
It p*sses me off to the point of near homicidal rage when I hear slimeballs like our democrat politicians mouthing off at what an ‘imperialist’ country we are. No other nation in the history of mankind would make this kind of investment in conquering and occupying a resource-rich region like this and then not exploit it. We are either the most altruistic nation ever or the most stupid - or both.
This may have finally pushed me into and beyond the Ron Paul camp. No more nation-building, saving, rescuing, bailing out ANYBODY. Let them stew in their own juices and if they become a big enough nuisance, turn them into subatomic particles.
I am framing a picture of Curtis LeMay for the wall of my office.
You ought to be pissed off at Bush, Cheney, Wolfowitz, Perle, and the other neocons who pushed us into this stupid invasion. Remember their promises? It will be quick and easy, the Iragi people will love us, and their oil will more than pay for the war?
This was the dumbest military move since Custer decided to pimp with a few Indians. I don’t know how any of those people can look in a mirror.
Although I ended up voted for Nixon in 1968, I almost cast a ballot for George Wallace's American Independent Party solely because the great General Curtis LeMay was on the ticket. Had circumstances been such that LeMay had power in that adminstration, our victory in Vietnam would be assured and Red China would have been eliminated as a threat. Regardless of his other shortcomings, Wallace showed sound judgment in his choice of LeMay.
Actually there are plenty of companies that exploited. Defence companies, government contracts for rebuilding etc..The real question is that is it worth the cost so that these few companies may turn a profit? My answer is a clear and resounding NO.
I really do not know why we bother with the middle east at all, especially with helping muslims in the middle east when their way of life and beliefs stand against everything we as americans stand for. We should save all the christians from the middle east and leave the muslims to rot.
We are not imperialist like the Nazis or Communists, but we have a tendency to butt into local wars and conflicts that are not our business. Sooner or later it will create blowback and terrorism on our homeland. We have been tangling with the Arabs during the Cold War (after we support the existence of Israel (settlers from post WW2 Europe) within Arab lands), we still tangled with them after the Cold War. Terrorist bull eye has been on our backs all this time and we tasted it on 9/11. Enraged we jump into Iraq, Afghanistan, Pakistan and Iran only to learn that such wars are manpower intensive (no easy high tech victories) and very costly that it destroyed any popular support for the wars. Face it, once the cowardly Arab of the past is willing to strap a bomb on his chest and run himself towards our troops, we lost the war. Time to pull out and get back to the continent where our forefathers urged us to stay at.