Thursday, November 25, 2010

FORGETTING IRAQ

Give me a break!!! 50,000 troops still in Iraq and combat operations ended. I DON'T THINK SO. But, this is no small happening either. Troop withdrawal. HooAhhhhh!!!!! And, regardless of spin, pretty smooth and orderly--proud, damn super. Not like Vietnam where we left with our tail between our legs. The military should be proud of themselves. They did good. And, anyone who has the slightest bit of objectivity has to admit that there's lots of positive stuff: Deposed a tyrant, had elections, restored order.

I'm less certain that we have united the country: Kurds are surely happier. The Shiite and Sunnis remain as much divided as ever. The so called "surge" did that, separated the factions, essentially moved the Sunnis out of Baghdad. What happens in the future is anybody's guess. As a young former captain who was there during the "surge" said on an NPR program: "it was a kind of ethnic cleansing without the bloodshed." Stay tuned.

Seeing reporters walking through the markets in Baghdad was pretty inspirational. Shop keepers saying they could be open everyday. Terrorists attacks down to just a few a week means progress I guess.

All of this being said, however, for Americans, the question that will inevitably come down the road and by far the most important: WAS IT WORTH IT? I can only answer for myself as a Vietvet (have spoken to many of my buddies who feel the same way). Was Vietnm worth It? No, not a single American life.

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