'illegal' Iraq War

Mark anniversary of 'illegal' Iraq War

Mar. 13, 2011 - Certain dates are etched in our memories: Dec. 7, 1941 — Pearl Harbor; Sept. 11, 2001, attack on the World Trade Center; March 19, 2003 — the date the United States invaded Iraq and began an illegal and immoral war.

The U.S. started this war because Iraq supposedly had weapons of mass destruction. There were none. Since then we have learned that the Bush administration was determined to declare war with Iraq no matter what the cost. So much for the United States being greeted as liberators, cheap oil paying for the war, and the war only lasting weeks. We were lied to.

The Iraq War was a huge mistake if not an outright lie. There were no valid reasons for this war and when this became known the President changed the reasons. The President executed the war poorly and sacrificed the lives of so many with too few troops poorly supplied, poor logistics, and unsatisfactory plans. Our government could not even properly care for the wounded veterans. Osama bin Laden is still free and we are outflanked in Afghanistan. Congress, both Democrats and Republicans, failed to correct this situation and in fact aided the President by consistently supporting him in this mistaken endeavor. Protests and objections were drowned out by accusations of being unpatriotic. Clearly the beating of the war drum of fear and terror minimized the dissent. And in order to ensure there was a minimum of dissent the government made this a war where only our military and their families suffered the effects of this war. The great majority of Americans were never affected. There were no taxes, sacrifices, or draft. We were isolated from the grief and pain by the governmental mantra of we have everything to fear including fear itself. {continued}