Breaking News! All US Combat Troops Out Of Iraq Today!

I'm just tuning in.

It's hard to believe.  

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by: Fong @ Thu Aug 19, 2010 at 00:10:02 AM UTC

Well, it was coming but it is startling to see it.

And only to see it on MSNBC - Fox is still prattling on about the Manhattan Community Center.  

Getting Democrats together and keeping them that way is like herding cats that are high on meth, through L.A., during an earthquake, in the rain.  

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by: Bill Egnor AKA Something The Dog Said @ Thu Aug 19, 2010 at 00:14:35 AM UTC

[ Parent ]

so you mean the US can't fight numerous imperialistic wars around the world?

Why were/are we in Iraq? How much did it cost in lives and resources?  

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by: Melissa @ Thu Aug 19, 2010 at 00:22:13 AM UTC

A trillion dollars (1000 billion)

and 4400 US lives, somewhere over 600,000 Iraqi lives. Quite a sum to spend dealing with Daddy issues.  

Getting Democrats together and keeping them that way is like herding cats that are high on meth, through L.A., during an earthquake, in the rain.  

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by: Bill Egnor AKA Something The Dog Said @ Thu Aug 19, 2010 at 00:27:00 AM UTC

[ Parent ]

That's so sad.

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by: Fong @ Thu Aug 19, 2010 at 00:29:19 AM UTC

[ Parent ]

Yes, it is. All for lies, and arrogance. This is why

you should never trust your nation to idiots and war mongers.  

Getting Democrats together and keeping them that way is like herding cats that are high on meth, through L.A., during an earthquake, in the rain.  

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by: Bill Egnor AKA Something The Dog Said @ Thu Aug 19, 2010 at 00:33:13 AM UTC

[ Parent ]

To think that he could have had a whole ward of psychiatrists for a small, small fraction of the cost.

"If any question why we died,
Tell them, because our fathers lied."  Kipling

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by: Diogenesdemar @ Thu Aug 19, 2010 at 04:12:42 AM UTC

[ Parent ]

Then and Now 2003-2010

My thoughts on this take me back to March of 2003.

It strange to think of the fact that this war began all the way back then.  I remember flipping back and forth with the coverage, and when 2 months later we were told Mission Accomplished!

Strange to think how much has changed since then, and that the war was waged for so long.  I wonder what others thoughts are thinking back to how you felt back in March of 2003, and how you feel in August of 2010.

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by: Palmer Bartlett @ Thu Aug 19, 2010 at 01:36:26 AM UTC

The war was launched on March 19th, 2003

which was my father's birthday. I felt it was wrong and wasteful. I thought the US response to 9/11 was over the top and I've never been able to accept the idea that civilians, who are about 90% of all war casualties, are collateral damage. Then the stories about weapons testing, torture, and pillaging emerged.

Now I feel like I've lost faith in our war-driven economy and our leaders who refuse to realize the unsustainable nature of our lifestyle. The short-sightedness of people is very disheartening. I think this withdrawal of the last combat brigades is an interesting gesture at best, but I feel we've destroyed a country, not to mention the holy war that has ensued.  

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by: Fong @ Thu Aug 19, 2010 at 02:21:27 AM UTC

[ Parent ]

Our Government Never Should Have Gone There

The Iraqi government did not attack the United States.  It did not have any of those weapons we were told were going to kill us and our children.  It cost our country 1,000,000,000,000 United States Dollars--whenever the Republicans tell you that "we need to balance the budget," remind them that taxes were not raised and what this invasion cost us and make them answer the question, "Why."  

It is interesting that the media did not spend a lot of resources covering this in place of worrying about a neighborhood center in Manhattan.  

I'm glad we are actually leaving.

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by: saindenver @ Thu Aug 19, 2010 at 12:56:11 PM UTC

Dog, Did You Intend to Title "Breakiking" or "Breaking"?

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by: saindenver @ Thu Aug 19, 2010 at 12:58:54 PM UTC

Sheesh! I never even noticed. That is what

you get for typing when you're excited!  

Getting Democrats together and keeping them that way is like herding cats that are high on meth, through L.A., during an earthquake, in the rain.  

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by: Bill Egnor AKA Something The Dog Said @ Thu Aug 19, 2010 at 13:26:26 PM UTC

[ Parent ]

I'm a skeptic

We still have something like 50,000 "advisers" there and countless hired guns (read: mercenaries) to defend our vast embassy and other installations. This seems more PR than reality. As Atrios would say: "... happy to be wrong..."

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by: lukeness @ Thu Aug 19, 2010 at 13:03:25 PM UTC

But it is a start Luke. And it is a good indicator

that we are really going to leave next year. That is what is really important.  

Getting Democrats together and keeping them that way is like herding cats that are high on meth, through L.A., during an earthquake, in the rain.  

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by: Bill Egnor AKA Something The Dog Said @ Thu Aug 19, 2010 at 13:27:06 PM UTC

[ Parent ]

Remember, 50,000 Occupation Troops Remain

plus 7,000 armed "contractors".  Our government has not yet
"pulled out" of Iraq.

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by: saindenver @ Thu Aug 19, 2010 at 15:05:03 PM UTC

That's exacly what I was going to point out

And I do mean exactly.  In one respect, Bush was correct: the "war", as official as it ever was, was over very quickly.  The government in control of Iraq prior to March 2003 fell within a short number of weeks.

Ever since then, the U.S. has been an occupying force.  Hundreds of thousands of official military personnel have been occupying the country for 7 long years, supplemented by at least tens of thousands of shadowy mercenaries paid for by U.S. taxpayers.

I truly don't consider the last combat brigade leaving Iraq as monumental news.  As stated, 50,000 U.S. occupation forces remain, the number of contractors mercenaries is reportedly going to double, and the Iraqi government isn't functional.  Moreover, millions of Iraqis remain internally displaced, greatly emphasizing the sectarian tensions compared to what existed prior to our invasion & occupation.  Oh, and Iran and Saudi Arabia now have more influence in the region.

I remember hotly debating my college friends in 2002/2003 about the insanity about to befall Iraq.  I found out who was blindly neo-conish; but I also found out that many of my otherwise left-leaning friends were all too willing to believe Colin Powell and the Bush Regime regarding WMDs, etc.  The region is not more secure; and the U.S. is vastly poorer in many respects than we were prior to the invasion.

Lastly, I can't resist leaning on my handle and bringing up what was going on in the Denver metro area on March 17-19th, 2003: the 2nd worst snowstorm to hit the Denver area on record.  Visual reminder.  I personally measured over 40" of snow in my north Wash Park neighborhood on the 19th.  That was after allowing it to sit for 48 hours, which means the 40" was an underestimate of the actual snow total.  I remember the surface and upper-air plots for the 18th had what looked like a hurricane parked over southeast CO.  That massive cyclone tapped Gulf of Mexico moisture and laid it down across KS, NE, WY and CO.

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by: WeatherDem @ Thu Aug 19, 2010 at 16:52:30 PM UTC

[ Parent ]