Yet again, an ignoble end to an obviously bad idea from George Bush and Dick Cheney. With an acknowledged cost of a trillion dollars, and hidden long-term costs that will triple or quadruple that amount, they did their best to prove that the US can't afford benefits for its citizens. We'll all be sunflowers with the water turned off for the last half of the growing season.
Even at one dollar, invading and occupying Iraq was a bad idea for a war. Ousting a dictator that the US installed became a common theme for a while. Reagan was always good at it since his puppet masters were enthralled with schemes that even their minion dictators blanched at. But there is always some corporal with designs who will take the next bale of US CIA money and promises. If Malaki is any indication, perhaps they are learning not to trust the money and power routine. Bush's nightmare result of a power close to Iran is one piquant chilblaino for the Yale, Texas oilman.
So, the good news is that we didn't kill 2 million people like we did in Viet Nam. Some say that we killed over a million, but that will be a story for the future. The US somewhat acknowledges that this last phase of this war cost over 100,000 Iraqui lives.
The bad news? Bush, Cheney, Rumsfeld and all the top execs at the military supply companies and the government representatives that took their money are not in jail now. One more chore for the International Court now that Obama's milquetoast pandering leaves the US exposed to the charge of not taking care of this internally. Perhaps that is one more of Obama's clever maneuvering. If he weren't so catagorical about saying that the US weren't going to follow-up on the war criminals then the IC would have to prove such negligence, taking years off the timetable. (So, thank you Barry.)
Meanwhile, Obama strung this out 3 extra years. Hopefully he will hear a lot of chains in his sleep for the next few decades. I don't know if that will land him in the docks like Clinton's war crimes, but what the heck.
In a few years, when the US has to leave that rediculous spy tower of an embassy, this can finally be called over. Until then it is another war with thousands left behind like Korea, Japan and a few hundred other military bases with no use except the future marking of empire crumbling.
US military leaves Iraq this month...even that is a lie...everything about this horror has been a lie. But, it is better than it was before.
Peace.
PS–Here's a good Ackerman article on the issue: The Iraq War Ain't Over, No Matter What Obama Says | Danger Room | Wired.com
