Tuesday, August 31, 2010. 10:20 a.m.
Crucial Blog Entry #66
"COMBAT OPERATIONS" END TODAY IN IRAQ
Over seven years ago at 5:34 in the morning of March 20, 2003, US Troops followed by a 34 country coalition of forces invaded Iraq under the pretense that Saddam Hussein was harboring "weapons of mass destruction" and that morning started the most expensive war in the history of the modern world. $748 Billion dollars and climbing spent on death, destruction & security when if spent productively would have given education, health care & more prosperity for American's at home and ALL Iraqi's who now have sporadic electricity, very little food & clean water, high unemployment at over 35% and constant threats in their lives let alone the daily bombings and attacks that they must all endure due to ongoing and what seems like never-ending sectarian violence.
We always hear about the economical cost of war but we rarely speak of or hear about the HUMAN COST of war. The human cost of war is the most tragic consequence of these conflicts: innocent people being hurt and killed; disillusioned soldiers not knowing what they are fighting for, coming back "broken", leery and battle fatigued and to make matters worse, into a depressed economy. The human cost of the war was too much as soon as that first person died.
The cost continues to mount: as of today, 4408 American lives have been lost and families shattered. Estimates state over 100 000 Iraqi's killed and how many of those killed were innocent men, woman or children? Thousands of Iraqi families affected. Thousands & thousands more of US & Iraqi injured.
The US involvement is winding down before a full withdrawal in 2011 but now we must ask "WAS IT WORTH IT?" Today President Obama speaks to US troops at Fort Bliss Texas before addressing the nation from the Oval Office tonight. He must now try to convince us that a war he did not start or support ended as well as it could have under his leadership. And somewhere in Texas, an Ex-President who started this mess is blissfully cutting his grass.
Combat "operations" stop today on Tuesday August 31st, 2010 and the Middle East is as conflicted as ever and the US is no less safe from terrorist attacks and world-wide animosity. From a high of over 160 000 US troops in 2007 to now having less than 50 000 in the "transition" helping to train the Iraqi army and police, this war started under false pretense, misinformation and one man's demented desire to try to end a conflict that his father had started with the Gulf War in the 90's.
"What you see in Iraq is not victory" says Abu Risha, a tribal leader, who says he gets only 5 hours of electricity a day. "Before we had one dictator, now we have hundreds of dictator's."
"The Americans only left death and destruction--handicapped people, orphans, widows, and an immature political system. This is what we get with U.S. liberation and democracy?"
Musician / Activist Michael Franti from the band SPEARHEAD sings and preaches that "You Can Bomb the World into Pieces but you Can't Bomb the World into Peace." www.michaelfranti.com We need to heed these words and come up with better solutions than those that we have come up with over the last 100 years of senseless violence, terrorism, war and hate.
The cycle of violence has to stop and a bigger and better cycle of love, light & prosperity has to emerge FOR ALL GLOBAL citizens if we are going to continue successfully in this "civil"-lization. We have been conking each other over the head for far too long and have not really learned a single thing since that first man picked up that first stick to wreak violence for foolish reasons.
Please forward your solutions to President Barack Obama and to us here at www.crucialmatters.com or to paul@crucialmatters.com, and try to do one kind thing today for one total stranger and see if that leads us on the right path.
Keep It Crucial & Power to the Peaceful!
other Information:
http://www.iknowimnotalone.com A truly inspiring Award-Winning Documentary by Michael Franti who travelled to Iraq, Gaza & Israel in 2005, discussing the human cost of war with teachers, musicians, poets & soldiers.
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/news/barack-obama Up-to-the-minute details of President Barack Obama's August 31st, 2010
http://www.cnn.com/ More news on today's event's
