- Archives

When Barbara Walters asked Bush last week if the war in Iraq was worth it, even though no WMDs were found, he responded, "Oh, absolutely" the way someone might respond were they asked at a cocktail party, "Would you care for another pretzel?" Think about it: We've invaded a country in the heart of the 1.1-billion-strong Muslim world under false pretenses, laid waste to their cities, tortured their people, allowed their cultural treasures to be looted, killed more than 100,000 civilians (that's the confirmed number; it's likely twice or thrice that), and stolen their oil, the one cash crop they have, taunting them every step of the way. And the man responsible says "Oh, absolutely," it was worth it. No matter what happens with the Iraqi elections on Jan. 30 -- and I anticipate chaos and bloodshed -- the justifications and excuses for this war were lies. The rest of the world knows this. Why don't we? Another thing you may not know, because it was reported by the foreign press: 5,500 U.S. soldiers have already deserted, either going permanently AWOL or seeking asylum in Canada, Mexico or anywhere that will have them. Maybe these soldiers figured it out before the rest of you. Maybe they've seen one too many stories like the following, from last week: A U.S. warplane dropped a 500-pound bomb on the wrong house in Mosul. The man who owned the house said the bomb killed 14 people; an AP photographer on the scene confirmed the number and said seven of the victims were children. The U.S. military admitted to dropping the bomb, and that it hit the wrong house, but they insist that only five people were killed. Oh, absolutely. It was worth it. [more]