Victory in Iraq!

"Victory" is when you have successfully achieved your
mission.

In 2002, we were told that Saddam Hussein had amassed
stockpiles of Weapons of Mass Destruction (WMDs), that were
a "Growing and gathering threat to our safety and
security". If we did not act, "We would awake to see the
mushroom cloud on the horizon". On October 2, 2002, the
United States Congress passed resolution H.J.Res.114 which
required that Saddam dispose of his stockpile of Weapons of
Mass Destruction and authorized military action if needed
to force him to do so. The Congress enacted this
resolution as a necessary step before requesting that the
United Nations Security Council pass a similar resolution.
On November 8, 2002 the U.N. enacted resolution 1441
offering Iraq "a final opportunity to comply with its
disarmament obligations". To ensure that Iraq would
dispose of its stockpiles of WMDs the U.N. required that
Saddam furnish a listing of all weapons currently on hand,
and an accounting for what had become of all weapons that
he had had when inspectors had previously been in Iraq.
The U.N. also required that Saddam allow new teams of
inspectors to come to Iraq to look everywhere and talk to
everyone who might know about weapons, to verify the list,
and to oversee the disposal of the stockpiles of WMDs.
Saddam complied, and claimed that he had no WMDs.

Our mission was to rid the world of the menace of Saddam's
stockpiles of Weapons of Mass Destruction. The inspectors
never found any WMDs nor any indication that there had been
any since the last time inspectors were there. In all the
years since, all evidence indicates that there were no
WMDs. Mission Accomplished, we had achieved Victory in
Iraq before we began.

But wait! As we began to drop bombs on Iraqis, it was
announced that "Operation Iraqi Freedom" had begun. There
was a new mission. We would free the Iraqis from the
clutches of an evil dictator, and they would thank us with
chocolates and flowers. A few weeks later, after our
campaign of "Shock and Awe", we toppled the giant statue of
Saddam. The evil dictator was gone. We could have left
the army in tact, left the national, regional and local
governments in tact, installed an Iraqi to be in charge,
and left. Mission Accomplished, we had achieved Victory in
Iraq.

But wait! As the Iraqis actually thanked us with suicide
bombers and Improvised Explosive Devices (IEDs) we had
another new mission. We would make Iraq a Democracy - a
shining beacon that all countries of the Middle East would
want to emulate. We launched a campaign to rid the
government of members of the Baath Party, which included
everyone who had had any position of power or authority.
We developed a cute "deck of cards" with pictures of all of
the most powerful people, and arrested them. We held an
Election and proudly took pictures of people holding up
their purple dyed fingers. We turned out the Sunni ruling
class, and put the majority Shia in charge. We created a
Democracy. Mission Accomplished, we had achieved Victory
in Iraq.

But wait! We had upset the social order. The rich and
powerful didn't like it, and they had hundreds of thousands
of unemployed young men that we had dismissed from the army
to form into tools of violence. As the country descended
into civil war, and instead of a shining beacon, Baghdad
became a city of darkness, violence, and rotting sewage, we
had a new mission. We would "Stay the Course", we would
not "Cut and Run", which would dishonor all the brave
efforts of our troops. If we did not "Fight them There" we
would have to "Fight them Here" - we must not "Embolden"
the enemy. "They" would follow us home. And so we have
stayed.

And then came "The Surge!" Which sounds like an
overpowering show of strength to overwhelm the "enemy", but
in fact was just building the number of troops back to its
former level, and changing tactics. Instead of trying to
kill everyone who opposed us, we began to talk with them,
negotiate, buy their cooperation, and form
alliances--recommendations from the "Iraq Study Group"
proposed years ago, but rejected at that time. Our new
mission is to have Iraqis kill us and kill each other more
slowly than they did before "The Surge". Mission
Accomplished, we have achieved Victory in Iraq.

----------------------------------------------------
Read more about this topic and 25 chapters on other thought
provoking topics in the highly acclaimed poignant and witty
new book "Running Amok - Our Grandchildren will Curse Us"
by Dave Rosenak. Check out the web site
http://www.runningamokthebook.com/ Whether you think
the book will start a revolution, or whether you think the
author should stick all of his stinking opinions back where
the sun don't shine, you won't be bored!

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