As of today, the United States has been fighting the Iraq War as long as it fought World War II. From the Japanese attack on Pearl Harbor December 7, 1941, to the formal surrender ceremony aboard the USS Missouri September 2, 1945, was 1,365 days, not quite 45 months. From the US attack on Iraq March 20, 2003, to today—December 14, 2006—is 1,365 days.
World War II ended in less than 4 years, but the Iraq War continues to intensify, and it may well continue for 5, 6, 7 years, or even longer. In 1945, the US and its many allies won World War II against the formidable Axis powers. In 2007 (or perhaps 2010), the US will be left almost completely alone by the time it finally pulls out of Iraq, defeated by the weakest member of the "Axis of Evil."
George Bush won’t consider withdrawal, because that would constitute an admission he made a mistake in the most important decision of his presidency—that would mean he was unable to achieve victory. Bush’s war is more like the quagmire of Vietnam than like "the good war." Richard Cohen puts it this way in the Washington Post:
As with Vietnam, the ending is inevitable. We will get out, and the only question that remains is whether we get out with 3,000 dead or 4,000 or 5,000. At some point the American people will not countenance, and Congress will not support, a war that cannot be won. Just how many lives will be wasted in what we all know is a wasted effort is about the only question still left on the table. Realism dictates as few as possible.
Every day Bush prolongs the war, more people die. Needlessly. As of today, these are the numbers of the dead:
- about 655,000 Iraqis
- 2,937 American military personnel
- 247 other coalition military personnel
- at least 376 coalition contractors
- at least 118 journalists
And in Afghanistan, 356 American soldiers, 158 other coalition soldiers, and tens of thousands of Afghans have died.
George Bush and Dick Cheney are responsible for every one of those deaths. They chose to lie to the American people, to ignore the United Nations, and to attack Iraq on false pretenses and without adequate planning. They are guilty of deceit, fraud, negligence, aggression, illegal detention, torture, and crimes against humanity. They should be impeached and removed from office. Without delay.