2006 In Review : Iraq Edition

I've always enjoyed reading Baghdad Burning because it is a raw, unfiltered perspective of the Iraq war from the eyes of a seemingly ordinary citizen. (It might be a propaganda blog ran by Al Qaeda, but I kinda doubt it.) Anywhoo...

Today's post at Baghdad Burning is must-read if you have wondered how ordinary Iraqis are dealing with their 'liberation'.

This last year especially has been a turning point. Nearly every Iraqi has lost so much. So much. There's no way to describe the loss we've experienced with this war and occupation. There are no words to relay the feelings that come with the knowledge that daily almost 40 corpses are found in different states of decay and mutilation. There is no compensation for the dense, black cloud of fear that hangs over the head of every Iraqi. Fear of things so out of ones hands, it borders on the ridiculous- like whether your name is 'too Sunni' or 'too Shia'. Fear of the larger things- like the Americans in the tank, the police patrolling your area in black bandanas and green banners, and the Iraqi soldiers wearing black masks at the checkpoint.

This is it. This is the liberty that Bush delivered to the people of Iraq. They now live in a world where their family name could mean a death sentence in certain neighborhoods. They live in a world where the lives and deaths of Iraqi citizens are minimized to prevent political fallout in the United States. They are minimized because they aren't US soldiers, therefore the architects of the Iraq War do not care.

I encourage you to read the whole thing, because it is yet another devastating indictment of 21st Century Republican Foreign Policy. These fools led us into a horrific situation that easily could have been avoided if we had discussed the costs in a rational manner. However, it's clear that Bush supporters avoid rational debates at all costs, and now they want to 'surge' into Iraq again and damn the costs. It's time to say No. NO. NO. It's time to crucify the thieves of our Republic and leave their corpses for display as a warning to the next generation of Neocons.