Precisely six years ago, in the early morning hours of March 20, 2003, the United States invaded Iraq.
And, six years later, American troops are still in that country. It has cost the taxpayers of this country more than $606 billion and about 5,000 American lives.
I must confess that I have wondered whether I should mention this today. The new administration has already announced its timetable for withdrawing troops from Iraq, and there have been, after all, other noteworthy things that happened on March 20. For example,
- on this date in 1852, "Uncle Tom's Cabin" was published,
- on this date in 1916, Albert Einstein published his theory of relativity,
- on this date in 1942, Gen. Douglas MacArthur made his famous "I shall return" speech, and
- on this date in 1969, John Lennon and Yoko Ono were married.
- Norwegian writer Henrik Ibsen,
- actor Michael Redgrave (the grandfather of Natasha Richardson, who died earlier this week), and
- Fred Rogers (the host of "Mister Rogers' Neighborhood," who assured his audience that all children would be cared for and urged parents to promise to take care of their own children during the Gulf War of the early 1990s. His message was repeated when the Iraq War began in 2003, ironically about three weeks after Rogers' death), among others.
But most will take a back seat in the minds of contemporary observers. The Iraq War will forever be associated with this date.
I was opposed to the war from the beginning, even though that put me in a distinct minority. I was never sold on the arguments of "weapons of mass destruction" (in spite of the smokescreens about freeing the Iraqi people that the Bush administration used to justify the war in subsequent years, it was the fear of weapons of mass destruction that was given as the reason for the invasion in 2003) nor did I believe the words of Colin Powell when he addressed the United Nations shortly before the war began.
But it became clear to me, in the late winter and early spring of 2003, that the invasion was going to happen, no matter how I felt about it. And I reached the conclusion that one of two things would happen — if the weapons of mass destruction really did exist, an invasion of Iraq was precisely the kind of thing that would prompt Saddam Hussein to use them; and, if they did not exist, American troops would be able to use their superior might to topple Baghdad fairly quickly.
As we all know now, no weapons of mass destruction were used. In fact, no weapons of mass destruction were ever found in Iraq. And American troops rolled into Baghdad virtually unchallenged. There were no mushroom clouds. Saddam Hussein fled but was captured by American troops in December 2003 and eventually executed three years later.Public opinion has turned against the war in recent years, but I derive little satisfaction from having been proven correct. That knowledge will not bring back the Americans — and Iraqi citizens — whose lives have been lost. It will not restore all the bodies that have been maimed in the conflict. It will not return the billions of dollars that have been wasted — and could now be used to prop up the economy.
Barack Obama has put America on a sensible course for withdrawing troops from Iraq in a way that will gradually turn the responsibility for its future over to the Iraqis themselves. I share the frustration of those who would like to see all American troops brought home from Iraq right away, but, after nearly six years of occupation, to pull out all troops immediately would invite chaos into that country, and America has brought enough of that to Iraq already.
So we must live with the war for another 17 months.
But, at last, we can see light at the end of the tunnel.
No comments:
Post a Comment