Bush showed incredible arrogance when he gave the US people and the Congress the 'hard sell' with this war in Iraq. He poo-pooed those sociologists who accurately predicted this societal break-down. Rumsfeld laughed at a reporter who thought that the war would last longer than six months.

And that's just the logistics of the war. What about the ethics?

It was never ethical to invade Iraq. The evidence was built out of lies and wishful thinking. Iraq hadn't even invaded another nation, it was keeping to itself.

When I hear people saying that the US cannot leave Iraq because we 'owe the Iraqi people' something. I can only think, what we really owe them, we can never give them.

To ReadyToGoBack I didn't see any helpful suggestions in the body of your statement. You seem to have been there in Iraq. You know how this is personally? Then you should have soild concrete helpful ideas readily avaiable. Please enlighten us on how we can make this better in the next 8 months, 2 years, 4, 6, +? Your post sounded more like a rant about ranting.

We are in Iraq because of Oil.
No not just the greed thereof but rather "Peak oil" which is defined as "the halfway or mid point" of global depletion.
For the common person trying to make sense of it all This is the missing piece of the puzzle and this is exactly what the powers that be do not I repeat DO NOT want you the "mindless consumer" to know.

The powers that be - the neocons - PNAC et al. have been aware of peakoil since 1956 and the military and many other government agencies have official understanding of the issue and one good example is known as "the Hirsch report".

Personally I do not care what people think or accept as truth but for those of you with an open mind and a need to fill square holes with square pegs - google "peakoil".

You are welcomed - good luck and good night.

Er! some people want to cut and run from Iraq, I say lets finish the job in Iraq and then we can try and repair Louisiana in a couple years. I'm the decider and I does the deciding. Anyways, I thought you were going to ask me about the Pig!

Does anyone remember the administration's claims that Iraqi oil revenue would pay for our war costs? That sure didn't happen, along with a lot of other things the administration has claimed. And here's a scary thought: American officials in Iraq have stated that they assume everything they tell Iraqi officials and leaders (mainly Shiites) gets passed on by these Iraqis to the Iranians. With this awful war Bush and Cheney wanted, in my opinion to put money in the pockets of their friends at Big Oil and Halliburton, we've created a Shiite super power of Iraq and Iran we'll have to deal with for decades, if the world lasts that long after Iran has its nukes. Scary stuff. Sad, sad times.

There are numerous dictatorships in the world to which the US could bring democracy. However, few of them have oil! Democracy grows from within the people's minds and hearts and can not be imposed. Those who don't have a good grasp of history repeat the mistakes of the past.Bush II is not a history buff! While the troops are tied down in Iraq, illegal immigrants pour through our borders. While we spend billions in Iraq, there aren't enough dollars at home to check air cargo and guard our ports. The US can't be secure at home when we are spending our national treasure on security in foreign lands. The propaganda of fear is being used to decimate our freedoms in America. The propaganda of fear is allowing corporations to steal billions in Iraq under the guise of furnishing supplies for the Iraqui restructuring and protection for contractors.
The Bush administration bears responsibility for increasing the national debt for an unjust war and most of our elected officials bear responsibility for supporting the debacle that is Iraq.

Senator Inhofe says that developments in Iraq are "nothing short of a miracle". (dillusional)
The GOP are still making excuses and using talking points while padding their pockets with war moneys.
Where have the BILLIONS of dollars of reconstruction money gone? (ask cheney and haliburton)

I've served in Iraq. I've drawn blood in Iraq and I've bled in Iraq. If you haven't been there, than you don't know what you're talking about. I agree with the purpose of this war. I just think it could be run a bit better. The Arab people are religious fanatics. We say this is not a war of religion. The Arabs believe it is. We had better get with the program and eleminate the threat. Bush needs to let the Military Commanders on the ground run the war. All politicians from both parties need to shut their pie holes and concern themselves with domestic matters. Let the warriors win the war so they can come home. Leftest liberals need to shut up or volunteer to serve. If you don't have a viable solution than all of your complaining is part of the problem... I've been there. Done that. And, lived it....

Mission Accomplished! What a legacy for George Warpig Bush. Two Black Sabbath tunes come to mind: Warpigs and Hole in the Sky.

"I don't believe there's any future in cars."

Not in Baghdad, anyway.

Someone please answer me one (or two) simple questions. Bush (and Co.) talk about freedom and sacrifice in every other utterance. Yet he tramples freedom in our country by sidestepping FICA daily. Where is Mr. Bush's sacrifice? Where Iraqi province are his children or loved ones serving in? What is he contributing to the war (or occupation) effort besides bad leadership. How long can we hold our breath waiting for things to "turn the corner" in Iraq before we suffocate more young, able and brave Americans?

All we hear from Iraq is whine, whine, whine!!

We're the one's who gave you democracy, we're the one's who now supply your fuel, we're the one's who gave you your country back.

That Saddam guy killed dozens of people and also invaded another country (Kuwait). If we hadn't sent our boys into harms way, your country would be blowing up buildings in New York every second week.

Democracy can never work in a nation which puts religious rhetoric over freedom.

After 6 years of lies to the American public, war-mongering, neglect of domestic issues and straight up stupidity by that idiot in the White house with the big ears, aka the son of a Bush, the only inspiring thing I am now seeing is that we, as the American people, are finally awakening out of our hypnosis and calling evil by its name.

One thing I hate are liars, and this administration is full of them. It makes me sick. What's even worse is the fact that where I live,(Southeastern Ohio), these people still opt to remain either in denial or uneducated when it comes to the Republicans they put in office. And from what I'm hearing already, they're going to try to do it again! It's like Bush is the cult leader, and they're going to follow no matter what. I hope to God that the Democrats shout, scream, throw a temper tantrum-I don't care. Just do something to get these narrow minded voters to think for once and get this administration kicked to the curb! Ugh! Where's the Tylenol?

Its all relative. Situation in Iraq bad? Not really, considering what they/we started with. A friend exclaimed that at least they had the basic necessities of life under Saddam. Oh Really? What about Liberty, Freedom, Diversity, Education, etc. I submit that in addition to water and food, these other things are needed in order to prosper as a society. These things have been missing in most of the Middle East. How else could one explain why, with the exception of technology provided by the west, these countries are living in the dark ages and thus incapable, or unwilling of integrating into the rest of the Global Community. No you Bush Haters out there, what we need to do is stay the course. The Middle East needs to make the transition to modern society, democracy is just the Catalyst.

Why haven't there been protests in the streets against the war? One reason is the internet and Blogs. The other is there is no draft. Want to see protests? Institute the draft. Defending your country against invasion is one thing. Invading another country so the president can appear strong and get reelected is another.

Vote in nov. and all of our elections and throw them all out and start from scratch. You get one term to fix it or your out. This will be the peoples form of term limits. Vote or you lose your right to bitch. This is the only way to change this idiocy.Take away the power by getting rid of the arrogant incompetents who feel they are god.

Here's something no one will say about the situation in Iraq and the Middle East in general, but it's an American Reality. "I DON'T CARE"!

I went to work today, earned a good salary, came home to my beautiful wife and children, in my four bedroom, two bathroom house, had a BBQ, eat steak and fresh corn on the cob. I'm now watching my 60" big screen in my media room with a nice cold glass of beer. I don't watch the news unless I want to laugh at the media "chicken littles" and I don't get involved in politics. My family is my passion and it is for them and them alone that I do what I do. I live a peaceful life and I would only harm another human being if they threaten my family.
I donate to my church and I help those in need in my nieghborhood when ever I get a chance.
That is my American Reality, and if the lot of you were honest, it's probably your reality too. So, best of luck hating each other and concerning yourself with things you could not possibly change. I'll just hang here in my own little world.

It's fascinating to read about all the people who assure us that the Iraqis love what we are doing for them. Here's from a blog by an Iraqi girl:
( http://riverbendblog.blogspot.com/ )

In the news they're estimating her age to be around 24, but Iraqis from the area say she was only 14. Fourteen. Imagine your 14-year-old sister or your 14-year-old daughter. Imagine her being gang-raped by a group of psychopaths and then the girl was killed and her body burned to cover up the rape. Finally, her parents and her five-year-old sister were also killed. Hail the American heroes... Raise your heads high supporters of the 'liberation' - your troops have made you proud today. I don't believe the troops should be tried in American courts. I believe they should be handed over to the people in the area and only then will justice be properly served. And our ass of a PM, Nouri Al-Maliki, is requesting an 'independent investigation', ensconced safely in his American guarded compound because it wasn't his daughter or sister who was raped, probably tortured and killed. His family is abroad safe from the hands of furious Iraqis and psychotic American troops.

It fills me with rage to hear about it and read about it. The pity I once had for foreign troops in Iraq is gone. It's been eradicated by the atrocities in Abu Ghraib, the deaths in Haditha and the latest news of rapes and killings. I look at them in their armored vehicles and to be honest- I can't bring myself to care whether they are 19 or 39. I can't bring myself to care if they make it back home alive. I can't bring myself to care anymore about the wife or parents or children they left behind. I can't bring myself to care because it's difficult to see beyond the horrors. I look at them and wonder just how many innocents they killed and how many more they'll kill before they go home. How many more young Iraqi girls will they rape?

So much complaining and whining! Has anyone forgotten how you felt on 9/11 watching terrorists kill so many people on our very own soil? I for one was extremely angry that someone out there found it so easy to walk onto our airplanes and destroy so many lives. How was a terrorist network like this even possible? Because NOBODY was willing to put a real end to them. HURRAH President Bush for your courage and determination amidst much objection. THANK YOU Servicemen and women for your sacrifice of family time, comforts and sometimes your lives. SHAME on those of you who are so narrow-minded and ignorant of the cruelties taking place in the rest of the world that you can only worry about where "your" money is being spent. Look outside of your comfortable lives (bought with a price by others)and try to imagine how difficult it must be to live in a country where you cannot criticize your leaders for fear of death and one in which a human being has NO rights. I bet it's unimaginable, huh?

Civil war is not a bad thing, and it may prove in everyone's favor if Iraq was left to find its own way, instead of us trying to enforce what we think serves our interests best. The truth is, we're dealing with a culture that precious few in the U.S. understand - a world that is not Judeo/Christian in origin – a world older than any other on the planet – a world still based on tribal systems of government where the laws enforced by the police are based upon spiritual edicts (God’s will applied and expressed in legal interpretation called figh).

Why are these things important? You have to step back and understand that different cultures can truly have totally alien ways of seeing the world. The Europeans took gunpowder and made cannons and rockets for warfare … why did the Chinese not do the same? For the same reason those living in Tibet still live essentially the same way they have for 1,000 years … because at the very core of their belief systems, in the deepest parts of their thinking fundamentals … there is no “advancing” and there are no “improvements” to be had – any change from what they have/do now is to find something lesser – something degenerate. It’s a universally different way to approach the entirety of life … and it is this same kind of cultural differentiation that our current administration is dealing with now.

What we need to consider is that the people of Iraq did not have a Revolutionary War as the U.S. did – somehow, everyone forgets that. Early Americans decided that they were willing to die for freedom (not merely kill to get what you think you deserve). Ghandi, Martin Luther King … they remembered what early Americans were saying (give me liberty or give me death) and the message was impossible to ignore or put down. Iraq never had this … and it is that level of conviction that earns “freedom” and democracy … as has been seen in other countries since our Revolutionary War, and the following war of 1812 that gave birth to our national anthem. The people of Iraq may have wanted change … but they didn’t want it badly enough … it wasn’t a spiritual conviction that meant “give me liberty or give me death” and so they never earned it.

And they still haven’t.

In less than one generation, the entirety of the Middle East transformed from tribal nomads and herders – into technologically sophisticated … mess. People still waging tribal warfare suddenly found themselves armed with the best weapons of the age because they had the single most important resource on the planet directly under their feet. In only a decade, camel drivers were driving Cadillacs and there was nothing but up – up – up for anyone willing to make a deal with foreign interests. Clan leaders, entrusted to make decisions for the largest tribes, caliphates and emirates, prince-lings and warlord kings across the Middle East suddenly found themselves afloat on a black sea of oil and with that, the power to control the lives of literally billions of people across the planet.

I have been to Kuwait and Iraq … and you will find that while there are many there that like Americans … they don’t like them for what you would want to believe. Ever been to Portugal? Go to Lisbon and you’ll find that, like in other major cities throughout the world, they are all dressed like us … like Americans … a couple years behind, but always following our fashion trends, and even watching our television. Ask them if they want to be “like” Americans and they laugh at you – not because they necessarily feel that they are better … but because they already have a way of life that is THEIRS and it is what they know and love. The same is true for those in the Middle East. Yes, they are happy that we MAY be able to bring them gifts of prosperity, but not at the cost of their own culture.

Many were sold on the idea that the Iraqis would welcome the U.S. involvement with open arms, but this isn’t exactly the case, and it’s part of American misunderstanding concerning the war – even amongst many of the veterans like myself who were there, and the great kids who still are. The Kurds were experiencing a slow genocide … of course they are glad that Hussein is gone … and as a people, not well tolerated by neighboring countries like Turkey, this “regime change” has given them opportunities they never had before. What about the Shia and the Sunni? The Sunni were what was once called, “The Ottoman Empire” and there are Kurdish and Arab Sunni in Iraq … they had a military, political, and economic monopoly all through the 20th century as they tried to slip quietly into a more secular form of government after the Baathist coup in 1968. It was the Iranian Shia Revolution in 1979 that gave great strength to the Shia Arabs in Iraq, and suddenly there was great political and socioeconomic struggles over the allocation and distribution of wealth. What complicate things more is that many of the Sunni Kurds (Sunni not being a form of Islamic religion as most Americans think) belong to mystical Sufi orders, with followers across the Middle East, Central, and South Asia – and Baghdad attracts millions each year on transnational pilgrimages. Sufism has frequently been viewed by orthodox Sunni Muslim theologians with some degree of suspicion because of its strong mystical components. Shia Muslims tend to be hostile towards Sufism because they believe it is heretical.

Sufi orders serve to both strengthen and divide Kurdish society. Kurds of the same order feel a common bond, regardless of tribe. There is, however, tension between rival orders. Jalal Talabani, the leader of the Patriotic Union of Kurdistan (PUK), follows the Qadiri order. The Massoud Barzani, leader of the Kurdish Democratic Party (KDP), and the influential Barzani family are Naqshbandi Sufis.

Now … look at the above and ask yourself if each and every group, tribe, faction, and religious order living within Iraq wants Americans meddling in their affairs. Some? Sure … they stand to benefit for it, and their leaders tell them exactly that, because in the end it will serve to strengthen their particular position in the local region. Is that a good thing? Look at the above again and see if you can decide … who’s the “enemy” amongst them? How is the ally? If you can look at one particular group and say to yourself, “Yes! These here are definitely our allies,” I would ask you to then explain exactly WHY that particular group is an ally … no one anywhere has ever done anything of any kind without a motivation to do so. No questions asked, no words spoken, no actions taken occur without motivation – whether noble or otherwise – so, again … who in the above is our ally … and why? It may surprise some to know that prior to our invasion of Iraq, there were a great many people living very good lives … cosmopolitan lives of success and status … and you can be certain that not all of them are excited about what has happened to their country, and certainly do not want anything to do with the “American” vision for a new Iraq. That is not to say that there are not many who believe that America is truly a shining star in the west that will bring new peace and prosperity to their country, but each time America tries to enforce a new form of leadership (Saddam Hussein was not one of our better choices, but we put him there, and we have yet to take responsibility for that), we have run into problems because of the many tribes, sects, and ethnic groups I discussed above.

Does a “unity government” help? It could, but it won’t. While there were definitely some in the voting lines ready to vote for their own idea of good leadership – the incidence of voting across the fence (voting for those other than their own party) was as low as you’d expect. Many Americans have a bad habit of simply voting party (instead of learning all the details and then voting individually on each issue) and that is what happened in Iraq. YES … they voted in a new government … but how many Shia Muslims do you think voted for Sunni Sufi Kurds? The answer to that question underscores the current issues in Iraq today. The government is powerless because it is democratic – “a government for the people, by the people” – right? Well, if the people don’t care, and are unwilling to give their government power and authority, the leaders are nothing more than castrati mannequins in $2,000 suits. Democracy only exists when the people governed say it does.

We are forced to ask, “is Iraq in a civil war?” Our civil war was fairly regimented … battle lines to cross, landscape to win, armies marching to and fro … but that’s not what we have, and apparently it’s hard for many in Washington D. C. to look beyond the history of warfare. Iraq is not in a “traditional civil war” because there are no battle lines being drawn … no hills to take … not regiments of soldiers – it is continual guerrilla warfare, but certainly no less “civil” when there is 3,000 dead a month. Stop and look at that number.

Three thousand … in one month. 360,000 potentially dead in a year, right? How many since the war began until the end of next year? Approaching 500,000?

So, why do so many refuse to call this horrific travesty a “civil war?”

Because to do so will legally force the administration to take their case for continued presence in Iraq back to Congress for review where current political pressures from the public would force the House of Representatives to begin immediate redeployments and start bringing many of our good kids home. The people in the streets of Baghdad have openly described their strife as “civil war” for 6 months … as have most Americans … but we’ve heard what President Bush had to say yesterday, “We will not leave Iraq as long as I am President.”

So, you now have only one choice to make … and you will make it this fall at the ballot box … it’s as simple as that.

What will you decide?

I think the US is purposely limiting gas availability in Iraq to make it harder for insurgents/fighters to get around, plant car bomb explosions, fight, and abduct people.

To Viken Vartanian: Wow! I just read your comment. That's the best, most accurate and witty commentary on Bush in Iraq I've ever seen! I love it!

"Can someone, anyone, name just ONE thing Mr. Bush has touched that has worked out for the average guy, American or otherwise?" Ok - How about this. Last spring I spent some time in Iraq working with some of their engineers trying to help improve the situation with their hydroelectric capacity. When asked about the worsening situation in Baghdad, one of these fellows admitted "yes it's bad but I'd never want to go back to the Saddam days. I am 57 years old and for all of my adult life I have been dead. Now I'm alive!" You may not like George Bush or the way his folks have prosecuted the war but as requested here's a person who has seen the value in what we've done for him and I have to tell you at the time it made me feel pretty good to be an American.

Give Iraq Back to Saddam!
Look we don’t want to govern Iraq; he does. We can’t govern Iraq; he can. Sure he’s a bad guy and has done some bad things; I’m sure he’s sorry. We have done some pretty bad things too and I’m sure we’re sorry too. Ironically Saddam is the only one that can fix this. He’s fixed this before.

The whole reason for going to war, WMD, turned out not to be so true, so why can’t we just say this whole thing was just a big misunderstanding and give him back his country. If this where an issue between two neighbors this would be the time to forgive and forget and get on with our lives. Why should it be different between two countries?

Yes he should sign something saying he’ll never do it again and that he’ll be the best friend the U.S. has ever had in the Middle East. And yes the U.S. Marines may have to stick around to help keep oil flowing for a year or two, but this is not our country and these are not our problems. If Saddam wants to fix this, than I say we let him. I’m certain that he gets the point that the U.S. isn’t going to sit back and let him develop WMD’s. After the year he has had, I don’t think he’ll give us any more trouble – Ever!