.
Iraq war costs, so far:
- American military deaths in Iraq: Approximately 4,500
- American soldiers wounded: Approximately 33,000
- American soldiers permanently mentally/emotionally damaged: Unknown thousands
- American military families destroyed or damaged: Unknown thousands
- Cost of war, in dollars: Approximately $807 billion
And what have we received for these absolutely horrific costs?
- Saddam is dead. Since his death, the balance of power in the Middle East has dramatically shifted towards Iran
- Stockpiles of Weapons of Mass Destruction (WMD). Oh. Wait. Check that, no ******* WMD.
- We're stuck trying to nation-build, and we know damn well that the bad guys will return the minute our troop levels are low enough, even if that means decades. Just as in Afghanistan.
It's absolutely stunning to see that anyone is still trying to spin this disaster into something positive. Some people are very brave with the lives, limbs, minds, families and dollars of others.
God damn.
.
Using the lords name in vain has no place here
your opinion of the events in Iraq mean nothing to many of us, there just opinions
Al Qaeda killed most of the people in Iraq, that would be the same bunch that was behind 9-11
Iraq was on our side from the start for the most part
Yes those brave kids volunteered to be there, unlike you they believed they were doing the right thing
Spin?
Saddam ignoring UN regs was not spin
Al Qaeda being in Iraq before we invaded is not spin
Blair elaborates:
There is an interesting sidebar to this. It later emerged that [Abu Musab] al-Zarqawi, the deputy to bin Laden, had come to Iraq in May 2002, had had meetings with senior Iraqis and established a presence there in October 2002. This intelligence has not been withdrawn, by the way. Probably we should have paid more attention to its significance, but we were so keen not to make a false claim about al Qaeda and Saddam that we somewhat understated it, at least on the British side.
BlairÂ’s testimony directly contradicts the Democrats. Still, in the British manner, he continues to understate the case.
Intelligence compiled by American officials, as well as the testimony of known al Qaeda associates, confirms that al Qaeda established a significant presence in Iraq prior to March 2003. The evidence that al Qaeda was in Iraq before the war is simply overwhelming. And it helps to explain why the insurgency became so lethal.
Even though Blair says it “later emerged” that Zarqawi had set up shop in Iraq in 2002, this connection was actually a formal part of the American case for war. Secretary of State Colin Powell included a section on Zarqawi’s network in Iraq in his February 5, 2003, presentation before the United Nations.
WMDs were found, over 500 of them that were suppose to have been destroyed
Munitions Found in Iraq Meet WMD Criteria, Official Says
By Samantha L. Quigley
American Forces Press Service
WASHINGTON, June 29, 2006 – The 500 munitions discovered throughout Iraq since 2003 and discussed in a National Ground Intelligence Center report meet the criteria of weapons of mass destruction, the center's commander said here today.
"These are chemical weapons as defined under the Chemical Weapons Convention, and yes ... they do constitute weapons of mass destruction," Army Col. John Chu told the House Armed Services Committee.
The Chemical Weapons Convention is an arms control agreement which outlaws the production, stockpiling and use of chemical weapons. It was signed in 1993 and entered into force in 1997.
The UN made the same claims that the CIA and others made
United Nations Security Council and the Iraq War - Wikipedia, the ...
en.wikipedia.org/.../United_Nations_Security_Council_and_the_Iraq...Whether Iraq actually had weapons of mass destruction or not was being ... UN inspectors believe there to be large quantities of weapons materials still unaccounted for. ... On January 27, 2003, UN inspectors reported that Iraq had cooperated on a ... The United States claimed that "sources" had told them that Saddam ...
35 countries supported this, this was not a stand alone event
Iraq Coalition - Non-US Forces in Iraq
The only spin here is you and please show some restraint in your language
Class comes with acting like an adult and adults do not go around conducting them selves as such