Five Years And How Many Dead?

The very first article I wrote here was entitled "3000 Plus 650,000 Equals 1 And 0". At the time, that was the number of U.S. dead in Iraq, the number of Iraqis estimated (roughly) to have been killed by the effects of that invasion, the number of Iraqi dictators executed, and the number of perpetrators of 9/11 who were apprehended.

Today, more than a year later, as we mark the fifth anniversary of this unnecessary war, we seem no closer to ending it. The first two numbers have gone upwards, we are now close to 4,000 combat deaths, and we must be closing in on a million Iraqi dead if you project out what's known about mortality rates since then. The other two numbers haven't changed. Neither has this:

We've gotten nothing out of this war that the average American would want. We haven't defeated Al Qaeda. We haven't defeated a country that was a threat to us. We haven't even made that country healthier, let alone a thriving democracy. That adds up to nothing for a whole lot of death, not to mention a whole lot of expense.

"3000 Plus 650,000 Equals 1 And 0"

There are now at least four and a half million Iraqi refugees.

Juan Cole, summarizing today's article in Salon, sums up the Administration line over the last five years:

I posit that each year of the war has been characterized by a central lie by the Bush propaganda machine.

Year 1: "There is no guerrilla war."
Year 2: "Iraq is a model democracy."
Year 3: "Zarqawi is causing all the trouble."
Year 4: "There is no Civil War."
Year 5: "Everything is calm now."

I also suggest that John McCain is pushing for:

Year 6: "Total victory is around the corner."

5 Years, 5 Lies: Cole in Salon

It looks like President Bush is getting started on the Year Six narrative already:

WASHINGTON, March 18 (Reuters) - President George W. Bush will acknowledge on Wednesday the Iraq war has been fought at a high cost but will insist a U.S. troop buildup has opened the door to a "major strategic victory" against Islamic militants.

"The successes we are seeing in Iraq are undeniable," Bush will say in an upbeat assessment of the U.S.-led campaign in a speech marking the fifth anniversary of the war, according to excerpts released on Tuesday.

Bush to hail prospect of Iraq "strategic victory"

The urge for fantasy hasn't changed, only the nature of the fantasy. Curiously, the rest of the world hasn't felt the urge. Voice Of America reported Monday:

The image of the United States has suffered as a result of the 2003 U.S.-led invasion of Iraq to topple Saddam Hussein. Opinion surveys show international approval of the United States at all-time lows. VOA's Michael Bowman reports form Washington, America's continued involvement in Iraq remains a major irritant in global perceptions of the United States.

Since 2003, demonstrations against the United States have become commonplace, and not just in countries historically opposed to U.S. policies. Major protests against the U.S.-led war in Iraq have been mounted in dozens of countries allied with Washington, including Canada, Britain, Germany, and Japan.

War in Iraq Badly Damages US Image Internationally

Five years, a million lives, and a half-trillion dollars later, our reputation around the world has never been lower, and things are just as screwed up in Iraq as the day we pulled down Saddam's statue.

Over at Outta The Cornfield, One Fly writes:

It's difficult to express the rage within me the last five years. Five years ago February 15 drove a total of 11 hours to spend four hours in Colorado Springs to protest the upcoming invasion of Iraq. Not much has changed since then because to me these people in power do whatever they want whenever they want because they can as there is no one to stop them.

Blogswarm

I feel that way, too. What will it take for our Congress to finally wake up and realize what a mess they've allowed us to get into? I don't accept that we need sixty Democrats in the Senate to make any real progress. If they can't manage with the ones they have, they aren't trying very hard. They have yet to make the Republicans carry out a threat to filibuster, and they've threatened at unprecedented rates, in order to stop the things from happening that most Americans wanted at least two years ago.

So today I'm displaying this blogswarm picture here. I have no idea if it will do any good. I'm not sure I'm even doing it right. But in honor of his being such an ineffectual majority leader, I'm going to put this picture here of Senator Harry Reid looking like a hopeless putz one more time.



I'm pretty sure I did that right.

UPDATE (Mar. 24): Added a mention of Iraq's refugees. Hard to believe I'd forgotten to mention them, but then they're probably used to being overlooked.