The end of war

Almost Nine years later, the last American troops, prepared to leave Iraq

How did they feel that morning, putting on their uniforms, getting in their vehicles, going through one last march, the last march before leaving the war zone that had been home?

800 plus billion dollars spent, 4,487 American lives lost, over a hundred thousand Iraqi lives lost, years and years of war.

All those families knowing that finally their son, husband, brother, father, mother, daughter, wife, friend is coming home.

All those families who found out quite the opposite, or who opened their arms to their loved one and found a person very different then the one who had left, crippled in the body, in the heart, in the mind or all of the above.

The only rejoice war ever really offers is it’s ending.

Did we win?
Well certainly we took out Saddam Hussein, a terrible monster and dictator if ever there was one, but the reason Cheney and Bush led us to war, the weapons of mass destruction were a lie and neither man (monster) was ever brought to justice on this lie. Thousands of lives were lost on this lie.

But America is the good guy. We are supposed to stick up for the little guy and take out the bullies.

But we were shoved into a war with no exit.

If you ask the Iraqis you will get mixed answers about their feelings about our leaving. Many felt we were bullies and occupiers and are rejoicing at our exit, many are frightened about the future and are angry that we left them with a broken country filled with widows and orphans. Many are grateful to us for taking out Saddam but felt the war simply went on too long.

Oh how grand we were in 2003 “Shock and Awe” was the avalanche of thunder and missiles George Bush Junior sent to Iraq and we watched it live from our televisions. The first real fully covered live war in Technicolor! How brave we were, how strong, how masterful.

But then what…the war dragged on, the weapons never appeared, the baby bush and his war monster Cheney blamed everyone but themselves and quickly switched the PR machine away form weapons of mass destruction to saving this country, protecting the innocent, making Iraq a safer place for democracy.

This was the largest troop withdrawal since Vietnam. I wonder how different and how similar it felt, these two wars to the people leaving them.. On their way home were they wondering if we won, wondering exactly why we were there?

Do they wonder just what they are leaving behind?

What will happen to Iraq now?

Obama kept his promise and took us out of the war Bush Junior dragged us into.

Did we stay too long, did we not stay long enough? That’s an argument that the politicians will make for years to come.

Was it worth it? Iraq certainly does not seem ready to stand on its own two feet. With political infighting galore. After the dust settles will a democracy stand?

1.5 million Americans served their nation in this war. I am quite sure none of them wounded, killed or not is the same person they were when they left America.

I don’t know if years from now we will say it was worth it or if that it was a tragic waste of human life.

What I do know is this.

Regardless of whether or not we should have been in Iraq, or how long, every one of those 1.5 million men and women we sent there is a hero.

They did not ask why, but rushed to defend our country when asked.

I can only say this to those men and women today

thank you for your courage and your loss
I hope you find peace from this point on
I hope we all do

Happy, happy holidays to you all