Saturday, September 02, 2006

1267 and 2642, Not Just Numbers

That would be 1267 days and 2642 US casualties in Iraq. This week will mark 1267 days from March 19, 2003 until now, the length of this war turned occupation in Iraq. 3 years, 5 months, 14 days.... The days keep clicking by and so do the number of deaths and injuries. People who are not affected by this war do not know either of these numbers, but we Gold Star families do. Our families live this war every single day, it *is* our lives; some days it consumes our lives, some days it is tolerable, but we can never get away from the fact that our loved ones are never coming home.

The number 1267 is important to know, because the disaster in Iraq has now lasted longer than the US involvement in WWII; the war to end all wars. It didn't, did it?

This miserable milestone will not be noted by the White House, but it is something that we must acknowledge. This administration insists that things are going well in Iraq. This president has said he will stay this disastrous course and leave the victory for future presidents. If you consider what that means, the president will not consider any other course as long as he remains in office, no matter how badly things continue.

As George Bush continues to insist his approach is working, he says the best way to honor the sacrifices of the fallen is to complete the mission. But how will more bloodshed and more dying honor our son's and daughters?

It is time for this president to put ALL options on the table & to make immediate changes to his disastrous course. He can stop this war clock from ticking and he can do that by bringing the troops home now.

1 comment:

Chancelucky said...

I keep coming back to this, but I don't think the President will have a clue until he send a member of his own family to serve in Iraq.

At that point, I'll take what he says about our plans and purposes there more seriously.

My other thought is just to do what they do with contractors. For every day beyond the "completion" date, the Administration gets fined until the "job" whatever the heck it is gets done.