4 years for what?

It is unbelievable that our young men and women have been fighting for 4 years in Iraq. As the sun rises this morning we see the start of the 5th year of George Bush's occupation in Iraq. This morning, 5 families are waking up to what they think is their normal life. They will make coffee and go through their mental to-do list, and they don't know how one knock on their door will change their lives forever. These 5 families don't know that when they open the door, they will be faced with someone in official military dress. Their loved ones are dead and they are never coming home.

The president begs us for patience and gave a stark warning against the temptation “to pack up and go home.” George Bush just wants a do-over because 4 years of fighting and killing has not gotten him that victory that he promised and he will stop at nothing until he gets it. The problem is, his definition of victory is not clear. He wants to stay the deadly course. Of course he didn't use that phrase because it's been replaced by the newer and more hip term, "surge" It's all the same.

Tony Snow, the mouthpiece for the White House says It would also force failure of the mission in Iraq and forfeit the sacrifices made by our troops.”

A CNN poll shows that 35 percent of Americans are confident about the war. When the war began, 83 percent of Americans expressed confidence in the invasion. The Iraqi people are seeing hope slip away and see conditions worse for availability of electricity, jobs, medical care, security as compared to 2005.

And I am just weary. Ken's gone and he's never coming home. When I lost only child Iraq in May 2004, I lost my future. 3218 US soldiers have been sacrificed in George's folly.

Tony Snow or anyone else should not tell us "The sacrifice of our troops would have been for nothing if we don't continue this war". How can anyone possibly think that one more dead soldier would get us closer to that elusive “victory”? Every day you neglect to end this war you are also condemning 3 more US troops to death. My son and the 3200+ other troops whose lives were sacrificed and wasted by George Bush will be best honored by a nation and a Congress with the courage to end this war. I urge you to have the same courage that my son and his fellow troops exhibited when their Commander in Chief gave orders to invade Iraq. You must have the courage to stand up to that same Commander in Chief and say NO escalation, NO more troops, NO more funding for this hideous war.

Members of Congress can stop saying that they "voted against the war". That is no longer enough. That vote was more than 4 years ago; what have they done for the troops lately?

With the right leadership, the US can stop the occupation in Iraq, improve education and health care for all of us including returning veterans, really do something about improving the environment and even regain our world standing. Is the 110th Congress up to this challenge? We will see.

Let's just get the hell out of Iraq, bring the troops home and take very good care of them when they get here.