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Nine years ago, almost to the day, I sat down to write a book that came to be titled, “War on Iraq: What Team Bush Doesn't Want You to Know.” In it, I argued that no weapons of mass destruction existed in Iraq, contrary to Bush administration claims. I argued that no connections to al Qaeda or September 11 existed in Iraq, contrary to Bush administration claims. I argued, in essence, that no reason to go to war there existed, and I was correct in that argument.
But a concerted media campaign in favor of invasion, aided and abetted by a blizzard of outright lies from Mr. Bush and his cronies, swept all arguments to the contrary aside in the rush to war and profit. Thousands of American soldiers were killed, tens of thousands more were wounded, millions of Iraqi civilians were slaughtered, maimed or displaced, and billions of dollars were poured into the sand, as well as into the pockets of very rich people you will never meet.
Nine years later, on the first Monday of this month, it was reported that five American soldiers were killed in Iraq, the worst one-day casualty total in two years. On the same day, gunmen and suicide bombers killed 21 people and wounded many more. In Tikrit, a suicide bomber killed 12 people. Over the three days before, a mosque and a hospital were both bombed, killing 19 people. Within a week, three more American troops were killed.
If history is any guide, I would consider the idea that there will be no meaningful withdrawal to be very close to a mortal lock. It is time – far past time – for this to stop.
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