This was Bush's War of choice. It certainly wasn't worth the cost of Iraqi and American lives. It has been destructive to every American in cost of treasure and loss of freedoms. Our men and women who served have given of themselves for what? They return to a country collapsing under the weight of an economy struggling to meet the basic needs of its population. We have a debt to these young men and women to help them as they heal from physical and emotional wounds, but as with other generations of returning vets, they too will be soon forgotten and the money will trickle away to support the cause de celeb of the moment. Before we enter wars we need to understand the full cost before we commit to such destructive expeditions.

What have we gained from this exercise in Sabre Diplomacy; a safer world? I think not, just a new set of enemies.

A mistake, begun on false pretenses in the shadow of 9/11. It diverted us away from the Afgahanistan mission and our ability to finish Al Qaida and the Taliban, and denied us the opportunity to show the world our goodness by helping the Afghanis once free of the Taliban. Instead, the Iraq war coupled with the botched 2000 presidential election and the 2008 fininancial crisis greatly eroded our leadership position in the world. If we intend to go to war against every nation run by a dictator who wants nuclear weapons, might someday acquire them, and could possibly share them with terrorists, that essentially equates to going to war with many dictators. If you feel this is the proper course of action then it would be expected that you and all eligible family members head for the military recruiter's office to sign up for the list of dictators is still longer than we'd wish.

I have never approved of any of these "acts of aggression". But the citizens either have a short memory or didn't pay attention to the Clinton years. Compare the acts of aggression during Clinton's administration 1993-2001 and Bush's administration 2001-2009. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Timeline_of_United_States_military_operations#1990.E2.80.931999

Bush's war? Remember Clinton's war in Iraq?
http://www.wnd.com/news/article.asp?ARTICLE_ID=31143

9 years to spend $800B. Obama spent $787B in one year under stimulus #1. Neither produced the results expected and our children will be forced to pay for all of it.

Isn't government great at spending money?

We shouldn't have gone in the first place! Remember the false statements about Saddam Hussein's possession of weapons of mass destruction that were the stated basis for the invasion (followed by [Karl Rove's] outing Valerie Plame as an important CIA agent as punishment for her husband Joe Wilson's article in the NYT debunking the accusations. Scientists had also independently reported months before the invasion that the rods in question were not weapons-grade). The war was supposed to "pay for itself" with Iraqi oil, but this never materialized (millions of barrels of oil were reported stolen, and 40% known to have funded the insurgency. Texas oilmen were reported to be inspecting the oil fields after the fall of Iraq. Where did the other 60% of stolen oil barrels go?). Millions of U.S. taxpayer dollars were also handed out in cash in the days following Hussein's fall to individuals unknown. The claim was that it was difficult to keep records "in a war zone," even though hand-held devices make record-keeping available and mobile.

Then there were the months where soldiers were being mutilated or killed because they were sent into combat without sufficient/correct protection. And the thousands of "independent contractors" (i.e. mercenaries) including Blackwater, that terrorized Iraqi citizens and cost taxpayers untold millions as they provided mediocre services that should have been provided by the military. And so much more. It makes me heartsick to think about it.

The combination of incompetence and criminal behavior that led to this war still amazes me today. We ripped apart a stable country that did not threaten us. We turned it into a battleground between Iranian and Al Qaeda terrorists. We pissed away billions of dollars that could have been better spent at home. We shredded the Bill of Rights in our fear and ignorance. And we fatally weakened our fight in Afghanistan.

This was our Syracuse.

So we're broke and have to end the war of lies... I don't think there will be a lot of objections, although it would be nice if we could have another set of Nuremburg trials and bring some of our corrupt politicians to justice to waging a war of aggression.

Supposedly we were there because Saddam had weapons of mass destruction-- the same weapons the we still possess ourselves. Turns out he didn't have any and we're still planning to keep our own. They told us we were there to save the Iraqi people from Saddam Hussein-- who was killing his own people... And then it turned out that the only way we could keep order was by killing even more people than Saddam was killing (but the ones that we killed were 'bad' and Saddam was killing the good ones right?).

Saddam had horrible prisons where he tortured people... So we took them over and tortured more people... Now we've spent over a trillion dollars there that we didn't even have and will need to install a new Saddam. It's a shame that there isn't some external entity that can force a regime change in the United States...

I may not know a lot about the personnel fighting in Iraq, but I believe that President Bush did. Every time that he would talk about the troops, he would refer to them as the 'Coalition Troops' or the 'US lead Coalition Troops'. Can you find out how many Canadain, French, German, Japanese, ans British men and women also died? They deserve praise too.

America is now, and always will be, engaged in a permanent war so long as there are profits to be made by the “war machine.” Defense contractors are given billions to support a war effort. The U.S. government then bombs a country rich in natural resources (i.e., oil) and then uses U.S. construction contractors to rebuild it and security contractors to “train” various personnel there. These U.S. construction and security contractors (i.e., Halliburton; DynCorp), in addition to the defense contractors (i.e., General Dynamics) are usually connected to the government (i.e., heavy campaign contributors; stock owned by government officials). The money used to fund these contractors comes from the U.S. tax payer, who usually does not see a dime of it. The contractors squander the money without having to account for it. It’s an age-old ploy to use middle class tax money to benefit a rich, elite group of businesses and their owners.

Interesting answers... what obligations do we have to the people who served in this war, what should that look like?

The statement of "weapons of mass destruction" was only one of several reasons given. As far as the WMD, the intelligence, not just ours, but every one else's stated they had WMD. We knew that they used mustard gas against their own people and threatened use against other nations. So please, give that issue a rest. I also understand the mindset at the time following 9/11/2001. We were a nation that just took it's worst attack. And for those that thought it was okay to attack Libya to remove Gaddahfi, it is hypocritical to say that getting rid of Saddam Hussein wasn't just as noble.

What I found to be a mistake, was what we have done time and time again. Nation building should never be our objective, and that's where it started to unravel. We could have declared victory after the first Iraq election after we caught Hussein. Once it became clear that there was never going to be repayment through oil, that could have been the end. To have no presence at all with a 17,000 U.S. embassy population is asking for trouble and history will prove that to actually be the worst mistake. We still have troops in Germany, Korea, Bosnia and every place we have been in armed conflict.

With that said, our troops did fantastic work and should be honored and respected. Sadly, again, there will be no triumphant return or fanfare as this President would rather sneak out quietly.

The war was an act of fraud and everyone knew it. We as Americans should be ashmamed that we keep electing politicians who have their own agendas. The war was for the Bush Administration to gain financially by allowing the "select" contractors to make billions and they all benefited. The losers are the soldiers and families who did their jobs, lost their lives for what? A fraud. We, meaning the American people need to take back our country from career politicians who are only motivated to get what they want by all means. It is disgusting, we need to change our laws so politicians serve only 1 term then go home. No more career politicians who control the government and do these things and get away with it. One term, no healthcare benefits, no pension do your job and go back home. This would allow more americans an opportunity to serve their country and not a bunch of rich politicians who want to control the world. These politicians should have to meet with the dead soldiers family every day as a reminder to what they caused. The blood shed of Americans that lost their lives, were wounded and now on disability for the rest of their lives should be on the politicians who did this to them. Folks, it is time for revolt, it is time to get our country back before we the meek will be controlled like robots. Eventually we all will work for government.

I feel that this was another useless war. The lives that were lost & the soldiers that were injured is a shame. And the money that was spent on this war was ridiculous! Plus there was a picture of all the expensive office equipment, etc that is being left over there. We could have fed alot of people that are out of jobs and bought alot of food for the needy with the money that was spent. I don't feel that the US should always get involved in these foreign wars. Have any of those countries come forward to help us when there are natural disasters here????

Yep; just too bad Dick Cheney via George Bush sold the US an $800 BILLION "Shock & Awe" diversion of Americans' money.... could have done a lot with that tax money here in the Good Ol' US of A. Like taking care of previous wars' veterans needs, including real healthcare, not just "pass-our-higher-costs-on-to-you" co-pay excuses. Any guesses as to how much concrete alone we bought & left lying around Iraq? Or how about creating real jobs here in the USA rather than military "jobs"....?

Here is a start regarding the costs of rebuilding Iraq:

http://www.usatoday.com/news/world/iraq/2010-03-22-iraqcosts_N.htm

It represents a transfer of wealth from the American, middle class tax payer to various corporations.

wow, I am amazed at the reaction to this topic, for the most part there is a lot of pro republican feedback on topics ,but 90 percent of the posts for this topic are democratic views.

Maybe people are seeing the smoke and mirrors of the republican party and really looking at whats going on..... then again ..........

Let's not forget all the Democrats who wanted to surrender in Iraq years ago. How Democratic Senate Leader Harry Reid declared the war was lost back in 2006. How the Surge was a failure.How Democrats did everything to undermine the war effort and enbolden the enemy. That should be the real story here. That is the real history lesson.

I am heartened to see so many acknowledge the glaring outrage that was this war. It is not only Democrats who can see this; it is all grown ups. Like when a family member commits a deceitful, greedy, immoral and incompetent act, it does no good to deny it, least of all to the perpetrator. I hope for the best for all returning veterans, the Iraqi people, and our wounded republic.