The Saddest Quote Yet From Iraq

We ask them to leave their families. We ask them to put on the uniform of a United States soldier, and go to Iraq. Perhaps just when their mission is about over, we cancel their return to the States and extend their tour in Baghdad. They ride around in the middle of a civil war, waiting for an IED to blow up their vehicle. The chicken hawks who sent them there can't admit a mistake and bring them home. That could damage them politically in the Fall Elections. Bush, Cheney, and Rumsfeld have spent years talking about their famous resolve - the need to carry out the mission. They can't afford to cave. To recognize reality is not an option. Of all the sad comments coming out of Iraq - now even from the Generals - this one hit the hardest. Picture good men and women sent into a horrible situation by a Commander-In-Chief who shouldn't be in charge of Little League team, much less the United States Armed Forces. Reading these words you can hear the anguish: "There's no plan - we are constantly reacting," said a senior American military official, who spoke on the condition of anonymity. "I have absolutely no idea what we're going to do."

Let's get this over with. We can worry about trying the men who lied us into this disaster later. There will be plenty of time for the War Crime Trials of Bush, Rumsfeld, and Cheney. That's for later. It's time to think about these soldiers. Republicans have spent a lot of these last few years bragging about how much they care about our fighting men and women. It's time to prove it. McClatchy Washington Bureau | 08/04/2006 | Iraqi civil war has already begun, U.S. troops say