Todayıs post (12/19/06) is near and dear to my heart. I read Imperial Hubris: Why the West is Losing the War on Terror by Anonymous over two years ago and it is clear the author was right on the money. I also read a book that I can no longer find in print Vietnam: A Thousand Year History (I don't remember the author). What is similar about Iraq and Vietnam is that we didn't understand the people and the cultural history of either society. This is one of the many "checkables" Anonymous discusses that this administration failed to take the time to know let alone consider in their rush toward madness.

Side bar: I have observed that if a man is poor or of modest means and unwise, suffering is limited to himself and his family. If a man is unwise yet wealthy and powerful he can make the world suffer.

This administration never considered what Saddam's role was in Iraqi society and the region. By the use of terror he controlled any sectarian conflict to the point where it didn't exist. He was the only check and balance for the predominantly Shiite Iran. Sectarian divides among Muslims is long, deep, and bitter. It would not have taken much to see that once the lid had been taken off the box of sectarian chaos would ensue. We see it today in other countries. What made this administration think it would be any different in Iraq?

At one time pre-emptive warmongers were the laughing stock now their madness is policy?

The gentlemen with whom you spoke might as well have totaled the daily worldwide death rate to rationalize (marginalize?) the almost 3000 young men and women who have paid the ultimate price for *something*. But these men and women were not the victims of arbitrary fate; they were deliberately placed in harms way by a government they trusted not to waste their precious lives. When one pays a high price, something of equal value is expected in return. There is no way to honor their sacrifice as the mission was flawed from the beginning and therefore doomed to failure. We will have to come to terms with the fact that these heroes died for nothing.

Has either of those two men heard the sonic crack of a bullet passing their head or heard the shriek of an incoming mortar round? Have they ever gazed into the lifeless eyes of their best friend with whom just hours before they were laughing and playing cards? How can we calculate the value of one life let alone thousands of lives?

Let us not forget the many Iraqi dead. Have any of those two men seen the terror and anguish in the face of a mother or father carrying their mortally wounded child, their precious gift from the Almighty, in their arms as they frantically look for someone, anyone to help them?

We went to Iraq on the premise of WMD. When nothing was found we heard that we dethroned a terrible dictator. We tried to link terrorism to Iraq and failed but now it is the central front in the war on terror. Did it become so before or after we invaded? And now we talk of a surge in troops. I fear a surge in troops will result in a surge in combat related deaths. And should this fail, and I am almost certain it will, the question remains, how do we extract ourselves from this folly?

So far we have had distortions, omissions and outright lies told to us to go to war in Iraq. We have had the misfortune to marvel at mindless slogans that don't invite critical analysis, the bungling of and sheer incompetence in the handling of this war. We have had direct attacks on Constitutional freedoms via the relentless power grabs by the executive branch not to mention the suspension of habeas corpus for non-citizens.

We have had outright dereliction of duty of the Republican Congress to exercise oversight but I guess they would have to spend more time in session to do their jobs. At what point are Americans going to call for impeachment? Once again, Nixon faced impeachment for far less than this administration. When does blind hubris crossover to criminal malfeasance? All this and a global economic tsunami is rushing onward with the U.S. at the epicenter as an afterthought.

My teenage daughter watches this reality show called Sweet Sixteen, where wealthy parents throw parties and buy gifts for their children normally reserved for royalty. Most of this is acting but to me it sends the wrong message. What ever happened to humility? What the ultra-wealthy are doing is but a symptom of a condition that is epidemic in this society.

This same symptom entices people of lesser means to load up on debt they can never repay to live lives they cannot otherwise afford. I caution my daughter to not get any ideas from this show. Her trader daddy and nurse mommy will not lavish her with six-figure parties and gifts. She will earn her wealth the old fashioned way. Building financial security for oneself and his or her family through high achievement IMO is a spiritual journey; I'll bet this concept is not taught at Ivy League business schools.

I spent 18 years proudly serving my country. Lately I grapple with myself to come to some understanding of what has gone wrong. What can I do to inspire my countrymen to take back this wonderful Republic given to us by our founding fathers from the greedy, power-hungry profiteers and ideologues? Harun I.