Juan Cole : Mission Accomplished, 4 Years On

[RedEarth]

Mission Accomplished, 4 Years on: A Commentary in Links...(numerous links on Cole's site)

Remarks by President Bush announcing the end of major combat operations in Iraq Thursday evening from the deck of the USS Abraham Lincoln:

Admiral Kelly, Captain Card, officers and sailors of the USS Abraham Lincoln, my fellow Americans: Major combat operations in Iraq have ended. In the Battle of Iraq, the United States and our allies have prevailed. And now our coalition is engaged in securing

Riots, Looting? Stuff Happens

and reconstructing that country.

7 of 8 major reconstruction projects in danger of failing.

US has failed to reconstruct Iraq.

In this battle, we have fought for the cause of liberty,

Trudy Rubin: ”Wolfowitz told me he believed that the London-based Iraqi opposition (headed by Ahmed Chalabi) would return to Baghdad and assume the reins of power . . ."

Al-Maliki Government uses Saddam-era law to block corruption probes.

and for the peace of the world . . .

The Iraq Effect: War has Increased Terrorism Seven Fold.

"Iraq civilian attacks send worldwide terror deaths soaring: US".

In the images of fallen statues, we have witnessed the arrival of a new era.

Toppling of Saddam statue faked.

Study: War Blamed for 655,000 Iraqi Deaths.

http://www.juancole.com/2007/05/mission-accomplished-4-years-on.html

[Strelnikov_]

1. Ah, yes, those heady days of 'Shock and Awe'

Maximum Leader Chimpus: Today, we have the greater power to free a nation by breaking a dangerous and aggressive regime. With new tactics and precision weapons, we can achieve military objectives without directing violence against civilians. No device of man can remove the tragedy from war. Yet it is a great advance when the guilty have far more to fear from war than the innocent.

The realization by the neocons that our military, any military, barring deployment of overwhelming numbers, can be countered with modern assault rifles, remote detonated explosives, and inexpensive anti-armor missiles was the primary reason any near-term designs on Iran were abandoned. Lebanon was the last straw in this episode of the recurring myth of precision air power.