And the List Goes On....

1. WMDs
2. Saddam Hussein
3. Spread Democracy
4. Chaos will ensue if we leave
5. Iran

The top five reasons, if I listened correctly, to the U.S. invasion and occupation of Iraq. All of them sicken me because the information slowly coming out to the public completely discredits each one. I don't believe the US public was naive about the war. I think many knew a conflict of this nature would be difficult and foreign policy is hardly ever simple. However, I also think the people remembered the Vietnam & Korean War and wanted to avoid another military mistake, while others recalled the success of Desert Storm. The public opinion of events may depend on the information given to them; they want to have support for elected officials and what representatives do for the people. When America was told more frequently about foreign threats, more terrorist attacks, and constant heightened alerts the public wanted to rally around what it was told, and the given intelligence, so the public opinion of Iraq was a little more than half. However, when the facts slowly and consistently trickled in, public opinion soon fell quickly.

This is not our victory nor should we want it to be, that would take away the last thread of hope to redeem this entire endeavor. Victory and success would never mean the same thing, or have the same look there for the Iraqi people in the same manner we, in America would expect it to have. Although this does not excuse the disaster unfolding before us, the time is now to finally do something right.