Bush Puts A Happy Face On War's Third Anniversary

said if we leave iraq it will wind up being controlled by nazis. he must not have much confidence in the iraqi puppet govt to stop those nazis.

Well, springtime is here. The sun is shining, the birds are singing, the trees are budding, and all is right with the world. Well, perhaps not.

And in the Middle East, it is a special time of year as well. It's Iranian New Years day, and it's the first day of year 4 of the American occupation of Iraq. The sun is shining, the birds are singing, the bombs are falling, and something is fishy in Denmark.

It appears that the U.S. and Iraq can't even agree as to whether the country is in the middle of a civil war. Meanwhile, the Bush administration has been ratcheting up the rhetoric regarding Iran, in a manner eerily similar to that employed prior to the U.S. invasion of Iraq.

The United States insists that Iraq is not in the midst of a civil war. Meanwhile, the Former Prime Minister of Iraq, Ayad Allawi is adamant about the fact that Iraq is indeed in a civil war. Allawi is quoted as saying: "We are losing each day as an average 50 to 60 people throughout the country, if not more,...If this is not civil war, then God knows what civil war is." Let's see here... The U.S. government, who has always painted a rosy picture of Iraq, vs. the former P.M. (who actually lives in the country). Hmmmm. Who would you believe?

Whether there truly exists a state of civil war in Iraq, in the grand scheme of things, is immaterial. Call it what you want, civil war, insurgency, spring-cleaning, whatever. It's pretty clear that this pre-emptive war, waged by the U.S. and the coalition of the coerced, has taken a devastating toll on Iraq and its people.

Iraq by the numbers:

There have been many estimates on the number of civilians killed as a result of the U.S. invasion of Iraq. The Pentagon, if pressed, would likely use one of the lowest estimates of around 16,000-20,000. There have also been estimates made of over 100,000 Iraqi civilians killed since the start of the U.S. military action. There is, however, an organization called The Iraq Body Count Project, which bases their estimates on reported deaths from multiple news sources, and has a methodology that involves corroborating data before posting their numbers.

IBC's current civilian death toll is between 33,679 and 37,795. I will have their counter displayed on my blog until this war (both the invasion and the resulting civil war) is over.

The current number of coalition military casualties in Iraq, according to iCasualties.org, is at 2525.

The current number of Iraq security forces killed in Iraq since the start of the war, is 4294. This, also according to iCasualties.org.

This is just a partial snapshot of the human toll of this war. It does not include unreported Iraqi civilian deaths, or deaths of members of Sadaam Hussein's military at the start of this war. It does not take into account the Iraqis who have died from disease, who might otherwise have gotten the medical attention they needed, but the aftermath of this war prevented it. Also not included are the countless Iraqis who have lost their homes, their possessions, their security, and any semblance of a normal life. The dead can be buried. Buildings can be rebuilt. But the true human toll of this tragedy will likely never be fully understood, or completely addressed. And this is the legacy that the Bush administration wants to leave to the Middle East.

So, to the people of Iraq, Happy Spring! Enjoy the flowers and the sunshine, and try to dodge the bullets and bombs.

And to our friends in Iran, Happy New Year! Looks like President Bush and company are working on a very special surprise to celebrate the event. If Iraq "liberation" is any indication, this party is gonna be a real blast!

"Never doubt that a small group of thoughtful and committed citizens can change the world."

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http://truth-for-a-change.blogspot.com/

the dems are not trying to defeat the US. they are just using their freedom and democracy. you don't seem to like freedom and democracy.

http://fmso.leavenworth.army.mil/documents-docex/Iraq/ISGZ-2004-019920.p...

this one is also in arabic. but so what if iraqi intel said there are some al qaeda members in iraq. i believe there are cia documents that say there were some al qaeda members in the US before 911.

one cia document given to bush said, "Bin Laden Determined to Strike in US."