This is the sixth anniversary of Bush’s illegal war against Iraq, and it’s time for a little reckoning.
Let’s tally the costs.
First and foremost, in human terms.
Bush’s war killed anywhere between 100,000 and more than a million Iraqi civilians.
And it turned more than 10 percent of the Iraqi population into refugees.
On the U.S. side, Bush’s war resulted in the death of 4,258 of our soldiers.
On top of that, 45,583 U.S. soldiers have been physically wounded.
Here’s another staggering stat: 300,000 U.S. soldiers suffer from PTSD, and another 300,000 or so suffer from traumatic brain injuries.
That’s about 650,000 U.S. soldiers and their families whose lives may never be the same again.
On top of that is the financial toll, which is likely to exceed $2 trillion dollars.
Isn’t it incredible that there is always $2 trillion for an unnecessary war that any President wants to wage, and there’s always $2 trillion to bail out banks, but there’s never enough money for universal health care, or free college education, or eliminating poverty in this country?
Bush’s Iraq War will forever leave a blot on U.S. history.
But it’s not the only such blot.
It was just one of the most egregious examples of a runaway U.S. empire and of misguided priorities that have steered us away from the kind of country we hope, or at least pretend, to be.
I'm a bit fuzzy on this whole "Bush's illegal war" thing. Also, where do we get the 300,000 with traumatic brain injuries and why aren't they counted as injuries? Other then those small issues, ya know facts, it's a great piece.
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