1,000th Post, 1,000 Days

It's a little amazing that I've reached 1,000 posts on this site, but I found a fitting subject for this one: we just crossed the numerically similar threshold of 1,000 days at war in Iraq.

The Independent, in Britain, has done the math on this war:

$204.4 billion: The cost to the U.S of the war so far.

2,339: Allied troops killed

15,955: US troops wounded in action

98: U.K troops killed

30,000 : Estimated Iraqi civilian deaths

0: Number of WMDs found

66: Journalists killed in Iraq.

63: Journalists killed during Vietnam war

8: per cent of Iraqi children suffering acute malnutrition

53,470: Iraqi insurgents killed

67: per cent Iraqis who feel less secure because of occupation

$343: Average monthly salary for an Iraqi soldier. Average monthly salary for an American soldier in Iraq: $4,160.75

5: foreign civilians kidnapped per month

47: per cent Iraqis who never have enough electricity

20: casualties per month from unexploded mines

25-40: per cent Estimated unemployment rate, Nov 2005

251: Foreigners kidnapped

70: per cent of Iraqi's whose sewage system rarely works

183,000: British and American troops are still in action in Iraq.

13,000: from other nations

90: Daily attacks by insurgents in Nov '05. In Jun '03: 8

60-80: per cent Iraqis who are "strongly opposed" to presence of coalition troops

I wouldn't say Iraq was the only reason I started blogging; certainly the 2004 election was a factor, and the freedom of expression available online. But I've probably spilled more ink (metaphorically speaking, of course; no ink was spilled in the production of this blog) on Iraq than any other topic, because I consider it a great catastrophe that has set back America in so many ways. The fact that homeless Americans in New Orleans have to take out a full-page ad just to get Congress' attention while we squander lives and money 10,000 miles from our shores is just one testament to that.

I could talk about all of the various reasons why this war was wrong-headed, incompetently planned, and deeply flawed to this day, but one story I read recently sums it all up, albeit tangentially.

We're sending dead soldiers, war heroes, home as freight in the baggage compartment of commercial airliners.

That's so emblematic, in my view. Incompetence, thoughtlessness, indifference to history and tradition, how this government truly values the troops that do the fighting, using the military as political props only when expedient, hiding the evidence (literally, in the cargo hold) of the true cost of war. Everything, encapsulated in this craven act.

By the way, not for nothing, but it took a Democrat to rectify this situation:

John and Stacey Holley, who were both in the Army, made some calls, and with the help of U.S. Sen. Barbara Boxer, Matthew was greeted with honor and respect.

"Our familiarity with military protocol and things of that sort allowed us to kind of put our foot down -- we're not sure other parents have that same knowledge," said Stacey Holley.

Meanwhile, the State Department spokesman "did not know why this is happening." Like everything else this Administration does. It's the "we don't know why" Administration.

As I pause after my historic (only to me) 1,000th post, we should all take a moment after reading this story and wonder why the hell we're sending kids off to die, and stuffing them into the cargo hold on the way back? For what noble cause? Where is the honor? Where are the leaders who take war seriously? It makes me want to punch a wall. I'm sorry, but nobody in the military today deserves a commander that would stab them in the back like this.

Peace.