Things We Need to Remember

As of this writing, 1,518 American soldiers have died in Iraq since we invaded the country for murky reasons on 3/19/03. Since Bush declared an end to major combat on 5/1/03, there have been 1,381 American military casualties. We must not forget these brave men.

For more information, go here: http://www.antiwar.com/casualties/

There are several other things we need to remember, courtesy of a column by Juan Gonzalez of the NY Daily News:

-Earlier this week, a leaked Pentagon audit revealed that Vice President Cheney's former company, Halliburton, which has so far received $10 billion in Iraq contracts, overbilled the government by $108 million for supplying fuel imports to that country. In one instance, the company billed the federal government $27 million to transport $82,000 worth of liquefied gas from neighboring Kuwait! The report was finished last fall but became public only after U.S. Rep. Henry Waxman (D-Calif.) obtained a copy.

-The House of Representatives approved a whopping $81 billion supplemental bill...to pay for the Iraq and Afghanistan occupations. That brings the total cost of those wars so far to an astounding $300 billion.
{WL Note: Remember that the Afghanistan war and subsequent occupation was absolutely necessary}

-Italian Prime Minister Berlusconi announced this week that his country will become the latest to pull out of Iraq later this year. Berlusconi acted after American soldiers mistakenly shot and killed an Italian undercover agent who had just succeeded in obtaining the release of a kidnapped Italian journalist. Italy becomes the 15th nation to pull out of Bush's Coalition of the Willing since the war began.
{WL Note: Reminds me of what John Stewart said on The Daily Show: "and Poland! Don't forget Poland!"}

-A recent survey of global attitudes by the Pew Research Center points to how isolated the United States has become in the world. The Pew survey found that 64% of Turks, 60% of Germans, 58% of French and 51% of Russians believe the United States is occupying Iraq to control Mideast oil - something only 18% of Americans believe.

"Anti-Americanism is deeper and broader now than at any time in modern history," the survey concluded, and the Iraq war is the principal reason.
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So when you see all these kudos for Bush and his boys as they purportedly spread democracy around the Middle East, remember these things that they neglect to mention.