"AMERICA AT A CROSSROADS" SHOWED ME THE STARK REALITY OF IRAQ

A recent string of nightly documentaries by PBS over the last week opened my eyes to the stark realities of the war in Iraq. When Harry Reid said that the war in Iraq was lost, he was right: This war is truly lost.

In so many ways.

Iraq is nowhere near stable like we want it. The violence and bombings still continue despite the troop surge.

The government we propped up is rife with corruption and religious ties to outside leaders like Moktada al-Sadr--but having zero leadership skills or the ability to unite Iraq under a common goal.

The military and security forces we're hinging our withdrawal timetables on, are still ill-trained and ill-prepared to take over security of the country in the near future--with many of its members either having ties to the Iraqi insurgency or religious or community leaders; but not to the Iraqi government itself.

I realize that exposing the reality of this failed war and its hard truths will irritate some war supporters, but I won't play to the 'fantasy democracy' tune that so many in our government has been doing these last several years since we invaded on false premise.

Because this blind attitude won't make what's happening in Iraq today go away any time soon.

Schuyler Thorpe

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Everett, WA 98204

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