Sins of Bush #1 - The Iraq War

Soon we will begin the one-year countdown to the end of the worst presidency in American history. Bush's lies, crimes, errors, and misjudgments are so numerous and his real accomplishments so few that it's difficult to know where to begin. There is of course, the low-hanging fruit...Iraq, shredding the Constitution, dismantling of America's world leadership, Katrina, etc. There were also the hundreds of other misdeeds which have gone relatively unnoticed by the media and general public which deserve remembrance. In celebration of his impending return to blessed and deserved obscurity, it's useful to review at least some the outrages which Bush has visited upon our nation and the world. In that line I will periodically post on the many Sins of Bush.

Sin #1- The Iraq War
Iraq will go down in history as the magnum opus of stupidity. From it's inception, prosecution, and (probably someday) termination, the war in Iraq has been an object lesson in how NOT to pursue war and foreign policy. The war has accomplished the exact opposite of most or our main goals. It has;

Strengthened our worst enemies- The Islamic death-cult called Al Qaida, which should have been cut off and left to die has instead grown exponentially, it's recruiting fueled by claiming a "Crusader" occupation of a Muslim country. Al Qaida which didn't exist in Iraq before the invasion has also enjoyed massive propaganda victories in the Arab world by pointing to the inevitable atrocities (both intentional and not) of US troops put into impossible situations. Muslims from around the world, crazed by those images and religious fanaticism have flocked to fight us. Our other enemy, Iran, has gained by losing a sworn enemy in Saddam and gained a friendly, perhaps client government of like-minded Shiite extremists.

Weakened our military- Morale, readiness, retention have all suffered for no clear purpose. While our troops (including several friends and relatives of mine) have shown enormous strength and courage, there is no doubt that having well over half the Army and Marines either in-country or heading back soon makes it more difficult for us to confront other threats. Repeated year-long deployments with even less time back home for rest, retraining, and refitting has made it extremely difficult to maintain morale. If this war is so important to our security, why is there not a draft to supplement the military?

Destroyed America's reputation abroad- Where our nation was once the leader of the free world we are now looked upon with contempt and suspicion. Most of the world sees the war at best as great folly and at worst as an effort to control the world's oil supply through violence. Whether valid or not, the loss of American stature will make it much more difficult to defeat the true enemy, Al Qaida.

Made America LESS secure from terrorism- The idiots who continue to chant that we're "fighting them over there so we don't have to fight them over here" apparently don't understand geography or the concept of modern air travel. If our enemies are gaining strength and numbers, how is having our troops in Iraq making us safer? You cannot triumph on the battlefield when it comes to terrorism. The idea is to take the wind out of your enemies sails, to show that what you have to offer is better than the other guy.

Divided our nation- At a time when the country should be united to defeat a common enemy, Iraq has completely distracted us. Look at the Port of Olympia Protesters (POOP) to see how crazy things are starting to get. Why after the horror of the 9/11 atrocity is the country so divided? The answer isn't the "liberal media".

Cost trillions- ...and trillions. Many billions of which have been wasted on ill-conceived and implemented projects. Many billions more have simply disappeared by graft, crimes which continue to go unpunished and until the Democrats took over Congress, completely un-investigated.