...she was an American girl....raised on promises...

The War for Iraq seems to be drawing to a denoument, with Iraqis welcoming American troops into the streets of Baghdad. So far, we seem to be seen more as liberators than conquerors, though most of the Arab press has been vitriolic in describing Americans as "occupiers."

All is good. As I blogged a couple of weeks ago, I wanted this result of the war. Once we had committed to this fight, I wanted it over quickly, and relatively painlessly for our side. The crushing of Saddam's regime has happened quicker than I thought; definitely, a good thing.

Iraq, the middle east, the U.S., and the entire world are better off without that scumbag Hussein. But do the ends justify the means??

Go read this. Now.

The best, clearest explanation of the issue comes here: "Think of the divergence of interests, for example, between the grunts who are actually fighting this war, who have been eating sand and spilling their blood in the desert, and the power brokers who fought like crazy to make the war happen and are profiting from it every step of the way."

We've sent 18, 19, 20, and 21-year-olds over there to die, some of them captured and tortured first, so that rich contractor shareholders can get richer.

Still think that President Bush crammed this war down our throats only for justifiable, "helping the Iraqi people" kind of reasons?? Or even only for "national security" interests, to protect our country?

Or, does the fact that Bush, and Cheney, and Rumsfeld, and Wolfowitz all have connections to lots of companies who have made and will continue make big bucks from this war and its aftermath make you distrust the intentions of America just a little bit more???

If not, you're much less cynical than I am. Good for you.