Iraq conflict passes WWII

THEY were America's days of infamy, 60 years apart - Pearl Harbour and September 11. The first led the US into World War II, a conflict it endured for 1348 days; the second was followed by a war that from tomorrow will have lasted even longer.

America's involvement in Iraq will reach that milestone at a time when the clamour for withdrawal has never been louder, and the possibility of achieving it has never seemed so difficult. The decisive end of World War II in 1945 delivers no lessons that could be applied to a very different war in a very different era.

If anything, things seem to be getting worse, the options less appealing. Baghdad is reeling from the deadliest assault on Iraqi civilians since the start of the US invasion in March 2003. At least 200 people died and more than 250 were injured after six car bombs, mortar attacks and missiles battered the Shiite Muslim slum of Sadr City.

Plumes of black smoke and anguished screams rose above a chaotic landscape of flames and charred cars, witnesses said. - more

Why do you think we all marched in protest on Feb 15, 2003? We told you this would happen, but Bush and the rest of you flag-waving yahoos didn't listen. You called your smart liberal democrat friends unpatriotic. You ignored democratic senator's warnings. You thought war was cool. You were misled into seeking revenge on a country that had nothing to do with 9/11. So, here we are. Innocent people burned alive, torture, rape, murder. Horrible. The invasion of Iraq officially began March 20, 2003. Here are some comments from October 2002:

Sen. Joseph Biden (D-DE): I have not been very enamored with the way half this administration has gone about this effort without thoroughly going into what happens the day after Saddam is down. ? The president said that, ?What could be worse than Saddam?? Well, what could be worse than Saddam would be a major civil war in the region. [CNN Larry King Live, 10/9/02]

Biden is smart and well informed. Read what he is saying now about Iraq. Others Bush ignored:

Sen. Robert Byrd (D-WV): What plans do we have to prevent Iraq from breaking up and descending into civil war? [Congressional Record, S10006-10007, 10/7/02]

Sen. Barbara Mikulski (D-MD): The end of Saddam Hussein could mean the start of a civil war. [Congressional Record, S10078, 10/8/02] - thinkprog

"... an occupation force's spokesman, a certain Dan Senor... warned of civil war in Iraq at an Anglo-American press-conference in 2003." - news

JANUARY 22, 2004: CIA officers warn of civil war. CIA officers in Iraq are warning that the country may be on a path to civil war, current and former U.S. officials said Wednesday, starkly contradicting the upbeat assessment that President Bush gave in his State of the Union address. [Knight-Ridder, 1/22/04]

See the timeline.