Marking the third...

Thousands of anti-war demonstrators in New York, San Francisco, Los Angeles, and throughout the world, took to the streets today to mark the third anniversary of the invasion, and occupation, of Iraq.

In light of this milestone in strategic futility, which is little more than a pre-fab contest of wills---George W. Bush versus the rest of the world, here are two statements; the first was made a little less than a year after combat began, and the second only days ago.

On the invasion itself:

"It won't take weeks, you know that, professor. Our military machine will crush Iraq in a matter of days, and there's no question that it will."
Bill O'Reilly 2/10/03


On the aftermath:

"One of the oldest imperial strategems is to divide and conquer, incite sectarian divisions, and justify military occupation to keep the natives from killing each other."
Tom Hayden 3/9/06



Arguably, the only way to honor the war dead, and the blood of those, regardless of nationality, who have given their lives, is by telling the truth, the whole truth, unequivocally, all of it, no matter how ugly, and refusing to settle for less than the truth, the whole truth, no matter how ugly. To accept anything less is to concede that human life has been taken as a sacrifice at the shrine of corporate greed, and religious intolerance, which would be, in the best sense of the word, Un-American.