Enough has happened since the beginning of the war in Iraq -- ayear ago today -- to allow both hawks and doves to say, "See, wetold you so."
Hawks point to Saddam's capture, a newly-emerging Iraqigovernment and neutralized threats as successes. Doves highlightmissing WMDs, unnecessary casualties and overall messiness asfailures. The trouble is that they're both right.
The emptying of political prisons and uncovering of mass gravesearly in the war seemed to favor the hawks. But as weeks passedwithout the discovery of any WMDs, doves found vindication for anargument that brought challenges to their patriotism. Did the BushAdministration prefer to find solace in the adage that it's easierto beg forgiveness than ask permission?
When experts passionately claim to know the outcome of certainscenarios had they begun differently, it's difficult to rememberthat even the brightest minds are just guessing at the answers.
Would Saddam have been removed from power without war? Would theaftermath have been less clunky if the Bush Administration hadspent another six months at the drawing board? Answers to suchquestions only entertain the human compulsion to speculate.
Any first anniversary begs a look back to find out what wentwrong and what went right. We're left with little power over theevents in Iraq, other than how they are categorized in our minds.Iraqi citizens are similarly limited. Their country will never bethe same as it was a year ago. And depending on their level andexperience of interaction with U.S.-led coalition forces, Iraqis ofall ages will form opinions that will hopefully flourish under anewfound freedom of speech. And I'm eager to hear their voices.
A new rash of devastating bombings Wednesday was a soberingreminder that a violent undercurrent still flows through Iraq.Sadly, video footage of this and similar events can get muddled asscenes of chaos become more regular, making it hard to distinguishone tragedy from another.
History tells us American troops are in for a long haul in Iraq.Decades after World War II, troops remain in a peaceful, friendlyGermany. Thousands of U.S. troops call South Korea home, and stillmore reside in Okinawa, Japan and other previous war zones. Longafter a new Iraq emerges with a constitution, government anddirection, U.S. soldiers will quietly rotate in and out of what isnow an embattled country with the focus of the world'sattention.
It's important to remember that in November, we're electing notonly a president, but the commander in chief of the world's mostpowerful military. Will the man we elect advance or deteriorate theworld's opinion of the United States? While we should never laydown the big stick, we should be careful not to forget the value ofspeaking softly.
