5b76 Lessons from the war in Iraq | Opinion - Times Editoral |
Times Free Press Lessons from the war in Iraq  Lessons from the
war in Iraq  March 20th, 2013 in Opinion Times  The painful
irony of another needless American war, the war in Iraq that
began 10 years ago today with the televised opening of the
"shock and awe" aerial assault of Baghdad, is surely remembered
most vividly this week by the tiny fraction of Americans --
barely 1 percent -- who experienced the war firsthand as a
member of the military or a close relative of one.  They are the
ones who mourn most the 35,000 U.S. casualties and 4,500 lost
American lives. They are the ones who grieve over the crippling
wounds of traumatic injuries rendered by insurgents' ubiquitous
and undetected roadside bombs. Many still struggle with the
fracturing of families from multiple tours of duty, and the
efforts to recover emotional or financial stability.  Beyond the
close fraternity of American veterans, the war's milestone is
just another day for most Americ