Iraq War Gets Even Deadlier

Over the weekend, the current Iraqi prime minister told us how the war is starting to wind down. He said they were beginning to get a handle on the situation. Today, 50 people were killed in Iraq. It seems like every time some official starts bragging about how well things are going, it all blows up in his face.

The truth is that the violence is not dying down in Iraq. It just got off the front pages for a while, because of the Israeli incursion into Lebanon. On Sunday, 60 people were killed, including 8 American soldiers. Their have now been over 2600 U.S. soldiers killed in Iraq. July turned out to be the bloodiest month yet. The body count has risen each month, and in the last four months, over 10,000 Iraqi citizens have been killed. This civil war is not dying down, it is still revving up.

I hear many people saying that we cannot immediately withdraw from Iraq, including many people who believe the war was a mistake. They say that if we left, there would be an all-out civil war, creating an even more dangerous situation for the civilians there. I would ask these people to tell me what is being accomplished by staying. The truth is that we are not accomplishing anything. We're not protecting the Iraqis. If we are, then we're doing a terrible job. They are averaging 2,500 deaths each month, and the violence is still rising.

The puppet government we installed in Iraq will not last. It doesn't matter whether we leave tomorrow or ten years from now. As soon as we leave, that government will fall. The Iraqis will wind up determining their own fate and their own government. To keep our forces in Iraq, is to keep our soldiers in harm's way to only delay the inevitable. Withdrawing may not help Iraqis, but it will sure help the U.S. soldiers - they can stop dying and come home.

This was an ill-conceived, ill-planned, and poorly-conducted war. It is time to end it by withdrawing. Let the Iraqis have true self-determination, and bring our soldiers home to their families - NOW.