The war in Iraq just isn't going gently into the night, is it?
Sunday's parliamentary election took place amid a backdrop of mortar, grenade and bomb attacks in Baghdad and other major cities. The good news is that the elections went ahead and people voted. But the extreme political fragmentation that characterizes the country -- with some 6,000 candidates, from more than 80 parties, chasing a mere 325 parliamentary seats -- means that whatever coalition government results will be necessarily fragile. And even as President Obama praised Iraqi voters for their bravery in casting their ballots, many back home wondered aloud whether U.S. troops will really get out on schedule.
And it's not just in America where the Iraq war continues to be the gift that keeps on giving.
On Friday, British Prime Minister Gordon Brown appeared before the Chilcot Inquiry, a government-appointed panel with the specific mandate of identifying the "lessons learned" from the U.K.'s involvement in Iraq. Brown's appearance was far less of a media circus than when his predecessor -- Tony Blair -- took the stand some six weeks ago. But with a general election looming sometime in the next three months, British voters wanted to hear what Brown would say about his role in this deeply divisive conflict.
Turns out, not much. Or at least not much of anything new. Brown defended the war as just and correct, even while he criticized the Americans for not having sufficiently planned for post-war reconstruction. And yet -- no sooner had he left the Chilcot chambers -- he was on a plane to Afghanistan for a surprise visit to thank British troops. The Conservative opposition party was quick to deride this trip as a "cynically timed political stunt" to deflect criticism for Brown's having failed to adequately finance British troops during his 10 years as chancellor of the Exchequer (Treasury secretary equivalent) under the Blair government.
And so this war continues to serve as a political touchstone in both of the countries that led the invasion -- a deep cultural and psychological wound that just won't go away.
I personally believe that we have defended this war enough. Mistakes were made President Ronald Regan said those words 20 years ego, “admitting a mistake is a sign of strength, not weakness”, but somehow we have forgotten that amidst all this war there are hundreds and thousands of people who have lost everything.
Sunday's parliamentary election took place amid a backdrop of mortar, grenade and bomb attacks in Baghdad and other major cities. The good news is that the elections went ahead and people voted. But the extreme political fragmentation that characterizes the country -- with some 6,000 candidates, from more than 80 parties, chasing a mere 325 parliamentary seats -- means that whatever coalition government results will be necessarily fragile. And even as President Obama praised Iraqi voters for their bravery in casting their ballots, many back home wondered aloud whether U.S. troops will really get out on schedule.
And it's not just in America where the Iraq war continues to be the gift that keeps on giving.
On Friday, British Prime Minister Gordon Brown appeared before the Chilcot Inquiry, a government-appointed panel with the specific mandate of identifying the "lessons learned" from the U.K.'s involvement in Iraq. Brown's appearance was far less of a media circus than when his predecessor -- Tony Blair -- took the stand some six weeks ago. But with a general election looming sometime in the next three months, British voters wanted to hear what Brown would say about his role in this deeply divisive conflict.
Turns out, not much. Or at least not much of anything new. Brown defended the war as just and correct, even while he criticized the Americans for not having sufficiently planned for post-war reconstruction. And yet -- no sooner had he left the Chilcot chambers -- he was on a plane to Afghanistan for a surprise visit to thank British troops. The Conservative opposition party was quick to deride this trip as a "cynically timed political stunt" to deflect criticism for Brown's having failed to adequately finance British troops during his 10 years as chancellor of the Exchequer (Treasury secretary equivalent) under the Blair government.
And so this war continues to serve as a political touchstone in both of the countries that led the invasion -- a deep cultural and psychological wound that just won't go away.
I personally believe that we have defended this war enough. Mistakes were made President Ronald Regan said those words 20 years ego, “admitting a mistake is a sign of strength, not weakness”, but somehow we have forgotten that amidst all this war there are hundreds and thousands of people who have lost everything.
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