War Is (Not So) Over

It's hard to find much excitement over of the "withdrawal" from Iraq:

After seven-plus years, one trillion dollars, the loss of 4,400 American and hundreds of thousands of Iraqi lives, the U. S. media widely reported the "last" U.S. combat brigade left that devastated country last night.

Back in February, 2009, Obama said:

"Let me say this as plainly as I can: by August 31, 2010, our combat mission in Iraq will end."

So the promise was kept and the war is kinda over... but no more so than when George Bush hung that dumb "Mission Accomplished" banner up to mark the end of the invasion.

Even after the withdrawal of US combat troops, there'll still be more than 50,000 other US troops in Iraq. And the number of Blackwater-type mercenaries is set to double to fill the void left by the departing soldiers. This is not a withdrawal or an end to an occupation. We're basically colonizing Iraq using the private sector.

America needs out. The war, whether or not it now becomes the "war", needs to end. Screw what the Israel lobby might say. Screw what Bill Kristol might say. Screw what the armchair warriors might say... America needs to get the f*ck out, hand Iraq over to UN peacekeepers and quit wasting lives and money on this failed neocon project.