Four years on

So, it's been four years. I'm listening to the BBC and it's hard to tell exactly what good we've accomplished. I suppose the removal of Hussein counts, but all those unintended (though not unforeseen) consequences weigh down the other side of the scales. 86% of Iraqis, according to a BBC/ABC News, ARD German TV and USA Today poll, expressed concern about someone in their household being a victim of violence, with 65% extremely concerned aboutit; and only 18% of Iraqis have confidence in US and coalition troops. Although virtually no one wants Iraq to be partioned, some feel it's inevitable. Someone interviewed on World Update pointed out that people are all mixed together - Christians married to Muslims, Shia married to Sunnis, and so on: any divide would be messy (does Pakistan/India 1948 ring any bells?) and the resulting countries weak. At home, we have returning soldiers badly injured - many with traumatic head injuries - and more than before, thanks to the excellent battlefield medical care. But they return to crappy care in a military medical and VA system that is overstressed and underfunded, thanks to an administration that has been cutting their budget for six years. We have Osama bin Laden still at large, and al Qaeda still blowing things up, and Afghanistan still a battlefield. We have... You know what? I can't go on. If you have been reading even the mainstream media lately, you know what we have. And the worst part is, we didn't have to have any of it.