Granted it is difficult to admit mistakes but even more difficult to accept responsibility for them. I indict the Senate as much as the administration for not facing up to its profound duty to treat war seriously. Still, Bush as commander in chief is ultimately responsibile in time of war. I have blogged several times that in virtue of the sanctions and no fly zone that the UN signed a truce, not an end to the war twelve years ago. Clinton exhibited this many times in his aerial attacks on Iraq, and Congress itself passed a resolution for regime change.

It was not only the left that reminded the world that at least a half million children were undernourished since the Gulf War, and was reason enough for the UN to intervene. However, this was bogus even before Bush invaded, because studies proved that the food for oil was so effective that Iraqis never had it so good. Of course, there was egregious graft by the coalition as well as Saddam’s thugs. In such a situation there was the option to expose the allies dirty dealings by UN sanction; and a resolution that the new, extravagant palaces built be for public housing or they would be destroyed. Another option was for the US to urge the UN to warn Saddam that he was not off the hook and violations of WMD inspections, and human rights would renew aggressive hostilities by the coalition — namely, punishing aerial attacks.

I doubt that the left was bemoaning an inflated casualty list of a half million. That was a hangover from the half million body bags that were ordered by the Pentagon prior to the Gulf War in order to convince the Middle East that the US and coalition meant business. Before the Bush invasion all the world knew that Saddam was a paper tiger after his humiliating defeat twelve years earlier and the Neo-cons wanted to capitalize on this, without, however, taking into account sabotage and insurrection....Hell, what’s a few hundred US troops killed in action, right?

I am as tired of repetition about no WMD and Al Qaeda connection as I was bored stiff hearing the cries of Whitewater and Monica. Alas, it appears we are stuck with these idiotic traffic jams on the beltway. Except for the Democratic congressmen and women who held fast with skepticism, the Democratic senators were derelict in their duty in not questioning the need for a ground force invasion and to show some honest doubts about the intelligence community. The fact is they were scared to death by the stratospheric poll numbers supporting the president, and disgustingly took the easy way out, oblivious to the potential casualties of our boys and girls who would be sent in.

 Nor does the blame game stop there: Clinton was also derelict in not dealing with Iraq more forcefully, particularly when Saddam threw out the inspectors after his intensive bombing. He should have immediately continued the missile assault on the Baath headquarters until the inspectors returned. Nor do the media escape blame for their shameless failure to expose the scams of the Neo-cons as soon as the administration came into power. Apparently all the news that’s fit to print does not include covering ways to prevent large scale war.

Finally no amount of intellection comparing casualty statistics will ease the comfort of the grunts on the battlefield, nor surely the surviving families of the honored dead and maimed. Of course, we can always comfort ourselves that, after all, it’s a volunteer, professional fighting force and that’s what its paid to do.