A war that never should have been fought solemnly comes to an end. After thousands of deaths and ill spent money, the United States finally turns the page and closes the chapter on the Iraqi war and occupation.
The war was a tremendous waste of manpower, money and resources. The whole premise for the war was a straw man. Alleged cloak and dagger along with false intelligence estimates lead American leaders to believe Saddam Hussein owned weapons of mass destruction. Only after the invasion did the truth come out.
There was no link between Iraq, al-Qaida or any other terrorists.
Instead of straining the military, spending money and resources chasing a bad lead, the effort should have been focused on completely dismantling terrorists and their networks.
While I disagreed with the Iraqi invasion, I fully supported military action in Afghanistan. The Taliban harbored Osama bin Laden who orchestrated the 9/11 attacks. When they refused to turn bin Laden over, the U.S. was justified in toppling the government and seeking bin Laden out.
A two front war strained the military. Only one war was justified. All resources and manpower should have been focused on that one objective.
War is not a noble endeavor and thus should only be used in extreme cases. The 9/11 attacks justified war...a false lead in Iraq didn't.
For those that sacrificed, a grateful nation thanks you. Welcome home to a well deserved peace.
