Ms. Arraf, It is blatantly obvious that you are against the war. And that is your right to be so. What ever happened to reporters who were fair, who gave both sides of the story? I am no fan of this war. But that does not mean that I am going to just ignore all the atrocities committed by Saddam, and his henchmen. I can't help but think when the war started how all you reporters were so thrilled that the women in that country "had been liberated". But this war, like any guerrilla war will not be won anytime soon, if ever. And now that the going has become tough, I guess it is time for the so called tough to go back home. And with a press that reports only the failures, and a press that supports only one political party in this country, was there ever any doubt as to how the war would end. I don't think so. Its all a horrible political game supported by our politicians and their respective followers.

It is surely true that the American invasion has made Iraq a living hell and committed the US to a disaster that is bleeding our country of resources needed to take care of our citizens and the real terrorist threat that is in Afghanistan-not Iraq. Additionally, it is a very effective recruiting tool for all throughout the Arab world who formerly had no bad feelings towards the US and now hate us. Who has made out well? The multinational corporations the war was engineered to benefit in the first place (oil companies, Halliburton etc.). The American people should realize from US policies that outsource all their jobs and waste all their defense money on non-defense related issues such as seizing oil and land...that the decisionmakers have already dispensed with the idea of nationhood as old-fashioned. They work for multinationals...not citizens and they beat a drum and ask you to think of the patriotism so that you'll put your life on the line to serve their purpose. How indebted and despised do you have to be people to realize you've been used?

I HAVE READ ALL THE COMENT AND CONCERN BUT NO SOLUTION.WELL MY IDEA TO THE WORLD IS TO FIND A COMMON GROUND ON THIS MATTER,BECAUSE YOU CANNOT STOP VIOLENCE WITH VIOLENCE

Was Saddam a monster? Yes! Did he have anything to do with 9/11? No! My mother often said, "two wrongs don't make a right". We were wrong to invade Iraq and the people of Iraq are paying the price!

The death and destruction in Iraq is hard for most Americans to imagine. However, I work near a large military installation and my job brings me in contact with soldiers on a daily basis. Some of them have seen so much horror that they are souless; life will never be the same for them. I am also a veteran and use the veteran hospital facility. There is a new generation of maimed, traumatized young men and women being treated, some as young as 19. We must pray that there is a swift and sucessful to the events occuring in Iraq for the Iraqis sake, the brave young men and women not only in America, but other countries that have served and, forthose that have lost their lives in the pursuit of freedom.

the best answer for iraq is to give it back to iran & go home.

all of this was predicted back in the Kuwait war.That is why the elder Bush did not go to Baghdad.I read a little bit about the history of Iraq and I agreed with them .It would have been stupid to invade Iraq.Unfortunately no one in Washington appears to have any curiosity about the countries they invade.The same happened in Vietnam.I will never understand why GW Bush wanted to invade Iraq.

It sickens me most that my fellow Americans would rather see a Saddam-led Iraq than the Iraq of today. If the situation was reversed and we had a Saddam-like figure running this country, we'd be praying for an 'America' to rescue us - even if the price was suicide bombers attacking civilians. Eventually, freedom will win this battle, but only if we see it through to victory. Apologists: you're addressing the 10% of Iraqis who want us to leave so they can retake Iraq. Why are you so bent on letting the Sunni regain their oppression of the Kurds and Shia? Just because "people knew basically what the rules were"? How absurd. Tell your line of reasoning to the 1.5 million souls Saddam used to "keep the peace". People who think that Saddam's peace was better than today's chaos are probably the same people who said that Communist Russia was better off before we won the Cold War... Poppycock! For those who say the Iraqis we're training aren't sufficiently trained...you have a point, but you also must remember that these forces come with centuries of sectarian and secular baggage that we can't just train out of them in a 10-week or even 100-week "police academy". The factions involved have been fighting for generations, and it will take time, and inevitably blood, to work things out sufficiently for both sides to let go of the hatred and instead use that energy for the benefit of all Iraqis. The price, as steep as it is, and as steep as it is likely to go, is worth it to attain the prize: SUSTAINABLE peace rather than the peace of an absolute dictatorship enforcing peace. Just because America had it comparatively easy doesn't mean that every conversion from opression to freedom will be as easy.

While going into Afghanistan had merit I have never supported the war in Iraq because there was no smoking gun and I don't believe pre-emptive war is what the U.S. is or should be about. The old idiom "better the devil you know than the devil you don't" may apply here. Even Pres. Clinton had Saddam effectively under control with an occasional smart bomb and the no-fly zone. Too many of our best have made the ultimate sacrifice while those who question the war are accused of emboldening the enemy. Enough.

The intentions of our contry are just. To provide freedom for Iraq and eliminate a murderous dictator is commendable. Unfortunately - Islam does not seem to favor freedom. The only way this war will ever end is when the Muslim extremists realize that killing each other and anyone that is not a Muslim - is wrong! Until the Muslim leadership stands up to condemn these acts and assure each suicide bomber that he is humiliating their family and faith and that there will not be 72 virgins waiting for him to pleasure - we will always get what we have always gotten.... This has become a holy war and so far the Devil (Islamic extremisim) is winning. There will be no end to this until the world wakes up to see that anyone who is non-Muslim is a marked person for extermination! Even other Muslims that don't think like one of the various extremist groups are at risk... What a sad world we live in and one our children will be plagued with...

The problem in Iraq can only be solved by the other major players in the ME. I think "ALL" Iraqs should go to Sryia, Jordon, Saudi Arabia, Iran, and Kuwait. How fast would these governments move as one to put this situation right. We have no right to be in Iraq. We still have unfinished business in Afganistan. The ME will cease to be important once all the oil is sucked out. We should all drive gas-guzzling SUV's. Anyone want to guess what these OPEC nations export other than oil and hatred of the USA.....death to all Muslims...let the ME rot I say...really do not care about how many die...as long as it's them and not us.

The guy from Texas obviously has no clue and wished to deny the facts just like his "lying pRESIDENT". As a Christian Iraqi, I tell you we have killed more Iraqis then all died in prior wars combined. We have made the lives of the "Christian Minority" equal to HELL, not to mention all Iraqis of ALL sects. I will bet that you pretend that you are a CHRISTIAN, the George Bush type!!!!!!!!!!

this is 21st century, we(US) speak english, arabs and other languages so do other country like Iraq. So for this guy (Bush) to utilizes war at this time? i will be suprised if bush wont meet Sadam in the HELL, because they are both killers. we all know if Bush was not in the power, there was no a war.

Hundreds of thousands of people have not been tortured and killed by ghosts but by living breathing men who walk among the victims and who are known by collaborators or sympathisers. They are neighbors harboring the murderers and there seems no outcry orsanction or retribution directed at them. Thus the carnage persists, and will persist, because it is accepted.

I can only hope that in the center of all this madness that looks to worsen before any improvement, that 30-50 years from now there is good that is coming from all this that today we cannot see.

"Insurgents kill more than 100 since Sunday, defying security surge" That's a bit more than 33 per day but 65% less than the numbers the AP, NBC and the other MSM idiots were touting at the end of last year. Sounds like the surge is working to me.

Hundreds of thousands of people have not been tortured and killed by ghosts but by living breathing men who walk among the victims and who are known by collaborators or sympathisers. They are neighbors harboring the murderers and there seems no outcry orsanction or retribution directed at them. Thus the carnage persists, and will persist, because it is accepted.

I don't think anyone would suggest that Iraqis would like to have Saddam back, but to argue that things are MUCH better now is dishonest. Even if you accept an inflated 1.5 million death toll from Saddam, that means 187/day vs. the current 100+/day. Add to that the desperate refugee crisis (approx 1.7 million Iraqis displaced), the barely functioning infrastructure (4 hrs of power in Baghdad/day) and a sectarian Civil War with no end in sight, and the picture on the ground (as the Iraqi blogger points out) isn't pretty. Maybe someday this Iraqi blogger (who can't even use his name for fear of being killed) will live in a peaceful, democratic Iraq - that day looks just as far away now as it did in 2000, before Saddam's fate was sealed.

God Bless, Jane, for the TRUTH. Eat you heart out you tEAXN.

Saddam had a Stalin-style police apparatus wherein a certain percentage of the population had to get the knock on the door to keep everyone else terrified and in line. One innocent death is too much of course but I'd rather be lost in trying to establish something better than as an example made by the secret police to keep a mudering tyrant in power.

First of all, opening statement couldn't be any more misleading! The great majority of the civilian deaths are not caused by the U.S. or our Soldiers-the murders are caused by the terrorists and militants that occupy the country! Iraq's own people are killing eachother. I pray they die a natural death as well, but I would pray they stop murdering eachother first. Terrorism and ethnic/religious conflict has been around the middle east long before the United States was even a country.

This is what happens when we try to make war "humane" by using smart bombs and going to extremes to avoid civilian deaths. What is worse, a sanitized version of war lasting years upon years with civilian deaths mounting up day by day. Or, a short conflict where we have zero tolerance and level mosques and neighborhoods that harbor the enemy, resulting in initially high casualties but bringing resolution much quicker. Personally, I prefer the latter. You can't make war acceptable by sanitizing it with small body counts over long periods and no complete surrender by the enemy. Get in destroy all who resist and get out.

M. Johnson, then go live in the Soviet Union with your friend Putin.

Ah yes I remember Iraq used to be a happy place where children flew kites and people swam in pools of gold. Then came america with its greed and destroyed a utopian nation. Hopefully those "freedom fighters" in Iraq, who with support of their neighbors may finally rid the middle east of the Great Satan and then Israel the little Satan. Then sharia freedom shall reign! Sharia freedom for all! (except women, children and any non-muslim) Sharia in Europe and Asia then America! Whhooooraaaaaaaay!

The responsibility for all of the death rests in the hands of the current administration. If there had been truth instead of lies about why to go to war, none of this would have occured. Now that it has occured God have mercy on those in the administration, who according to their belief, their inhumane actions will land them diretclty in hell.

Its a shame that this stuff is happening. Its not only in Iraq, its everywhere. In the 80's South America was a killing field in theatres like nicuaragua, El salvador, and Peru. The 90's you saw Africa and Slavick nations. Its ugly but the root of this all is Money and Nationalism. These people kill for Identity and the chance to put a million in their account. The international community has no teeth.

I would like to say that the article illustrates a picture of modern day Iraq. If Dean, Myles, and T Hill would like to come to Iraq with me and see how legitimate these statements are, then they are more than welcome. Saddam needed to be removed from power, however, there is a right way of doing things and we chose the wrong way. Unfortunately, Iraq has always been a tormented country along with most of the countries in that region. The people do not know any better so they are not empowered enough to care for themselves in a diplomatic way. They know only what they have seen by thier governement and the governments that "help" them. Rather than fighting a pointless battle, the people of the world need to focus on helping these people and teaching them what is right and what is irrelevent.

I can't believe that they stated that Sudamm was better then having America in there. I belive that this was a war waiting to happen even if it was in 2003 or 10 to 20 years down the road. And it would of started in a Democratic or republican controll. War is always going to be hard but it can also be good. We got suddamm out of control and now we r tyring to control the choas in iraq. This war is important to stay in and win this war, because if we leave now so idiot will gain control of it and we will be stuck in the same place we were with suddamm. Not only this but r contry cannot pull out of another war. 4 in arrow is alot to go in and then get cold feet and pull out. But pulling out can signal to many terrorists that the american people or goverment cannot handle a very long war. so to them why not start a war they might lose a couple thousand peole but in the end the hurt america even more. I think that we must Trust Bush and send 21,000 more troops to iraq. i know that is is a hard thing to swallow but if that is what we need to do to win this war then do it so then we can get out of there this decade. and NBC don't be so libreal

For those of you who have served this country in its call to arms, I salute you. Can you believe that there can be a world free from massive wars? Can you believe there will be two people who think alike? Before those from that region set foot on this land, and called it america, there was such a world. Now it is gone. And it is due only to greed. The thing man prasies most it to be known and the greed to own stuff. Until we walk the road to being a true human being, we will never know peace. This is our test. We are not doing very well. As for this government or that government. Both are just as bad as the other. You must look into your heart. See what is expected of you, and walk the true road. I hope that some day our greatgrand children will receive this earth and say, we can walk in peace.

Comparing the condition under Saddam's regime and the current situation is like comparing apples and oranges. As most of us have been taught, we cannot do this comparison because the two items are not of the same entities. Saddam killed millions of people to create the illusion of harmony and peace in the Iraqi society. With the fall of Saddam, people were let to breath for a bit. Most of us remember the short period of time after his fall; most people in Iraq were grateful of the bravery of men and women in the coalition forces who removed Saddam. Most were living under the harshest condition but they were relieved of the brutality of a tyrant who ruled them with iron fist and crushed any voice of dissent. However, a short period of time after that, and partly because of the lack of competence of the Bush's administration, the most reactionary and barbaric part of the society took hold, namely religious zealots. The fact that different factions are trying to wipe their rivals in Iraq has nothing to do with the removal of one of the most barbaric and brutal regime in the region, after Iranian regime, of course. The best solution for this situation for the US to back out of the country and let the situation take its course until the different factions of the most barbaric form of religion would come to realize that killing innocent bystanders will not help their causes.

It is amazing how differently people perceive things. Some in the comments have condemned what we are doing in Iraq, others have tried to justify it under the pretext that Saddam was a tyrant who killed millions. The question is if Saddam was who he was and what he did to his opponents in Iraq; do we have the right to do the same in the name of liberating Iraqi people. Saddam was a tyrant. We helped him in killing those millions of people by supporting him and selling him WMDs, biological and chemical weapons. The weapons were made by American companies and the funding for those weapons came from American lenders. We are not in Iraq for love of democracy or to help Iraqis. The people have of Iraq have been subject to indignity first by a dictator and then by an occupying force. We are in Iraq for political and economic reasons. If our aims were altruistic, we would have been fighting for the people of Saudi Arabia against the tyrany of the family of Saud and all nations being ruled by despots, tyrants and dictators. One last thing that I would like to bring up here is that we blame Iraqis for killing each other. We destroyed the government, the bureaucracy, administrative bodies, law enforcement agencies and judiciary in Iraq. Imagine not having the police here! imagine what we, the most civilized people in the world, would do to each other.

Without media terrorist attacks would be worthless. Our own media supports terrorist attacks buy their diligent coverage of it. The war in Iraq was never about freeing the Iraqi people. It's about securing U.S. interests in the region and using it as a springboard for quick reaction against our enemies. I don't care about Iraqis all I want to know is how long is it gonna take to pump our oil out of their ground. No point in trying to win the hearts and minds of animals.

A brother is tied to a chair, his breath snarling through his nostils. His feet twist and writhe against the cords at his ankles, fingers flashing open and close like a stop light, as a black soul, lost to the devil, exacts an excrutiatingly painful operation upon this mortal body. A sister stands against the back wall of a room at home. Her arms are raised to level in front of her body. Palms turned up toward her assailant in a mindless, instinctive sign she seems to be waving very fast; they read: "NO!". She is cold. She does not feel herself. Terror is not new in Iraq. Indeed, it is not new in the world. It is abundant in the hearts and minds of millions. It lives, like a virus, in dark recesses throughout the universe. There once was a dictator in Iraq. He may not have understood that he was an innoculation; the bit of the virus that kept the full brunt of the virus from filling and consuming the hearts, minds and souls of the whole. He deserved no credit. He had no heart, yet his blood ran. Ran cold. He is gone now. And there is nothing to stop the icy terror from filling every void left in that forsaken land. And you ask Iraqis to act. But they are frozen. They do not feel themselves. Can a nation such as ours win against an evil as great as exists in Iraq today? How big is your heart? How brave are you? Would you enter these neighborhoods where the so called cowards live, with, perhaps, a stick for protection? Bring your children? The vast majority of Iraqi people are living in a nightmare, the likes of which 99.9999999% of americans have never known, unless they too, came from such places. How can we judge them? If we decide to pull out of Iraq, we should at least admit that a score of very decent, even wonderful people are being mutilated, surpressed, terrified, killed. And that we lack the will to prevent it. And, yes. We started the downward spiral this time. And yes, it was easier for Iraqis to live under Saddam Hussein. They tell us so, and I believe them. And so we have taken him out, though the Iraqis said "Please! NO!" And you ask, "Is this worth the lives of americans?" Maybe you should ask what it is to be an american?" That feeling that you have as you walk down the road, head high, chest out, proud, confident. As one blogger so aptly pointed out, americans voted to give this administration another four years AFTER learning of the less than credible basis for going in in the first place. Well, now look what we have done. And we can't blame it on the administration anymore. And so what do we owe the Iraqi people? The good ones that begged us to stay out? The wonderful families with children and brothers and sisters, mothers and fathers. The people like ourselves that just want to work for a better life, walk and play with the kids, pray on their holy days, maybe indulge an education? And who are we and what are we as a people if we, ONCE AGAIN, renig on our promise to stay and protect them. Perhaps we will no longer be americans. Or, worse, we may actually destroy America, and what it means to be an american. Americans, not just this administration have made a commitment for the safety and well being of a people. It's easy to suddenly be pragmatic, but, this time, more is at stake. We have to stay. We have to keep our promise. There is no other alternative if we are to be americans that stride proudly and confidently through life. And I don't think this american can co-exist with any other kind. I vote we stay, and we do what it takes, even if it takes more troops. After all, we promised. And that should still mean something to a real american.

Where is the comment I posted over an hour ago? If you don't intend on posting, I expect an explanation! Thank you.

To Jay in PA I would be very interested in knowing the sources from which you obtained you "facts". I have been attempting to find out more information on what our troops and government have been doing in Iraq with regard to any rebuilding. We hear that there is rebuilding going on, but have you actually seen any single picture of anything we have rebuilt? If we truly are doing so much rebuilding, why aren't the right wing media showing us evidence of it? Also, I have heard that the US has built the world's largest embassy in the world in Iraq, at a cost of millions and millions of dollars, and that we have built 12 - 14 permanent military bases there as well. I have yet to see any pictures of them, either. If this administrations true intent is to "bring Democracy to Iraq" and allow them to govern themselves, why construct permanent US military bases there??

What's happening is a tradegy - for the Iraqis mainly, but for our own country, too! For us to be obsessed with our 3100 brave troops lost, as we should be - but unwilling to even try to keep track of the 650,000 (best estimate) Iraqis dead as a result of our invasion, says very, very much, both about why our invasion has been wrong, and why we are losing the "war on terrosism".

T Hill, you are the most insensitive and ignorant person in this forum. To even dispute ANY deathtoll statistic in this context shows us exactly how little you grasped of this article. If you would dare to step out of your entrenched xenophobic mindset, you might be able to appreciate the staggering human suffering that these people are enduring. I guess you'd take a different stance if it was AMERICAN lives on the line. It's sad how little regard some people have for humanity... hopefully humanity can do without you one day, too. And oh, "God Bless".

Some of your comments are making me sick.. is not the death of some "natural?" considering the circumstances? And, to Jane Arraf - I admire your (five) columns at this NBC site.

Dehota, and you decide what is right or irrelevant. We had no right to do what was done. Nobody in the world except the good people of the USA believe that the aim was spreading democracy. Everybody and his uncle knows, except the good people of the USA that the reason we are there is OIL, and to get rid of our old arms so the military industrial complex can go ahead and manufacture a new arsenal to be tried out on a helpless foreign country every twenty or so years. With a few thousand of our kids thrown in for good measure. We don't even provide for our wounded when they return home. Instead, the rich gets another tax cut, and our veterans go on welfare, our elderly go without health care, their medicare benefits cut, medicines we manufature are sold in Mexico at less than half of what WE must pay. What the hell has happened to America??????

We had no right to do what was done. Nobody in the world except the good people of the USA believe that the aim was spreading democracy. Everybody and his uncle knows, except the good people of the USA that the reason we are there is OIL, and to get rid of our old arms so the military industrial complex can go ahead and manufacture a new arsenal to be tried out on a helpless foreign country every twenty or so years. With a few thousand of our kids thrown in for good measure. We don't even provide for our wounded when they return home. Instead, the rich gets another tax cut, and our veterans go on welfare, our elderly go without health care, their medicare benefits cut, medicines we manufature are sold in Mexico at less than half of what WE must pay. What the hell has happened to America??????

Islamic violent jihad is the Weapon of Mass Destruction. I've wished for my God given right to a natural death all my life, but the senseless dogma of an angry Arabian religion has kept me from sleeping comfortably since childhood. Angry Muslims of the world; what goes around, eventually comes around. In the clash of civilizations, there will be winners, and there will be reservations. The Saudi Arabian Reservation.

I have read and read. Does anyone have a clue? Iraq is up for grabs to the group of religious fanatics who have the most bodies to throw at the "war". Other countries fanatics are sending bodies to fight Iraq in their struggle to have the right of freedom. Freedom from a dictator and freedom from other religious tyranny. In America, our rights come from a belief in God. Muslim beliefs come from a man. Either way, freedom to have religion, should not be dictated by the entity with the biggest gun. In America, we have evolved into a society that whines until we get what we want. Booker T. Washington said, "Work and get respect". We seem to be letting the Iraqis whine so we won't leave. Can't they "just get along" and be responsible for themselves. Tell their neighbors to stay out of Iraq until the Iraqis settle their own disputes?

I am curious who Jane works for, really? Money or Truth. Suicide bombers get into Heaven if they kill their enemy in war. So, when the war is over, does that mean no one else will get into heaven? Or do they only keep men from getting 40 virgins? Oh, by the way, do female suicide bombers get 40 virgins too?

Maybe the people clawing for Iraqi soil would do better if they got a shovel? Or maybe an entire tractor and plow. Either way, it has to be tough to plow or dig for oil through a glass desert. Wasn't there an Iraq/Iran war a couple of decades ago? Why would Iran let religious fanatics go to Iraq if they hated each other enough to have a war about it?

As an American and as a disabled Vietnam Veteran, I personally was not gullible to believe everything that was told to us American Citizens. The problem is one of helplessness over the entire situation. I have spoken to my congressman and senators and asking how do we get out of this mess. The President just stated it started on my watch but will not end on my watch. I am watching veterans now returning to find the same situation many of us Vietnam vets found. Funding being cut for V.A. and disabilities. I have been lucky with a V.A. center in my home town and a regional one a short distance away. Since my disabilities were service connected I have not had long waits for reconstructive surgery for my legs. Now the problem is men of my age category, positive for agent orange have developed CLL that Chronic Lymphatic Lukemia and I also developed M.S in my late 50's. Now they recognize, CLL, M.S. P.T.S.D. I have an electric cart that lifts into my van so the V.A. certainly has taken care of me alright medically. What about all our new vets with, Gulf War Syndrome, spent uranium shells, innoculations that nobody tested in the time that would be required for civilian use. Tours of Duty? Marines 8 mos and back other branches the same way. This is burn out time, I will back our veterans 100%. By God its time to cut our losses and pull them out of there, Believe me we won't lose face. Our foreign policy really in terrible shape. We do not have the respect from any world leaders. Now we have Russia who is worried and stepping up their military and Naval forces because of our anti-ballistics capabilities, We don't need to get into a cold war situation because of our very brash political attitude that we can do this with our military. Congressmen and Senators, run do not walk with your military age children to the nearest recruiting office as we are going to need more new recruits to continue what your are doing. Be a patriot and enlist your boy and girl and go on T.V. to show that your going to do your part also. As a citizen we have our hands tied. No one will listen to us. We just continue to pay taxes and our children are doing the dying. What ever happened to all the news coverage each night of the caskets arriving in the United States with the flags draped on them News media start covering the return of these bodies of men and women, Ask the parents, brothers, sisters if their loved ones died for a deserving reason The bad guy has been hung let that country work out its problems over religion factors. They have only been fighting about this for over 1000 years.

Wow. When a compassionate person who gives minimal attention to facts reads these comments threads, it is disheartening. The state of discourse in America is appaling to say the least. I am an American that has traveled to many countries in Asia and the Americas and nowhere in the world have I encountered an educated person that held the belief that America went into Iraq for any kind of "humanitarian intervention" or to "bring democracy to Iraq" (this includes many of the military personnel I've spoken to). This is just my personal experience, take it for what you will, but I believe that this reflects popular world opinion. Look it up. Yes, Sadam was a monster. But as the non-binding resolution of the European Parliament stated "a pre-emptive strike would not be in accordance with international law and the UN Charter and would lead to a deeper crisis involving other countries in the region". Under the Nuremberg Principles the attack of Iraq is "a war of aggression" which is considered the "supreme war-crime". These are facts, I'm not making this up, I'm not a "lefty". This makes the US the perpetrator of war-crimes. As we've seen the rationale shift from WMD's to "democracy building" to protecting the world from Iran it is becoming painfully obvious that the media has failed in it's self-proclaimed mandate as the fourth estate. The mainstream media outlets and the pundits just tow the party line. There is no honest critique in the mainstream media of the mainstream media, for obvious reasons. For anyone who has interest in facts there is among our country's historical record many demonstrations of cognitive contortions. There is available a wealth of evidence that Americans are probably one of the most highly propagandized populations in the world at this time.(for a strat see the Misperceptions, the Media and the Iraq War article on http://www.worldpublicopinion.org) In my opinion, I think there should be much more reporting from the viewpoint of the Iraqi people in the press. What do the Iraqi's themselves think? Who knows? I think I'll go look it up. I would like to suggest that people take a more critical approach to all media, all across the spectrum. Without verified facts there can be no discourse and without informed discourse there is no democracy.

I've been told that the boys at War College and other military institutions have all been doing a lot of heavy drinking over the Iraqi theater of this war. They are astounded and befuddled at how the Bush administration have habitually disregarded military counsel from day one. To their credit the military continue be the loyal opposition to Bush/Cheney's leadership even as more and more rank-and-file have taken a stand on this ill-conceived Iraqi campaign. Kudos should go to the head of the Joint Chief of Staff who recently disagreed with Bush administration's assessmentthat the Iranian gov't was complicit with certain roadside bombs going off in Iraq. For those of you who are branding us all unpatriotic, disloyal, freedom-hating, media-loving liberals, let me ask you this: Q: Why did Bush I stop short of taking over Baghdad after Schwartzkopf and our troops routed the Iraqi republican forces during the first Gulf War? A: Because he heeded the wise counsel that toppling Saddam Hussein would pit Shiites and Sunnis against each other triggering a civil war. Bush II did not and now we have an "insurgency." Q: Why have the community of nations and the Muslim world (most of whom are NOT Arab, by the way) not question our continued engagement with Afghanistan? A: Because Afghanistan was the site of an al-Qaeda base and training camp and Osama bin-Laden was said to have fled there after 9/11 bombing of NYC and DC. Q: Ask the Vice President how much capital gains and dividends he declared on his 2000, 2003 and 2006 tax statements from a company he's had a long-time affiliation with and, until was a major contractor in this war on terror. Assignment: The generals would tell you to "follow the money" and see who stood to profit most from this - whether we win or not.

If someone cannot write under their name for whatever reason, then they shouldn't write at all. Especially to have it published by national news media.

Thank you, Ms. Arraf- for having a conscience: It's become a rarity among many of your colleagues these days.

Stoping the war is not the answer. The death and destrution will continue even if we are not there. The only way to solve the problems in the Middle East is for the people to come out of the dark ages and change their mindset. As long as the embrace death and destruction instead of life and liberty nothing will change.

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