Much has been said already by all of the folks here that is very noteworthy.
However, I have major concerns since this event. Trillions of dollars have been spent. A number of fine young men will not have the opportunity to live out their lives, and little has been accomplished. We have had boots on the ground in Iraq, and Afghanistan. What is victory? No one has even defined victory for all of the lives and resources that been invested. The poor kids who are the boots on the ground have to operate under such constraint that the rules of engagement favor the "enemy". I, personally, would never serve again under these conditions. Not for these bastards.
My father was the lucky one serving in WWII. The goal, as stated right from the beginning, was "unconditional surrender". I am sure that this is difficult for you but in order to win, total anihilation of the enemy must be a goal. And if this means that the tremendous civilian casualties would result, then so be it. For three days, during WWII, the British relentlessly bombed the city of Dresden. The city had no military value. What they did killed 80,000 people, mostly civilians. Total anihilation and total destruction was the mission to break the will to fight.
Today, the muslim world including those within the USA hate the Judeo Christian world with a vengence. Nothing has been accomplished except a little more intelligence data. The oil producing Arab States are still funneling dollars to the terrorists. No one has challenged their ability to produce this oil while the United States of America sits on the largest oil reserves in the world enough to go for hundreds of years. Did we ever think to use our ability produce oil to strangle the oil bearing Arab States?
Iraq could have been ended in one day with one bomb and not one man or woman from the military would have been a casualty. This is what the muslimes understand. To think that you could go into a nation whose cultural values are based upon 800 AD and tell them that they are now going to be a democracy is ludicrous.
My only assumption is that we are just plain stupid. And, you can't fix stupid.
If you think that we are better off than we were on 9/11/2001, then you are delusionary.
I certainly apologize for this thinking that may upset you, but facing reality was my job whether I liked it or not. Having been TAD with the Israeli forces for a while, they face this reality everyday. And they know how to deal with it. Justice to them is absolute and not variable.
I mourn those whom we have lost.
Ed
