Post Scripts: Debate of war and patience

President Bush warned us in the beginning his adventure in Iraq "might be longer and more difficult that some predict." Aside from the debate over the need for a full-scale war, and how this one has been conducted, it is without doubt more costly and far more difficult than his advisors predicted.

American taxpayers are on track to spend more than $600 billion on the war which so far has cost us the lives of 3,400 and wounded nearly 24,000 soldiers. In dollars, our cost of being there, if anyone in Washington really knows, has reached $357 billion with Bush asking for another $68 billion to pay for the troop increase he asked for in January. The figures are more than the total for the Korean War and nearly as much as for the painful years in Vietnam, adjusting for inflation.

World War II, our most expensive war thus far, cost more than $2 trillion, adjusted for inflation. This war’s costs will continue to accrue long after the last American soldier has left Iraq. The cost of taking care of those wounded in Iraq is projected to run into hundreds of billions of dollars in the years ahead.

It is only presidential hubris that can account for President Bush’s latest plea that we be "patient" as he continues to funnel another 20,000 soldiers into the nightmare of Iraq. Bush may leave office uttering the same empty, almost meaningless refrain that the war can be won if we only have the "resolve" to see it through. Presidential stubbornness is no substitute for policy.

Presidential hardheadedness is no substitute for policy. Telling us to be patient and applauding our troops for bravery does nothing to replace intelligent, diplomatic and military planning to stop the death and destruction in Iraq now and in the future. I’m sorry for Bush’s successor because it may take years for the U.S. to restore its reputation.

In a way, it will be the people of America who restore their resolve to survive the remainder of George Bush’s term without getting in more trouble – another war, perhaps with Iran. President Bush cannot run again. We must remember we went into Iraq under false pretenses originating from the White House.

We have not only sacrificed brave young Americans, but we have sacrificed our Constitution. If we believe that freedom and democracy bring peace, we must demonstrate their power by staunchly defending them during time of terror. The courage that a president seeks must be found in his own White House.

Our president asks for patience. We have been more than patient. Bring our troops home.

Enough patience already!