What is Success?

Okay, so what will it take for me to back W in the occupation of Iraq? What can he say tonite to get me to change my mind , cheer him on and support the continued occupation? What is success in Iraq?

The reality is that there is nothing he can say to me. Since I view all violence and war as wrong this question becomes moot (especially when our occupation is one based on lies and is creating a situation that perpetuates violence).

So what to expect tonite? Well I am sure we will hear the standards: "Freedom on the march","we are safer now at home than before", "We must spread democracy"...After playing on fear and blind nationalism there will be some who will cheer W's "down on the ranch" speech. The polls will probably show an uptick for W, and he will tout that as a victory and a reaffirmation of our occupation. But the reality is that this occupation will continue: until everyone stops to really look at and think about the human cost of this war; until we look past the sanitized news reports and the "rah rah" speeches; until we realize the negative impact this occupation has on our economy and our lives.

I think more people need to think about the human toll of this occupation. An excellent starting point is Coaltion Casualties. This takes us through a timeline of coalition troop casualties and represents each death on a map of Iraq. The only drawback to this map is that it represents coalition troop casualties and not total casualties including civilians. But even with this limitation, I dare anyone to look at those dots and visualize a face (a father/mother/sister/brother/friend). After visualizing a face, thenn try to justify our continued presence and occupation.

So the bottom line - What is success in Iraq? - withdrawal of US troops, UN troops in, ending the occupation, ending the corruption, ending the lies, ending the violence.