WHY WERE WE EVER IN IRAQ?

[sad sally]

37. And why did the President, who said Iraq was a "dumb" war keep supporting

it from inauguration day Jan 20, 2009 until December 15, 2011 - so an additional 255 Americans could die for his war? Yes, I said his war. It's okay to blame the previous administration up to a point, but supposedly the Bush/Cheney administration was no longer in power after 1/20/09.

Remember the hearings with antiwar veterans back in May of 2008? How could a campaigning Senator Obama who rightly called this a "dumb" war hear this yet continue it for three additional years?
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Nine veterans of the Iraq war told their stories before members of Congress and a packed gallery. One of the veterans had also served in Afghanistan. About 40 veterans were in the audience.

The veterans spoke about extremely lax rules of engagement handed down by commanding officers, which they said virtually guaranteed atrocities would be committed, and which in turn created a violent backlash among Iraqi people and a continued cycle of violence.

Former U.S. Army Capt. Luis Carlos Montalvan served directly under Gen. David Petraeus in 2005 and 2006.

"We have beaten our drum to try to raise the issue of the dereliction of duty committed by a number of generals who have been promoted and promoted again and continue to perpetuate the lies [that] paint a rosy picture of the situation in Iraq," he said.