The Iraq war is one of the greatest blunders in American history. The American people already know that the human and financial cost of the war has been far too great. Nearly 2,800 Americans have been killed and we are spending nearly $250 million on each day on the war in Iraq.
Robert Greenwald's new film, Iraq for Sale, shows how the Bush Administration has been outsourcing this war to corporate America - and how that effort has been mismanaged. His film is a convincing indictment of the Administration's decision to give multi-billion dollar sweetheart deals that have lined contractor's pockets while failing to meet the basic needs of our soldiers. All Americans should be asking how the Bush Administration could have allowed contractors to fail to provide our soldiers with safe food and drinking water.
Greenwald's film adds further evidence of the Bush administration's incompetence from the start of this war and continuing to this day. We now know that they misled the American people about the pre-war intelligence and ignored the warnings from the State Department and others that Iraq was not the threat they claimed it to be. There was no smoking gun to link Iraq to the attacks on September 11th, no convincing link to Al Qaeda, and no compelling evidence that Iraq was close to building a nuclear bomb.
The American people know that the Bush Administration has been dangerously incompetent in the conduct of the war. They sent far too few troops into Iraq, contrary to the recommendations of key military leaders, and spread them far too thin. Without sufficient troops, we were unable to stop the looting or protect the stores of enemy munitions.
They sent the troops into battle year after year without adequate armor to protect them against roadside bombs made from the same explosives that we failed to protect, which have been the leading cause of death of our brave soldiers. They disbanded the Iraqi military, and then waited a year to begin training a new security force.
Sadly, the Republicans in Congress have been complicit in this incompetence and mismanagement. They have failed to exercise their oversight responsibilities and demand better for our men and women in uniform. The Republicans must be held accountable for their incompetence. But in November, the American people have a chance to make a change and put an end to these back-room deals. Greenwald's film is a poignant reminder of why this election is so important and why America needs a new course and a new direction in Iraq.