Monday, December 13, 2004
Happy Spider Hole Day!
Has it been a year already? My how time flies!
One year ago today, Saddam Hussein was found hiding in a "spider hole" outside of his hometown of Tikrit. Oh how we celebrated. The media practically creamed themselves over the video of Saddam's medical exam. I remember waking up that morning to find a wild-eyed Tom Brokaw babbling about how things were going to be very different now that Saddam was in custody. This was going to be the United States' defining moment in the war. Now the Iraqi people could breathe easy. In fact, Donald Rumsfeld even went so far as to make this prediction:
Well, 838 US deaths later and here we are. The country is still in chaos, the Iraqis are still unable to provide their own security, and the insurgency has actually stepped-up it's attacks. Our soldiers have been dying at an average of 2.35 per day since Saddam was found in that hole. The death rate prior to his capture: 1.70 per day. Things sure are different.
Actually, there's been a whole list of things that were supposed to make a difference. There was:
As you can see, the death rate has been steadily climbing with each new difference making event. I can't wait for elections, because that will truly change everything.
One year ago today, Saddam Hussein was found hiding in a "spider hole" outside of his hometown of Tikrit. Oh how we celebrated. The media practically creamed themselves over the video of Saddam's medical exam. I remember waking up that morning to find a wild-eyed Tom Brokaw babbling about how things were going to be very different now that Saddam was in custody. This was going to be the United States' defining moment in the war. Now the Iraqi people could breathe easy. In fact, Donald Rumsfeld even went so far as to make this prediction:
- "He was found with a sizable amount of money," [Rumsfeld] said. "And one of the things that the Saddam Hussein family and his clique of intimates were doing is they were providing money to people to go out and engage in acts against the coalition and the Iraqi people, so that's ended."
Well, 838 US deaths later and here we are. The country is still in chaos, the Iraqis are still unable to provide their own security, and the insurgency has actually stepped-up it's attacks. Our soldiers have been dying at an average of 2.35 per day since Saddam was found in that hole. The death rate prior to his capture: 1.70 per day. Things sure are different.
Actually, there's been a whole list of things that were supposed to make a difference. There was:
- The fall of Baghdad - 1174 dead soldiers ago, (1.92 per day)
- The deaths of Uday and Qusay - 1060 dead soldiers ago, (2.08 per day)
- The capture of Saddam - 838 dead soldiers ago, (2.35 per day)
- The transfer of power - 445 dead soldiers ago, (2.64 per day)
As you can see, the death rate has been steadily climbing with each new difference making event. I can't wait for elections, because that will truly change everything.
