The High Prices We Pay For Wars Fought For Greed

Over a million Iraqis have lost their lives because of Bush's invasion and occupation of Iraq. Around 4.5 million have been pushed from their homes and turned into refugees. The cultural heritage of the birthplace of civilization was looted as US soldiers watched and provided protection to one place, the ministry of oil. Over four thousand American soldiers have died, more than a thousand contractors have been killed, tens of thousands of American soldiers and contractors were wounded, and will bear the scars of war, the disabilities, traumas and psychological pain, for the rest of their lives. By the end of this war it is estimated that the US taxpayers will have wasted $3 trillion, all the while our country's infrastructure is crumbling, our education system is failing, our health care system is languishing, jobs are being lost, and poverty is skyrocketing. But Bush hasn't been free of sacrifice either:

Bush had to give up golf:

"I don't want some mom whose son may have recently died to see the commander in chief playing golf," he said. "I feel I owe it to the families to be in solidarity as best as I can with them. And I think playing golf during a war just sends the wrong signal."

Bush said he made that decision after the August 2003 bombing of the United Nations headquarters in Baghdad, which killed Sergio Vieira de Mello, the top U.N. official in Iraq and the organization's high commissioner for human rights.

"I remember when de Mello, who was at the U.N., got killed in Baghdad as a result of these murderers taking this good man's life," he said. "I was playing golf -- I think I was in central Texas -- and they pulled me off the golf course and I said, 'It's just not worth it anymore to do.'"

Although he still managed to set a record for most vacation ever taken by a president, in large part thanks to all the vacation he took before September 11th, 2001 while the CIA was trying to warn him Osama bin Laden was planning terrorist attacks in the United States.

But I guess that is the price to pay for an illegal and unnecessary war for corporate profits and the extension of Israel's hawkish foreign policy goals.

Oh, and I'd like to thank John McCain for supporting the war, and wanting to keep it going for years to come. And of course a smaller shout out to Hillary Clinton, who also followed Bush like a sheep and supported the war for years, but at least she stopped supporting it when the polls told her it wasn't popular anymore. Way to lead!

Update: Keith Olbermann exposed Bush golfing after he said he gave it up out of respect to the dead American soldiers.

Update (5/15): Olbermann follows up on the "giving up golf" lie, here.