Phil Ochs sang 40 years ago of "Fighting in a war we lost before the war began" and of "White boots marching in a yellow land." What was true of the Vietnam War is equally true of the present invasion of Iraq: It is a war that never could have been won, for it is a war not just against a particular government but a war against the people of Iraq.
And the people of Iraq, whatever their internal differences, have shown they will not be conquered by the foreign invaders. This war will continue until the U.S. admits its defeat and withdraws its troops not just from Iraq but from the entire Middle East.
Who will be the last man or woman to die or to lose their legs in this criminal war? How many more 10s of thousands of Iraqi women, men, and children will the U.S. murder?
And only a mass movement of U.S. citizens against this criminal war can bring it to a close. Voting will not stop it. The DP presidential candidates have made clear their intentions to continue the war. Only mass mobilizations, growing in strength and militancy, will bring it to an end.
Carrol Cox