Let Me Count the Days

Here's a timeline of events in the Iraq war.

And this is from my friend Bill Blinn*:

3 years 8 months 8 days (1,347 days).

That's the number of days between September 11, 2001, and May 20, 2005.

It's also the number of days between December 7, 1941, and August 15, 1945.

In the 1,347 days between December 7, 1941, when Pearl Harbor was attacked, and August 15, 1945, when Japan ended World War II by signing an unconditional surrender, the United States

• Worked together with the rest of the world
• Helped defeat Germany, Italy, Japan, Hungary, Romania, and Bulgaria
• Provided unprecedented aid
• Built strong alliances
• Earned the trust and the respect of what would later be known as the "free world"

In the 1,347 days between September 11, 2001, when New York and Washington were attacked by terrorists, and May 20, 2005, what will the Bush administration have achieved? So far, the United States has

• Invaded Afghanistan (population: 24,800,000 in 245,000 square miles of land mass; by comparison, California has 33,800,000 inhabitants in 158,700 square miles of land mass)
• Invaded Iraq (population: 21,400,000 in 168,000 square miles of land mass)
• Lied about completing a mission
• Lied about weapons of mass destruction
• Misplaced millions of dollars flowing into Iraq despite predictions that oil from Iraq would finance the country's own reconstruction
• Earned the distrust of most of the rest of the world

But maybe I'm criticizing too early. After all, the Bush administration still has 62 days to actually end the war in Iraq, complete the mission, find the missing WMDs, find the missing money, find a way for Iraq's oil to pay for reconstruction, and earn the trust and respect of the world.

Think the neocons will be able to pull it off?

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*Bill says this is based on a statement made by Ed Schultz on March 18, 2005.