How do you win a war without sacrafice?

   When historians look back at the Presidency of George W Bush and how he lost the war in Iraq, I believe they will point to something which is not often discussed these days, but which is important.   Beyond the lies and misinformation,  there is something else which doomed the war to failure.

   A nation cannot win a war without sacrifice from it's people.   George W. Bush never asked for sacrifice for the so-called war on terror, nor the war in Iraq.

   President Bush likes to compare the current war(s) with World War 2.    But the country was completely united in World War 2.    Society was transformed:  women joined the workforce, private industry produced war goods in lieu of consumer goods, men joined up in droves.    The nation was united in the effort to defeat the Nazi's and the Japanese.

   In the wake of 911, this President could have asked anything of this country, and the country would have responded.  But he didn't.    He gave tax cuts.   He increased spending and racked up the deficit.  

   In fact, to my knowledge, the only thing this President asked for that I recall after 911 was that we take a vacation.

   If winning is defined by establishing a democracy in Iraq and Afghanistan, we clearly do not have enough troops to win.    Democracy cannot flourish without security.   We do not have enough troops in our forces to secure these countries and therefore achieve these goals.    

   No, nothing short of a draft would give us the forces necessary to achieve these herculean tasks Bush set out to accomplish.

   At the end of the day, Iraq was no cakewalk, the mission was not accomplished when the Saddam statue was pulled down, and the Iraqis did not welcome us with flowers.    These are all miscalculations by an inept and delirious administration who thought they would win easily.

   President Bush did not ask for sacrifice in this war, and this, among the other reasons, is a prime reason why we will fail.

  Thoughts developed on the forum