Not very many people apparently. A recent CNN poll showed that only 35 percent of Americans are confident we're going to win this war. So, there must be panic in the streets, right?
I mean if we're not going to win the war, then we must be getting ready for the enemy to take over. Our whole way of life is going to change, right?
Or perhaps everything will go on exactly as it was before. How do you know you were in an unnecessary war? When you can't tell it's over.
If we pulled out of Iraq tomorrow, would anyone in the middle of America be able to tell the difference between the two days? Would anyone's life be different (other than the troops and their families)?
In the case of the Iraq War, the answer is clearly no. That's why the same poll found that the number of people "afraid of the war" hasn't changed at all in the last four years. It's still only 33% of the population.
Why are so few people afraid of this war? Because they don't believe the Bush administration that the Iraqis are going to follow us here if we don't fight them over there. No one in their right mind believes that the Badr Brigade is going to take over downtown Cleveland if we don't fight them in Basra.
Do you think the Mahdi Army will target San Antonio or Omaha first? How about the peshmarga - will they attack Miami or Sacramento?
If some of you are now saying, wait a minute, the Kurdish peshmarga are on our side, we're not currently fighting the Badr Brigade and we're not sure the Mahdi Army has an interest in fighting us. I say, exactly! The Iraqis are a diverse group and they are more worried about keeping control in their part of their country to be worried about the US.
The terrorists who hit us here at home aren't in Iraq. They're in Pakistan. How many times do we have to say this before the media starts covering this story accurately? At least the American people get it. They are not worried because they know in their hearts that this Iraq War has nothing to do with our safety. And that the situation in America isn't going to change one iota whether we win or lose in Iraq.
Has there ever been a more unnecessary war?
UPDATE -- Kay Bailey Hutchinson told CNN yesterday: "We are fighting for the freedom of our children more than any war we have ever been in." Really? Who is insane enough to believe that?! So, the Iraq War is more fundamental to our freedoms than the Revolutionary War? The Civil War? World War II? They are getting downright comical now.