Playing Jenga in Iraq

This morning as I was reading about Iraq's National Sovereignty Day, I had the same feeling as when I play Jenga and I have to pull out that one crucial piece.

You know the game. Using blocks you build a tower as high as you can--until you have to start re-using the blocks from below without bringing it all down.

For six years the U.S. military has been on a mission to reboot Iraq. Capture the country, clean out the viruses, kill the trojans, then reinstall a new operating system and get it up and running again.

Once they'd embarked on this mission, there really was no turning back. Since March of '03 there have been over 4,600 coalition soldiers killed in Iraq, combat-related or otherwise. According to one website, there have been between 92,000 and 101,000 documented Iraqi civilians killed in that same time period. That's a whole lot of death and sorrow.

What was accomplished? Only time will tell, but one thing is for sure--now it's up to Iraq to figure out its own destiny. Although American troops will be on the outskirts of the cities for another year, they have released control of the urban areas to the rightful owners.

What a joy that must be for those who have resented the foreign military presence. But it must also be a little scary. The violence is not over. Bombing will still occur by warring factions until the police and government find their legs.

I disagreed from the very beginning with Bush's decision to attack. I still stand by that. However, what's done is done and now it's important to let Iraq rebuild without a dictator at the helm and without a foreign army mixing things up.

As they play a national game of Jenga, I hope and pray that the whole thing doesn't come crashing down. It's time for peace and healing--for everyone.