It was three years ago today that our glorious leader and his magnificent codpiece made their daring landing aboard the USS Abraham Lincoln (deftly positioned to avoid showing San Diego Harbor in the background), before declaring the end of “major combat operations” in Iraq and “one victory” in the war on terrorism beneath his “Mission Accomplished” banner.

Over 2,400 US Soldiers have now been killed in Iraq, with April the deadliest month of 2006. An average of 2.6 US soldiers were killed every day last month. There have been some 17,000 soldiers wounded – suffering some of the most devastating combat injuries in US history – from multiple amputations to severe brain trauma, and the nature of the fighting is expected to produce the most severe cases of PTSD we’ve ever seen – all requiring complicated, expensive, long-term treatment in an already overwhelmed VA healthcare system.

Iraqi civilian deaths are officially between 34,000 and 39,000 – and actually somewhere around 200,000 – 300,000. In the name of freedom and democracy, the U.S. has obliterated dozens of entire cities and towns in the cradle of civilization.

According to the US State Department’s annual terrorism report, Iraq has become a safe haven for terrorists and has attracted a “foreign fighter pipeline.” The National Counterterrorism Threat Center reports that terrorist incidents and deaths more than doubled in 2005.

Now, three years later, Bush tells us that it’ll take a new President to bring our troops home. That’s one mission I hope we can accomplish ahead of schedule.