Five years later, after countless loss, deep sacrifice, of those who answered the call we are still at war still fighting the enemy entrenched in the land a shattered vase, held together by will, by hate, by hope forces outside and tension within a land ancient, a cradle of civilization the Tigris and Euphrates the land of Ur, of Abraham a land of tyrants and madmen in the swirling sand of the desert the wealth in the oil, the schisms of the Shia, the Sunni the Kurds to the north a land of tribal loyalty a crucible for chaos where we have been battling Swift victory and stagnant struggle five years later, more blood, more treasure to pay before any resolution at all, for good or for evil we are there still
March 20, 2008 March 19, 2008 marked the 5th anniversary of the start of the Iraq War