things started fairly well. There were no complaints as March waned and we crossed from Kuwait into Iraq; only thinly veiled excitement. As the weeks turned to months, however, and we watched active-duty units return to their families, our stoicism was replaced with mounting frustration. Our Vietnam-era flak vests, retooled M-16's more than two decades old and a general absence of supplies added to an irrefutable feeling that we had been abandoned in the lion's den.

When the tour ended a year later, our uniforms were in tatters, night vision goggles had been packed away seven months earlier when all our replacement parts ran out, and the ragged men who stepped off the plane in Hinesville, Ga., scarcely resembled the "shock-and-awe" troops seen on television. Nevertheless, we were soldiers returned home ... victorious, at least in a sense.

Read the rest. It's frightening to realize that not only has this unnecessary war caused the death of many young Americans, but the psychological toll for those fortunate enough to return may be staggering. The consequences of this mistaken war will last for decades.

Back to our clueless President: Today he announced he wouldn't rule out using force against Iran.