Best Defense

Thomas E. Ricks' daily take on national security.

What a long strange war it’s been

What may be the last major set of court proceedings in the Haditha incident has begun, as Staff Sgt. Frank Wuterich deals with charges of manslaughter and lesser offenses. It struck me that the massacre of 24 Iraqis happened more than three years ago. This war is beginning to feel very long to me. But ...

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What may be the last major set of court proceedings in the Haditha incident has begun, as Staff Sgt. Frank Wuterich deals with charges of manslaughter and lesser offenses.

What may be the last major set of court proceedings in the Haditha incident has begun, as Staff Sgt. Frank Wuterich deals with charges of manslaughter and lesser offenses.

It struck me that the massacre of 24 Iraqis happened more than three years ago. This war is beginning to feel very long to me. But then I think it will be America’s longest war, outstripping not just Vietnam but the revolution. (And before the Bruce Palmer fan club starts posting about Vietnam a 25-year war, let me say that by that measure, the Iraq war began in August 1990.)

(This post has been updated.)

Zooomaboom/Flickr

Thomas E. Ricks covered the U.S. military from 1991 to 2008 for the Wall Street Journal and then the Washington Post. He can be reached at ricksblogcomment@gmail.com. Twitter: @tomricks1
Tag: Iraq

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