Anniversary of Shame

Like most civilized nations of West World, with the exception of the US, Denmark has a national medical plan that covers everyone.

This has many benefits. One of them is the little plastic card that identifies you in the medical system. This little piece of white and yellow plastic is actually all the medical insurance you need within the European Union.

Also, that little card has embossed on it your "person nummer" which, in the US would be what we call a "social security number". The difference is that the "person nummer" actually gives you some security and that in more ways than one!

Although I know that it is one of the last days in November, I have a problem remembering my wife, Sunflower Woman's actual birthdate and that is where that little card comes in handy -- you see, the "person nummer" is made up of your birthday followed by four digits.

So, all I have to do is sneak a look in her purse around the middle of the month and avoid the Unforgivable Sin of forgetting her birthday!

All that was a walk around to explain why I forgot that yesterday was the 4th Anniversary of Shame, 19 March -- the day when, in an operation gloriously named, "Enduring Freedom", illegally invaded Iraq and began the occupation which history will come to know as "Operation Enduring Disaster" or maybe even "Enduring Fuggups".

In the months before the invasion I got flamed more than once on the bulletin boards where I was then posting my views.

Being an oxygen breather, my view proved to be correct. In all conciseness my view was:

"Iraq will fall like a ripe plum into our hands -- it is afterwards that we will find catastrophe as all hell breaks loose."

In a speech worthy of Ronald Rexona in the Third Galaxy when he declared the Lasting State of Emergency, this is what the Codpiece said four years ago:

THE CODPIECE: My fellow citizens, at this hour, American and coalition forces are in the early stages of military operations to disarm Iraq, to free its people and to defend the world from grave danger.

Our nation enters this conflict reluctantly — yet, our purpose is sure. The people of the United States and our friends and allies will not live at the mercy of an outlaw regime that threatens the peace with weapons of mass murder. We will meet that threat now, with our Army, Air Force, Navy, Coast Guard and Marines, so that we do not have to meet it later with armies of fire fighters and police and doctors on the streets of our cities…
May God bless our country and all who defend her.

Four years later, this is what he said:

THE CODPIECE: Good morning. Four years ago today, coalition forces launched Operation Iraqi Freedom to remove Saddam Hussein from power. They did so to eliminate the threat his regime posed to the Middle East and to the world. Coalition forces carried out that mission with great courage and skill…

As Jonathan Schwarz, over at Tom Tomorrow's place, bitingly commented,

Operation Enduring Freedom was a catastrophe, but Operation Rewrite History is resounding success...

I rest my case.