Flash back to April of 2003. The UN weapons inspectors searched the countryside of Iraq for weapons of mass destruction and found none. Colin Powell went to the United Nations with a vial that could have contained anthrax but really didn't. Record amounts of demonstrations around the country and globe spoke with one clear message: No War in Iraq. Of course with all these signs of illegitimacy, the United States launched a preemptive-strike war.

Now a year after we began our modern crusades and ten months after 'Mission Accomplished,' we continue with our $100 billion-plus quagmire, and the word Occupation never so succinctly described our situation.

Let's look at the positives: We have captured the villainous tyrant Saddam Hussein! Hurrah, hooray, calloo, callay! We also found the weapons of mass... uh, wait a minute. We have brought democracy to the sovereign state of...no, that's not it. Quality life, electricity and indoor plumbing are now in every...well, I don't think that's even close. At least by controlling oil fields, our gas prices have remained lower than...jeez, I can't even say that. With our occupation, terror is on the run and the United States and its allies are stronger than ever and the world is safe from Spain to Indonesia to...oh man, let's just stick with the first one. We have captured the villainous tyrant Saddam Hussein! USA! USA! USA!

Unlike our Congress, which now tries in vein to wipe the blood off its hands, I never thought going into Iraq was a good idea. When you are the number one superpower in the world and never attack a country without direct provocation, the world sees you as a benevolent democracy. When you attack a third world Middle Eastern country on the other side of the world because Daddy did it when he was president, your nation takes on an almost-World War II Germanic appearance.

It's a year later, and still the only Iraqi I know the name of is the one we captured. For all of the news reports we've been inundated with, I know very little (nor do I really care) about the people we brought "freedom" to on the other side of the globe. I know that over 500 U.S. soldiers have died there and thousands more have been wounded. I know that the American people would rather talk about boobs on TV than Iraq. I know we wish we could put the whole war thing behind us, but we can't.

Even the journalistic news corps has taken a back seat to the war discussion. In my local paper yesterday, they still had a full page of Iraqi war coverage. It was in the D section, after all the classified ads on the second to last page. The weather got the all important back page status. The Iraqi war has become more of a conceptual campaign issue instead of an actual real life bloody mess.

For being a Christian, our president seems to think causing bloodshed in the name of national security is a worthy cause. I've just got one question for all you war mongering Passion of Christ Christians: What Would Jesus Do?

What has the Iraqi War mission really accomplished? The world is now a playground for random terror bombings. The United States is polarized and divided. Our national budget has gone from record surpluses to record deficits. Not to be forgotten, we have captured the villainous tyrant Saddam Hussein, and we're still supposed to be scared and have our freedom protected by sacrificing our civil rights. The government keeps saying everything changed after 9/11. Damn right, it did. Thanks for helping to make a serious problem worse.

I won't lie. I have gotten a lot tougher physically, mentally and spiritually in the last year. Not because I feared the terrorists, but because I realized that my government will do whatever it damn well pleases without a second thought to the long-term consequences to this nation. I feel that I can't rely on my government for much assistance or support on anything. It's leaders are busy with their war and re-election strategies, and I think we all better get tougher if we're going to deal with a second year of a war that we never should have started.

Chris Jungle seldom brags about the missions he accomplishes