We must hold our government accountable for this war...

The regime of Saddam Hussein has ended, and the mainstream media has portrayed the war as a huge success. We've all seen the images of people dancing in the streets of Baghdad and statues of Saddam being ripped down. Few have seen footage of the funerals of Iraqi civilians, the hospitals caring for the human "collateral damage", the anti-American rallies in Iraq, or the intense struggle for power that many groups are engaged in.

I'm afraid that within a few weeks, the war will slip off of the front pages of the newspapers, and out of the consciousness of the majority of Americans. And yet, many crucial issues remain unsettled in Iraq for the 23 million people left behind after the war. Among them...

1. Are the basic humanitarian needs of the Iraqi people being adequately met?
2. How will the new government of Iraq be formed and who will form it?
3. Where are the weapons of mass destruction which were the supposed reasons to launch this war?
4. Who will rebuild Iraq, and how will those contracts be awarded?
5. What role will the US military play in post-war Iraq, and for how long?
6. How much will this war cost, and what have we sacrificed here at home to pay for it?

If we don't follow through with these critical concerns, the suffering of the Iraqi people will continue. Furthermore, if left unchallenged, the "success" of this war will make it much easier for our government to launch another pre-emptive war. We must hold our government accountable for this war and follow it through to witness the true ramifications of this invasion.

As such, the KC Iraq Task Force met last Sunday and decided to launch the Full Accountability Campaign. This campaign will seek to hold our government accountable for the consequences of this war. Each month, we will highlight an issue (such as one from the list above) to inform the public about the aftermath of the war. We will come together on the fourth Sunday of each month at the JC Nichols Fountain to draw attention to that issue. We are still working on the logistics, but our next sponsored protest and rally will be on Sunday, May 25.

Sincerely,

Brad Grabs, Chairperson
KC Iraq Task Force