Dear Editor, The subject of the war in Iraq came up in class with regards to the Civil War.

I had never before seen the connection, but it is amazing how similar they are.

Apart from the controversy that both brought to the table, one similarity stands out.

To define each war, you have to define the idea of “winning.”

Is it possible to win in the Middle East and still leave any part of their society intact?

In the context of the Civil War, winning was not defined by whoever won the most battles.

For the South, they just had to survive.

That’s it. If we are using the same definition in context with the Iraqi War, did we win? Or were all the lives lost – on both sides – for the better part of a decade lost in vain?

Don’t get me wrong, I am and will be pro-war and pro-troops until it’s officially over, but you have to ask yourself is there ever an end?

Is it possible to completely revamp their political aspirations and society as a whole and just leave?

I guess the only way to see the effects of this war is to simply wait and see.

I, for one, will be curious to see.

– Dustin Powell

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