Collateral

Dear Mr. President,

How much are we spending on Iraq? Did we have the money to spend or have we taken out a loan? I'm asking because there is a lot of talk in the news reports of "collateral". I looked up the word to be sure I understood: " of a secondary nature; subordinate: collateral target damage from a bombing run."

How many Iraqis are collateral damage? Actually, that's a very good question. It seems not many people know that answer. In fact, I would hazard to guess that no one actually knows that answer since no one has bothered to keep track. Oh sure, there may be one Iraqi attempting to write emails to his (or her, :*)) new, elected President commenting on the damage done so far; but I'm sure no one is listening to him (or her).

But, collateral is necessary to get things done. Right, Mr. President? In a loan it is offered up in the event the borrower cannot repay the debt. It the only way the lender is sure they will get back what they gave out (and then some). We made a promise to Iraq: We'll take your country, but give it back to you better. Isn't that about right? So who is really our collateral? If we cannot rebuild Iraq as promised, wouldn't our troops be the collateral damage? Aren't they the ones we are considering subordinate because we didn't have a viable exit strategy? The real heroes always seem to die tragically, don't they? While the villains slip away somewhere trying to go unnoticed. Perhaps out to a large ranch in Texas, for example.