What's in a Promise?

So, I was listening to the news again (bad habit – just makes me angry), and I heard that the U.S. military is planning on keeping 3500 troops in Iraq past their yearlong tour. This despite the promise of the administration that soldiers would not be asked to serve in Iraq for more than a year. The reporter was oddly happy to point out that this would mean a significant increase in the numbers of overall troops in Iraq.

What happened to the plan of slowly withdrawing troops? What happened “Mission Accomplished? Hell, what happened to keeping the promises we make to the men and women who go into harms way so that we can be free to sit at home on our asses and watch reality TV? I am beginning to feel silly and a little naive and stupid even asking those questions, but I can’t seem to quit asking them. Like a scab, I just keep picking at them. What I expect of that picking, I really couldn’t say. To release the swelling pus underneath so that healing can occur? Maybe. Or maybe I just haven’t become as cynical as I thought.

Of course, no one actually came out and said that this was just one more indication of the absolutely nasty situation that Iraq is becoming. No one had to. It was clear. Like the pink elephant, we can all see it, even if many people refuse to admit that it’s dancing in the living room under all of our noses.