Millions of Americans probably learned about last week's horrific attack on U.S. troops in Mosul while wrapping Christmas presents or stuffing packages into the SUV after a last-minute shopping blitz at the mall.
That jarring juxtaposition may be the perfect symbol for the Iraq war. This grueling, grinding conflict is skittering through American life like a tornado that tears one house to the ground in every neighborhood, while leaving all those around it unscratched.
For the military personnel on the front lines -- and their families and friends -- the war is exacting bitter costs. For all other Americans, even for the officials whose decisions sent the troops into battle and shaped the conditions under which they are fighting and dying, the war is imposing no discernible consequences. Like the Civil War, when a rich draftee in the North could hire a poor man to take his place, and Vietnam with its loophole-ridden draft, the Iraq war risks being stained by systemic inequity.
Soldiers tend to salute not complain, but this war is straining the military so much that "volunteer service" may no longer precisely describe it. Ordinarily, the Pentagon limits each soldier to one overseas deployment every four or five years. But nearly one-third of the roughly 1 million U.S. troops who have fought in Afghanistan and Iraq have been forced to serve more than one tour of combat duty, the Boston Globe reported last month.
Thousands of additional soldiers have seen their tours involuntarily extended through "stop loss" policies that prevent them from leaving the military when they complete their commitment. Reserve and National Guard units accustomed to domestic responsibilities have been placed on extended duty in Iraq.
U.S. troops are facing relentless violence in a war in which progress has proved as elusive as the enemy itself. Each death and injury tears a hole in a circle of family and friends.
Meanwhile, for everyone else in America, the war is proceeding without a cost greater than their unease and sorrow when watching the evening news.
Since the Civil War, Americans have raised taxes to fund all of the nation's wars. But when Congress returns next month, one of President Bush's first priorities will be legislation making permanent the huge tax cuts he won during his first term.
Bush's presidency marks the first time the U.S. has significantly cut taxes while at war. Since the federal budget is already in deficit, that means we are effectively passing the bill for this war onto our children through an increased national debt.
