How history could, and should be read

My favorite part of The Gazette is “Today in History”: Aug. 7, 1964: The U.S. Senate, with an 88-2 vote, and the House, with a 416-0 vote, approved the Tonkin Gulf Resolution, based on lies, half-truths and deliberate manipulation of intelligence. It served as the legal basis for our war in Vietnam, which lasted another 8 ½ years.

Over the next few years, may we read the following entries:

Aug 31, 2010: The number of U.S. troops in Iraq was reduced to 50,000, in accordance with an agreement made between Iraq and the United States in 2008.

July 31, 2011: The governor of Iowa welcomed home all of the 1st Battalion, 133rd Infantry and the 334th Brigade Support Battalion. The Iowa National Guard units returned from Afghanistan as part of the reduction promised by President Obama on Dec 1, 2009. In a separate news conference in Wash, D.C., President Obama congratulated Afghan President Hamid Karzai on reaching the goal of a well-trained Afghan army of 134,000 and a police force of 82,000.

Dec 31, 2011: The last U.S. troops departed from Iraq today. Their departure brought to an end the war begun in March, 2003, based on lies, half-truths, and deliberate manipulation of intelligence.

Ed Flaherty

Iowa City