Iraq War five-year mark quietly observed

The clock bell in old Dallas City Hall tolled. It was just calling the time, of 7 p.m. Later, though, more bells tolled in Dealey Plaza, at the peace rally marking the fifth anniversary of the invasion of Iraq.

The crowd was small. Far smaller than the pre-war rally at the Kennedy Memorial. Smaller than the one-year rally. Smaller than Bush protest rallies.

The Dallas Morning News? AWOL, as was its sister TV station, WFAA, and the other major networks.

But, some people were there. Some people did read the signs we held up. Some people, over 18 but under 25, asked what was happening, even when my sign said, “Five years is long enough, get us out of Iraq.”

And, so, the slow, deadly drip of apathy, because George W. Bush is using the Chinese purchasing of U.S. Treasury securities to pay for this war, is the ultimate lesson, the ultimate frustration, at the five-year mark.