Good piece on alternet today....

War on Iraq - Opposing the Iraq War: Heroes of Resistance
By John Tirman, AlterNet

As we mark the fourth anniversary of Bush's catastrophic war in Iraq, a round of blaming is sure to ensue along with counts of U.S. soldiers killed and wounded, money spent, dreams dashed, and the like.

What we should also do is celebrate the people who opposed the war from the beginning. In the face of severe opprobrium and intimidation, a sizable number of Americans saw the charade for what it was and rued the oncoming disaster. They should be cheered, time and again.

(snip)

They were, of course, marginalized and in many cases accused of treason. Nowadays, those who were cheerleaders for the war want to join the ranks of the resisters, saying they were against this debacle all along.

Fortunately for us, there were many who genuinely opposed the war before it began, seeing clearly that war has unintended consequences, that it would involve enormous casualties, and that America would be widely loathed as a result. They took risks to do say these things, to organize protests and write Congress and attempt to get their voices heard. And they were absolutely correct in their vision. The invasion and occupation of Iraq may be the most colossal foreign policy disaster in American history.

(snip)

5. Other prominent politicians and political advisers: Howard Dean, Al Gore, Brent Scowcroft, James Webb, Ralph Nader, Barack Obama, and Wesley Clark. This should be a litmus test for '08.

I know I'm leaving many deserving names out of this roster, but this brief reckoning is meant to begin a tribute of good judgment and values that were attuned to the enormous challenges of that long winter of deception.

This is not just idle self-congratulation. We need to understand why this fiasco occurred, and listening to the voices of those who opposed it for ethical and strategic reasons from the outset helps to unravel this puzzle. It is not that the war was prosecuted incompetently. The intelligent and courageous opposition to the war prior to its many misdeeds saw that the Iraq invasion would be wrong no matter how it proceeded.

So join in this little celebration. Maybe by doing so, these voices and others will be heard more clearly the next time around.