Conflicting advice on Iraq investment

This is the investment Wisconsin has made so far in the war in Iraq:

Eighty-four Wisconsin military people, men and women, serving in the various branches of the armed forces have died since the war began in 2003.

Another 550 Wisconsin military people have been wounded, some grievously.

Approximately 23,000 Wisconsin servicemen and servicewomen have been assigned to serve in Iraq. Some have served repeatedly. Some will suffer from Traumatic Stress Disorder for the remainder of their lives.

Is this investment worth the price we have paid and will pay?

I can't answer that for you. Some of you will look at the dangers posed by leaving Iraq and conclude that, painful as it is, the price is worth paying. Others will look at the same costs and say, "not a life more."

I trust that none of us, no matter what our individual feelings about this war, will conclude that those 84 Wisconsin residents died "in vain." They died or were wounded serving their nation. For that, they deserve their nation's honor and gratitude.

But soldiers don't send themselves to war. They are sent by their government, and we civilians select the government that sends them. We are the ones, then, who are obligated to look at the costs and determine the nature of our future investment.There's a rule of investment: Treat every dollar like a new dollar. Don't maintain your stake in a stock that has lost value just so you can recoup your loss.

We invested those Wisconsin lives, just as we invested the estimated 4,025 American lives that have been shed altogether since the beginning of the war.

I can't imagine there is even a single parent of a downed military hero who would suggest we send more men and women to their deaths just to justify the loss of that parent's child. The only possible reason to send more soldiers to Iraq is to help achieve a national goal.

Gen. David Petraeus was back in Washington this week, testifying before Senate and House committees about the return, so far, on this nation's investment of lives and of treasure. This is what Petraeus concluded:

There has been some progress in the war, he said, but that progress is "fragile and reversible." Things are better than they were at the beginning of the "surge" but they are not so good that Petraeus feels comfortable. In fact, he told Congress he wants to keep about 140,000 American troops in Iraq at least well into the fall.

This is what Petraeus said: "We haven't turned any corners. We haven't seen any lights at the end of the tunnel . . .the Champagne bottle has been pushed to the back of the refrigerator."

What the general will suggest is that if we decide to stop investing in the war, those "fragile and reversible" gains achieved at the cost of 4,025 American lives, 84 of them from Wisconsin, may, indeed, be reversed.

In other words, the general can't promise us success, but he can warn us of failure.

That leaves the ball back in our court. Petraeus has given us his best advice, which pretty much amounts to "hang on and hope something gets better."

President Bush, in his speech Thursday assured us that the surge has been "brilliant." Sen. John McCain looks at the record and concludes something will, indeed, get better, perhaps far sooner than we think. Barack Obama and Hillary Clinton look at the same advice and conclude it is a prescription for losing more lives and more treasure.

We're getting conflicting investment advice, but, come November, we'll have to make a decision.