Whether the Bush Administration deliberately lied to the American public or simply misinterpreted the available intelligence, the case for war with Iraq was clearly misrepresented. It was misrepresented in terms of the nature of imminent danger and in terms of Saddam Hussein’s responsibility for the 9/11 attacks. Every government has a duty to the security of the people. In a democracy, that duty must be exercised in the context of a public debate that is as open and vigorous as possible. When government abuses the trust of the people and misappropriates vital information, then democratic life itself is in danger.

While I cannot speak with certainty about the deeper motivations of the officials responsible, the facts as they have come to us in the past five years demonstrate that the Bush Administration has approached the question of war with duplicity, enabled corrupt and unaccountable private operations in the theater of that war, and sent the military into harm’s way without the resources necessary for their safety or a strategy for their exit. American foreign policy has been rendered immeasurably complex and dangerous because of this government’s refusal to level with the American people. This war, and the political manipulations at its core, are a powerful example of why no government can shroud the policy of war from citizens in a democracy without causing more harm to democratic life than any terrorist can accomplish with any attack.

Whatever happens in Iraq will involve continued U.S. involvement on some level and continued violence. All we can do now is get the American people the truth about the costs of the war, including the reality that the potential costs down the road may be even greater if we do not handle our disengagement with the appropriate balance of diplomatic and military strategy. We got ourselves stuck in something horrible, and we will not get unstuck easily or without danger and loss. Colin Powell’s “Pottery Barn Rule” was apt: You Break It, You Bought It. That’s where we are at right now.