Thanks to Michelle Malkin for the link to A Brief History Of A Long War, over at the Mudville Gazette.  Whatever happens in the days to come, the War in Iraq that we are now fighting will continue to be an important item of discussion that will need the sort of facts and history as background that Greyhawk at the Mudville Gazette provides here.  Here is the introduction:

The 2003 invasion of Iraq is likely to be a contested topic in the American discussion for many years to come. As with any fractious issue, opinions will vary and even individual opinions will shift and change with time. That’s a part of the human condition, after all, and one that flourishes in free societies. However, much less admirable efforts by many to obscure their own positions now seem to occur with increasing frequency, as do misquotes of political opponents for personal or "party" gain. Sadly these sorts of things have become common practice among those who bear much of the responsibility for the current situation. Perhaps it has become too much for them to bear, this great and terrible burden of leadership, though stepping aside and letting those of stronger, more determined convictions carry on might be even less palatable to them. Thus history is being rewritten, and free speech is being cheapened by some who employ it the most and cherish it the least - even as Americans fight and die to uphold their rights to do so.

One of the most blatant - and most effective - examples has been the highly successful propagation of the idea that the war in Iraq began as a misguided result of the terrorist attacks on the US on September 11th 2001. To achieve this feat of near-universal denial requires the dismissing of over a decade of real history - years in which a handful of Americans drew a line in the sand on distant shores - a line crossed repeatedly and re-drawn too frequently by too many hands to be forgotten so swiftly.

And it’s nearly forgotten they are, those warriors of just a few short years ago. But not just yet, at least not completely. This work in progress is dedicated to my fellow members of the US military, those who stand the "line in the sand" now and those have done so for so many years past.

Look, here is what happened. Listen, here’s what they said when it did.

I highly encourage you to take the time when you can and go read through the history, what happened and who said what.  The proper functioning of a democratic form of government relies on its citizens to make informed decisions, decisions which our Founders presumed would be based on facts and guided by reason with the interests of the Greater Good of America in mind.  Go read the History, and bookmark it to use later as a resource to keep the debates to come grounded at least somewhat with reality.