“The war’s supporters made the moral case effectively: How could the United States allow a mad tyrant like Saddam Hussein to remain in power? The man gassed his own people! But those moral arguments blinded our thinking about second- and third-order consequences—in addition to honesty about our own limitations—and helped lead us into arguably the greatest strategic mistake in our nation’s history.” Andrew Exum: Fifteen years after the US invasion, there’s no satisfying answer to the question: What were we doing in Iraq anyway?

+ “No one knows for certain how many Iraqis have died as a result of the invasion 15 years ago. Some credible estimates put the number at more than one million. You can read that sentence again. The invasion of Iraq is often spoken of in the United States as a ‘blunder,’ or even a ‘colossal mistake.’ It was a crime.” Sinan Antoon in the NYT: Fifteen Years Ago, America Destroyed My Country.

+ Matt Ufford in the NYT Mag: 15 Years Ago, I Helped Start a War That Hasn’t Ended.

+ Shock and Awful: Looking back at photos of the war in Iraq.

+ “Nearly half (48%) of Americans say the decision to use military force was wrong, while slightly fewer (43%) say it was the right decision.” Pew: The Iraq War continues to divide the US public. (Editor’s note: Just wow…)