This weekend the fighting in Iraq started looking more like a war in all its chaos, confusion, ugliness and tragedy. I can only hope that the all-too-vivid details seen on television will not wear down Americans’ resolve to bring this conflict to a successful conclusion, for (in my mind) the worst of all scenarios is not war or no war, but a war of half-measures fought to no particular end.

Watching as enemy fire throws sparks as it ricochets off the armour of American tanks, as coalition troops spray bullets at Iraqi positions, I’m struck how the live coverage on CNN eerily resembles scenes from the Ghost Recon games I play, the crucial difference being that it’s real, and terribly nerve-wracking as a result. I’m thankful I don’t have to be out there—something foremost on my mind this tax season. Granted, being Canadian I wouldn’t be out there regardless; nevertheless, paying a heap of money to have someone else face those dangers seems like a pretty good deal.

As the horrors of war begin to surface, the words of a U2 song keep running through my head:

Hear it every Christmas time
But hope and history won’t rhyme
So what’s it worth?
This peace on Earth