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No Parades (poem)

By Barry L. Reece

A foolish faith in authority is
the worst enemy of truth.

—Albert Einstein

The Viking jet, framed by a cloudless blue
sky, approaches the USS Abraham Lincoln.
Lightning fast flybys elicit cheers. Navy 1

lands safely. A smiling president wearing
"Top Gun" attire boldly exits the plane.
Our Commander-in-Chief walks to the

podium and delivers a triumphant
report: Major combat operations
in Iraq have ended. A large banner
reinforces his message:

Mission Accomplished

Seven years later the combat mission ends.
No victory parades.

Questions plague war-weary Americans:

Billions are with nine zeroes, and trillions
have twelve zeroes, right?

—Barry L. Reece