Statement of Purpose:

Designing and building a Memorial is an expensive and time-consuming undertaking.  Let me suggest that we avoid all of this by simply appropriating one of Iraq’s war memorials, the Martyrs’ Memorial (1.) to those Iraqis who gave their lives in the Iran-Iraq War of the 1980s, as our nation’s Iraq War Memorial.  We can commemorate those who died in our pointless war by simply borrowing the Iraqi memorial to those who died in their pointless war.  For an added dash of class, I propose that we also place the Crossed Swords (that towered over Saddam’s military parade ground – 2.) on the site.  It’s the perfect combination of somber salute and military triumphalism (3.).  And it’s affordable; something the administration will appreciate – cheaper than the drug benefits that veterans currently enjoy.