Whether you were a die-hard fan who was ecstatic President Bush sent troops into Iraq in 2003, or the sullen anti-war protestor who picketed government actions on Lincoln Highway, where do you think the war’s headed?

If the Unites States’ main reason for starting the war in Iraq was to spread democracy and abolish terrorist groups running amok in Iraq, are the plans working?

There are Iraqis who sincerely support the U.S. intervention in their country.

My brother, a U.S. Marine, came back from his tour of duty in Iraq filled with stories of mothers sewing up the holes in his Marine Corps pants and young men challenging him to foot races and card games. He remembered the children who laughed gleefully as he and his fellow Marines passed out candy and toys. He also recalled the merchants who sold him Iraqi relics at a discount because they were so happy to see a positive change happening in their country.

The increased Iraqi participation in the country’s elections largely reassures people that U.S. intervention is influencing positive changes in Iraq. According to an August 2003 poll conducted by The American Enterprise magazine, seven out of 10 Iraqis felt optimistic their country and personal lives would be better off in five years. Fifty-seven percent of Iraqis had an unfavorable opinion of Osama Bin Laden. By a three-to-one majority, Iraqis felt the toughest part of their country’s reconstruction would be political and 40 percent of Iraqis believed democracy could work in Iraq.

But there also is a lot of Iraqi resistance.

The increased voter turnouts have been accompanied with a rise in assassinations, political and otherwise. Iraqi judge Taha al-Basri was assassinated in February. In one month, one deputy mayor was killed, the police chief of Amara was killed, a pioneering Iraqi journalist was assassinated, at least two Sunni clerics were killed and at least six former high-ranking officials who served under Saddam Hussein were killed. According to The Jordan Times, at least 31 university lecturers have been murdered since the start of the war.

Also, constant suicide bombers have terrorized Iraqis and U.S. troops alike.

If the results of our intervention are detrimental, there is a need for rethinking our goals and shifting our course of action.

British Prime Minister Tony Blair declared recently even though Iraqi forces were proving “more ferocious” than anticipated, he resolved to keep British troops in the country until their mission is complete.

President Bush is being similarly steadfast.

In Bush’s speeches concerning the situation in Iraq, there’s a general theme of patience and grit as Americans and their allies fight their way through the tumultuous adversity in the country. Bush habitually reassures Americans the government’s policies in Iraq will remain intact and will come to pass (if that sounds vague, blame it on Bush).

At what point do you concede that your mission is failing, and agree to another strategy?

Over the weekend, nine U.S. troops were killed, including five police commandos from the “Wolf Brigade.” According to the Washington Times, a suicide bomber drove a car full of explosives into the commandos’ convoy in southeast Baghdad. Twelve more people were wounded.

The National Priorities Project said as of June 2005, the average household has spent nearly $2,000 in taxes funding the Iraqi war. That amounts to almost $800 per person.

According to a Gallup poll released last week, 59 percent of Americans said it was a mistake to invade Iraq. According to the same poll, 63 percent feel the U.S. should withdraw some or all of its troops from Iraq. In both polls, the resulting percentages were the highest since the start of the war.

The government has spent millions upon millions in Iraq, and in March the House of Representatives approved another $81.4 billion for the war. Nearly 2,000 U.S. soldiers have lost their lives fighting in Iraq, and nearly 15,000 have been wounded.

In my brother’s 2nd Battalion of the 24th Marine division, 11 soldiers died in Iraq during his nine-month tour of duty.

Perhaps the Bush-haters and Bush-backers of America will never come together, but there should be a consensus on the impact our role in Iraq is having on the country.

After all, these situations call for a bit more than the vague assurances from our commander in chief that the mission in Iraq will be accomplished.

Columns reflect the opinion of the author and not necessarily that of the Northern Star staff.