By DAVID GREEN 

Following the execution of Iraq dictator Saddam Hussein, U.S. President George Bush described the event as resembling “a kind of revenge killing.”

Attention English teachers looking for an example of literary irony: Look no further than the President’s words.

Saddam’s hanging was accompanied by jeers and taunts from his enemies seeking revenge for the brutal reign of terror while he was the country’s president.

Five years ago, it was George Bush, with the backing of millions of Americans, who sought a revenge killing for the murders of Americans who died in the 9/11 attacks.

The Iraq debacle soon became a revenge tragedy, a vengeful war of choice that made no sense. There was never a just cause for turning our post-9/11 rage toward Iraq. Apparently we had to teach the Arab-Muslim world a lesson and Iraq was thought to be an easy target.

Instead, the lessons are here for us to learn. “By taking revenge against a foe who had not actually injured him,” said writer Gary Kamiya, “[Bush] opened a Pandora’s Box of gratuitous violence, one he cannot now close.”

The President looks to step up the war in the final act of this tragedy, a show in which real people, not actors on a stage, will die for his actions.

The effort comes with the blessings of many in Washington, such as Sen. Joe Lieberman who showed his leadership through this statement: “Let’s hope it works, pray it works, and if it doesn’t, then we’ll fi gure out what we’re gonna do then.”

If we leave Iraq now, we’ll be back in a few years to fight again, says Sen. John McCain, and he might be right. However, the only way forward now is to face the truth: Withdrawal is inevitable.

It’s time to bring the curtain down on this revenge tragedy, Kamiya says, and we agree. The conclusion is obvious.