Attempting to make sense of a troublesome truce

The war is over (so they say).
So why do troops still die?
The death toll’s mounting day by day
and critics wonder “why?”
“Why did we go to war?” they ask.
“Why can’t we find Hussein?”
“Why can’t we find those missing nukes?”
“Why not in heaven’s name?”
“Why can’t our soldiers leave Iraq?”
“Why must they linger there?”
“Why doesn’t Bush say ‘That’s enough’?”
“Why can’t he seem to care?”
But, maybe those who criticize
should understand the score.
What’s going on is not a game.
It’s gruesome, bloody war.
There are no halves or innings.
There are no rules or refs.
And unlike golf there is no prize
when there is sudden death.
Each ambush ups the ante.
We’re made to look like fools.
Perhaps we should start up again
and shoot those heartless mules.