Three years ago, the United States invaded Iraq and began a tragic chapter in our nation's history. Since the president set out on his misguided adventure, 2,310 American soldiers and more than 40,000 Iraqi civilians have died.

On the war's third anniversary, Americans should reflect on the tale of how we got into this mess — and why we must immediately get out.

The main characters in our story are an incompetent president and a corrupt Republican Congress. The setting is an America desperate for honest leadership. But the plot involves lies and cover-ups.

The problem is misplaced priorities. But the solution is not more dead Americans.

Chapter one is titled "Crying Wolf." In the months before the war, the Bush administration lied about the supposed Iraqi threat, deliberately hyping unreliable intelligence. Vice President Cheney claimed, "Saddam has, in fact, reconstituted nuclear weapons." President Bush asserted, "Hussein recently sought significant quantities of uranium from Africa." Neither statement was true.

Chapter two is titled "Mission Accomplished." After six bloody weeks, Bush promised the American public that the worst of the war was behind them. Landing on an aircraft carrier, he declared, "Major combat operations in Iraq have ended." Yet, since Bush's stunt, more than 2,000 Americans have died in combat.

Chapter three is titled "Open Arms." During the year that followed, many Iraqi citizens rebelled against American occupation. Rather than welcome the United States with open arms, as Republicans argued was inevitable, many Iraqis attacked American soldiers. The insurgency grew, with every American offensive adding fuel to the fire.

Chapter four is titled "Turning the Corner." In the summer of 2004, Bush claimed while campaigning for re-election that the United States was "turning the corner" in Iraq. But November of that year was the deadliest month on record, with 141 U.S. soldiers killed.

Chapter five is titled "Last Throes." Six months later, Cheney argued the Iraqi insurgency was in its "last throes." But in July 2005, Gen. John Abizad testified in a congressional hearing that the insurgency was growing stronger, not weaker. At the same time, a civil war between Sunnis and Shiites started to simmer below the surface.

Chapter six is titled "Hands-Off." Bush is promising to turn over most of Iraq to newly trained Iraqi troops this spring. But his goal of having the Iraqis control "more territory than the coalition by the end of 2006" seems unlikely, given a February Department of Defense report that found that not a single Iraqi unit is fully independent and able to operate without U.S. assistance.

What will the final chapter be titled? "The Iraqi Civil War"? "Billions Down the Drain"? "More Dead Americans"? Or "Welcome Home"? Rather than throw good money after bad, America should pull out of Iraq before one more American or Iraqi dies an unnecessary death.

Rep. Pete Stark represents California's 13th Congressional District. He voted against the Iraq war resolution and is a vocal member of the "Out of Iraq" caucus.