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Tuesday, June 20, 2006

A Quagmire of a Conundrum

Are you like me...spitting mad, seeing red that we're stuck in Iraq with no sensible way out; that we were mislead, nay lied to, about the reasons that justified going? So now here we are, stuck there, watching our young men die for the administration's ego trip. We really can't leave...it'd be a bigger mess in very short order than it is right now. We've created an environment that were it not supervised by our troops would be an absolute haven for terrorists. See the Al Qaeda presence there now? Remember, Al Qaeda had virtually no presence, no presence of any significance in Iraq before we went nation building. But we went there to fight terrorism there instead of here. Yeah, George, that was helpful.
So those of us who were against going to Iraq (not Afghanistan) in the first place are left "hoping" for success in an endeavor that was wrong in so many ways. If there's any success in the end, then the ends will justify the means. This administration will go down as liberators. Doesn't that make you sick? Frankly though, the best we can hope for is that the Iraqi government will be stable enough to "manage" the insurgency on its own, keep the Iranians out and let us bring our boys home.
And I want to ring Carl Rove's neck for running his mouth about cutting and running, and now horrors of all horrors we've had two young American soldiers kidnapped by the insurgency, who then cut and run. And the Republicans are still using that very phrase today, the very day we learned about what happened to those young men. Much more to come on Rove soon; but aren't you disgusted with the smuggery of those who never served in the military questioning the courage of those who did, just because they have an opposing view, all the while supporting sending our sons into harm's way? (I spent 8 years in the Marines and have a stepson in the Army)
Just one independent's view.

4 comments:

LittleCuz said...

I've been pissed about this for years now Zeb, as a guy with 3 years regular and 5 years of Guard Time under his belt, as big as that is now, I'm fed up with the egos pushing serial numbers to their death.

Nancy Hanks said...

Zebster (love the name!) - What you are saying reminded me of Fred Newman and Jackie Salit's Talk/Talk which just came out today, which I think you would find very interesting http://www.cuip.org/commentary/dialogues/talktalk20060618.htm.

And I think what you are talking about is the fact that we as ordinary Americans have very little to say over foreign policy or any other policy, everything is a political play by some politician. That's why we independents need to work overtime to help create a dialogue in the country about what to do about our democracy....

Keep on blogging!
Nancy

Anonymous said...

Actually…no, I am not like you…exactly. I am upset that we are stuck in Iraq, but I don’t see it as the administration’s ego trip as you call it. I really don’t believe that we were as “mislead” as some think we were. I do think that the reasons for going seemed to be of more import than they actually were. Did we rush in? No, I don’t think so. It is my opinion that those who say we did rush in either have forgotten the many attempts to sway the UN to support the effort, only to be thwarted by those countries that were so fiscally tied to Iraq that money clouded their perceptions of injustice and cruelty, or simply hate George Bush.
What makes me mad is this continued hatred for the American president, contempt for our government, and continued harping on the past. Fact is, we are in Iraq, and the insurgency is much worse than anticipated. Forget the carrier landing and the mission complete banner, and the lack of WMD. That’s history and can be dealt with later. The United States needs to demonstrate a show of support for our soldiers, the Iraqis, and yes, even our government (as much as it would pain some to do).
Terrorists thrive on creating chaos and discontent, which is exactly what they are doing. They don’t have any regard for human life, and as long as they know their efforts are driving a wedge among the US citizens, (and other Westerners) they will continue such atrocities.
I too am a vet. I served for six years in the U.S. Navy and agree that those who don’t know what it means to serve should not be smug or question one’s courage. But many of them do understand what it means to loose a husband, wife, or someone they love. They have the right to question why it is so…it’s part of the grieving process. Yet as a veteran, I see another response to these issues. I chose to support the Commander-in-Chief during a time of crisis, as any good soldier would do. The time for accountability is coming, but the longer we as a people fight amongst ourselves, the longer we will be “stuck” in Iraq.

Zebster said...

Nancy, thanks for coming and the kind words. I will check that out.

Dave, thanks for coming as well. Much of what you say (like the UN) is true but it misses my point and I already stated it in the post; that the reasons we were given for going at that time we false and insufficient to go. I felt that then and now. As I said, we can't leave until it's fixed to some sufficient degree. What many of us want is the accountability you speak of but we want it from the people who hold the lives and welfare of this country in their hands, and on that point I will not cease to march like a good Marine.