by Gunther » Wed Aug 17, 2005 12:14 pm
Americans have the patience and attention span of a 3-year old. If something can't be fixed right now they throw a temper tantrum.
The original intelligence showed that there were WMD in Iraq and that was the justification for invading. I can think of many reasons to go in, but that was good enough to sell it to the American People. If a Police Department conduts a Search Warrant raid on a residence and comes up with nothing, everyone goes on with their life and no one is upset that their door was kicked in, occupants were spread prone with a knee in their back and a submachine gun muzzle pointed at their head. The reason we went into Iraq is irrelevant after the first round was fired and it remains irrelevant today.
Saddam has been removed from his position where he can no longer do harm. This was necessary and we can feel a sense of satisfaction over that accomplishment. Should we do this to every ruler we don't agree with? no. After the initial ground war was completed in April 03, I said, "Now is the time to get everone out of there." Was I right or wrong? Who cares? I am not the president and we should support him because he has access to what is really going on. I do not.
Today, the war being fought in Iraq is not about Iraq. Sometime in Late 2003, reason for the struggle changed. People who hate Americans flocked to Iraq for the opportunity to kill Americans. Why hate the US? The US and Great Britain placed the Jewish refugees from the concentrations camps in the Palestine in 1948. Harry Truman supported this as did most of the western world. What about the Palestinians? Why couldn't they just accept these people into the land they'd occupied since the 10th Century? Afterall, weren't the Jews living there prior to the 10th Century and the time of Jesus Christ? But the Palestinians could not live in peace with them. It does not matter that they did nothing with the land and the Jews created a fountain of food and life from a dry desert.
We are all aware of the Arab - Israeli Wars and how much bitter fighting has been going on since the Jews were deposited in the Palestine in 1948. Israel's largest supporter has always been USA. In 1972, PLO terrorists attacked, kidnapped and assassisnated the Israeli Olympic team in Munchen, Germany. This was the first major Terrorist act outside the Middle East. On that day, the PLO and their allies declared war on the West. America thought it was tragic and resumed to place their heads in the sand. For the past 30+ years we have been at war with the terrorists and have done nothing about it. It wasn't until 9/11/01 that the US realized that the Terrorists were really trying to kill them. But again, the American attention span waned and we stuck our heads back in the sand.
US Foregin Policy since the debacle in Somalia has been one of "Nation building". In any situation we have gotten involve in with troops, It has been the intent of the US to help rebuild the nation after some disaster. The US helped and continues to help in Bosnia-Herzegovina, Kosovo and Afghanistan. A delegation of heads of state of the African Nation are actually studying how the US conducts Nation building activities in order to replacate this within the dark continent of Africa. It is this Nation building that is going on in Iraq right now. Civilian experts are working with Political, Civic and Professional leaders in Iraq to help them build a strong and economically viable nation that can co-exist in peace with the rest of the world. If we allow them to fail, peace in our world has failed.
Our Americn service men are the buffer between these Professional civilians and those who seek to subvert the nation building efforts in Iraq. American servicemen place their lives on the line while training and waiting for Iraqi men and women to replace them. When the Iraqis have built a secure and stable environment that will allow every man, woman and child in that nation to live in peace, then the Americans can leave.
Today, over 1000 US servicemen have died fighting terrorists and insurgents in the deserts of Iraq. The American people only see the loss of life as a tragic event. I in no way seek to desecrate their sacrifice. I support their effort 100% and wish to honor their deaths.
Was their sacrifice made in vain? Only the future holds the answer to that question. If we leave now, the answer is Yes. All the gains they have made will have been lost and the leftists will have their victory citing how the warmongering right only served to kill our boys. If we allow the new Iraqi Republic to grow and heal its wounds (TIME)--then and only then, will the answer to that question be NO. Their lives were NOT lost in vain. It is imperative that we support the US Government and our president regardless of our own opinions. Without our support, the US Government will cave in and the efforts will undoubtedly fail. A Loss we must not tolerate and can not afford.
GuntertE, Lv 1, NC on Waterson
GunthertE, Lv3, TR on Mattherson
Landain, Lv3, TR on Jaeger