Monday, August 27, 2007

The war in a nutshell

The next time somebody at the water cooler or on the barstool next to yours says Bush's war seems to be turning a corner, tell them this:

U.S. military fatalities have been higher every month this year than in the same month last year.

The civilian death toll from sectarian attacks is twice as high this year.

More Iraqi civilians have fled the country than did last year.

The Iraqi government is falling apart and, for all practical purposes, doesn't really exist.

Oh, yeah. The war is going very well. If the American people will just be patient and allow our leaders to pursue their policies, victory is just around the corner.

5 comments:

Anonymous said...

Five years from now when the Iraq-Iran allegiance threatens the oil supplies in Kuwait and Saudi Arabia, while Syria and Turkey attempt to fill the power vacuum in western and northern Iraq, and while the Israelis get ready to launch a preemptive nuclear strike on Tehran...you'll be able to sit back and say, "Well, at least we're not involved anymore."

But of course we will be, on a much larger scale.

Not to mention we'll be paying $7 for a gallon of gas.

As bad as things are now, they can get much, much worse if we don't think very carefully about our end moves.

Just my 2 cents.

Anonymous said...

If what you say is true, then why hasn't the rest of the middle east wiped out Israel long ago and why hasn't OPEC propped up the price of oil long ago? The Arab states and oil-producing states in the middle east don't trust each other and have in many cases been enemies for centuries. I do agree that the United States has to make alternative energy a top priority. But it's just not happening and hasn't happened since the mid-1970's when we had our first gasoline shortages. This has been a bi-partisan failure and a failure of the American public to demand it.

Henry said...

If, as you say anonymous, this region is such a threat to us, with the dominos ready to fall if we don't stay in Iraq, why didn't we hear any of this bullshit before 9/11? Anonymous - have you ever served, or has anyone in your family served?

Anonymous said...

Yep. I was in the Marine Corps for five years and lost two friends in the Gulf War (one was shot down; one was killed in training accident in the Persian Gulf).

My point is only this. George Bush started this war (a foolish move in my book), but it's not his war anymore. It's our war. And we have to figure a way out that's to our advantage in the long term.

Anonymous said...

I agree with your last comments Anonymous. Unfortunately, there are no good alternatives, but staying in Iraq just doesn't seem to make sense. There's already a bloodbath going on, and our continuing presence just creates more resentment against the U.S.
As bad as Saddam was, he did serve as a buffer against Iran and a Shiite takeover of much of the middle east. It's ironic that Saddam was actually hated by Al-Qaida and other fundamental Islamic groups because he ran a non-religious government.