I like how you call it "pro-war" and not by anything else. That is like calling someone who thinks of themselves as pro-choice as pro-abortion. Which sounds better to you? The very name you use shows what you think of the situation and how you not only want to influence others, but to degenerate the people you disagree with.
I am not a warmonger, pro-war, or whatever label you choose to put on me. I was in the army, and I did spend time in Iraq. I will agree that it the situation in Iraq is a mess. Lay blame how you will, but do not try to oversimplify whose fault it is. Some people want us to pull out, and say it is for the good of the troops. I have a sneaking suspicsion that the welfare of the troops is not what they are thinking of, but have simply found an argument that can resonate wwith the American people. I say this, because the politicians raising this point are some of the same ones that spent their youths spitting on the soldiers they now claim to want to protect.
The problem with pulling out now is the situation we will leave behind. Does anyone really believe that the people who have been fighting us in Iraq will leave us alone if we pull out? Oh, and the people fighting us are not Iraqis. They are Islamic fundimentalists that have been gathered from across the middle east and the world. Very few of them are actually Iraqi.
The Islmaic view of America is that we are morally weak and corrupt. That we cannot stand the bloodshed of seeing our people killed. That if they kill enough people, that we will run away. That we will not fight back. They viewed the US as an easy target up until 9/11. They have attacked American assets over and over, with virtually no response. The response to 9/11 shocked them because it was not what it expected. Now their tactic is to push as hard as it can, so the weak people back in the US get queasy and decide to run and hide. Then they can take Iraq and make it into whatever they want. And you know what? Their strategy is working.
Do not make the mistake of thinking that their line of thought is in any way similar to your own. Peopl think different ways. Conservatives and liberals here in the United States don't thknk the same way, why should anyone assume that other cultures would do the same? I am sure there are many different lines of thought in the general Muslim communities. I have no issue with the majority of them. But have you actually looked at what some of these terrorists state their goals as? The destruction of the United States. ANd they are trying to bring that about. Not just with bombs, but with more subtle attacks.
Boy, do I sound like a reactionary. I know I do. I am not calling for an all out war. I do think we need to stay in Iraq. If we are able to bring about a stable nation there that is completely secular, and able to show these people they can actually live together without killing each other, then it will have been worth it.
I am beginning to have doubts that that may be an impossible goal, simply because the culture of the middle east does not allow for that. The corruption there is even worse than Latin America. They actually think torture and assissinations are NORMAL ways of conducting poltics. Well, it is normal. For them.
Ok, last thing. Liberals and Democrats; you want us to pull out? FIne, do that. But do not try to shift off the blame for the other mess that results because of it. OF course, I know that will never happen. They would find some way to blame it on Bush anyway.
