Consider this. An eighteen year old soldier in Iraq was 13 years old when the war started. He’s fighting for our country, but he’s too young to know what he’s fighting for.
It’s a mess. There are ways of properly dealing with it but no one will take the steps necessary to handle the situation.
I feel like I can’t pass judgment on how anything is going because I haven’t been over there. My dad was in Bosnia for the ethnic cleansing mess in the late ’90s, and the stories he’d tell were far from what you heard on the nightly news.
That being said, though, I hope that those who went (for what they assumed would be a one-time deployment) will be able to come home soon to their families and a safe environment.
I could rant for hours about how awful it is, in general, and how we shouldn’t be there, and what a tragedy it is that the American people don’t stand up to liars and demand their country back.
but that one sentence will suffice.
@sfamylou - no not kidding, i am curious what people’s sense is for how it is going.
@john - Every Sunday, I read the obituaries of the soldiers who are being killed in Iraq. Many of them so young, it’s ridiculous. Some of them orphaning babies, little kids, unborn kids. JustMeAndy has a ticker on his blog, showing the cost of the war. My friend is writing a book about a Marine he photographed while on assignment in Iraq; the guy suffers from PTS disorder and is a shell of himself. I would be shocked if anyone thinks it’s going well. I actually would find that disturbing.
@sfamylou - I think we all agree that America has paid an extremely high price for the war. My question is specifically on how the war is going.
Hmm. Well. I will check back to see if anyone who actually is in a position to answer that leaves a comment. I don’t see how it could be going well, since our reasons for being there to begin with were based on lies. I actually think Bush should be impeached over this.
can’t be sure how it’s going…it’s not like anything is really upfront on it, at least in the media. unlike vietnam.
i’m pretty sure it’s not going well. that’s my gut feeling.
I don’t know who’s telling the truth. There are so many mixed messages we are receiving. It’s a big mess and I wish like mad I knew what we could do about it that would be a GOOD decision that we wouldn’t regret later. *sigh*
It must be going well, because the media is not covering it.
The fact that we’re at war means we’ve failed all ready.
War? That’s not a war, that’s utter mayhem!
hiyah j-mon (j-mon is short for john. hee hee).
i got the embedding working, but for some reason still can’t upload .mp4 vids. i jsut started rendering my vids in mp4 format because i had to change video editing programs. so i’ve never been able to upload .mp4 videos on xanga before.
happy sunday!
in the process of trying to defeat terrorism, they succeeded only at feeding it.
since most of us are not there or have been we can not really speak..WHAT I can say is that we need to make them feel right about what they are doing bc those guys signed up for the armed forces so they knew what they were getting into. As for the way its going we need to finish what we started & get behind this country like in the WWs the ppl of this country rallied, what heroes. Too bad we can’t behave that way as a whole. War is War & the reasons for them have Never been clear. How terrible to cheapen their sacrafice with our opinions.
It’s a tough call to say how I think it’s going.
Most guys I know in the military say it’s improving, and are tired of what the news media are trying to make of it.
It’s sad that this means that the only thing that sells are blood and guts and sex.
It’s also a tough situation….but the reality of it is…someone had to do something.
I’m probably in the minority, but I think progress is being made. It is no longer making the headlines as the number one news story.
the war seems like it’s slowly coming to an end, it’s just sad that it’s taking so long.
sometimes I wonder is the price of “freedom” is worth living with the stubborness of some americans. the “bully” image isn’t anything to be feared or admired at anymore.
As well as can be expected from a war we had no business starting in the first place.
Too effing long. It should never have started in the first place.
Just another example of an incompetent person being in charge of something he knows nothing about. It started on a personal vendetta. I know people over there now who know the truth of it. That’s all I have to say.
Let’s get someone else in there. Anyone else would be better. I’m serious. Even Bill’s bitch Hillary would be better at this point.
That’s a pretty bad thought, don’t you think? That’s how bad things are now. Whatever.
Oh yeah, ..have a great weekend!
before or after the fact that there’s no wmd in iraq? i think we made a mistake going in there and wasting our country’s money and soldiers’ lives …
I’m not so sure it’s a war. Wars are between nation-states (which means there’s no such thing as the wars on poverty, drugs, terror)… It’s no more a war than when the UK govt was engaged in actions against the IRA.
It’s not like American troops were ever being forced to withdraw from entire provinces due to high casualties or the inability to destroy uniformed enemies. Americans thought they were “losing” because lots of Iraqis were dying.
So how’s it going out there? By what measure? In terms of casualty rates, those have calmed…
My husband is there…
this is his second tour in Iraq and his third deployment, he was also in Afghanistan. So John, which War are you refering to… because currently the United States is at war or rather an occupying force in nearly every continent on the planet, aside from maybe Australia.
and honestly what Americans are suffering and sacrificing… because aside from the military families who have lost a loved one, or those of us who have been repeatedly seperated from our loves ones for years, I really don’t see much sacrifice being made by the American public in general. Everybody still gets to buy their cheeseburgers at McDonald’s without having to pay a higher price… seems to me their all doing just fine!
also what terms are you asking for to gage the progress or lack of progress other than the body count of American service members and the ones who are coming home damaged beyond repair?
If you want to know how the war is going in any other terms ask the Iraqi people, its their country. But please don’t rely on American citizens that barely recall we’re at war, let alone gain their information from the American media that is more concerned with the latest antics of some celebrity drug addict. You disrespect those men and women who are actually making a real sacrifice- and yes, by choice- when you ask people as apathetic as most Americans how the war is going. They don’t care!
i wouldn’t know. the only news i ever hear about is the presidential races. haven’t heard from my one friend over their either so im not even sure from a source how it’s going.
Its going well.
We are rebuilding.
Yes there are still shootings. (But isn’t there still shootings here in America?)
Iraq is getting a little better every day.
-TU
Not nearly as well as the war on the poor and middle class.
I feel another controversial position coming up.
Regardless of how the war started (pointlessly), or how it was initially fought (stupidly), as of this moment in time, i wouldn’t say it’s going all that poorly.
The key, all along, was enough manpower, and the surge helped it, definitely. Last numbers (if I recall correctly) indicate that overall mortality rate is down – though whether that’s because we’ve killed most of them or the surge strategy means less direct confrontation is questionable. Either way, though, fewer people dying is a good thing, and whatever else you say, the fact is that we’re doing something necessary, and dare I say…good…over there.
Yeah, some soldiers should be thrown in jail, some people want us the hell out – but the fact remains that right now, American soldiers are providing basic support and stability. If we leave, they might be able to provide for themselves – but they might not. As is, I’m not a fan of the ‘pull out right now’ strategy.
We’re doing all right. Not as well as we could’ve/should’ve…but all right. We’re learning from our mistakes, and are unlikely to make as big of one again as we did coming into this war.
Uh?! BAD?! Bush is attempting to establish permanent military bases in Iraq. Do you know how much my brother was paid when he was sent out there? Mmm… either 9 or 12 bucks, 24/7. What a joke. WHAT A JOKE!!
A better question would be, “How is the war on drugs going?”. I would love to see everyone’s reactions when they learn that America would be a much better place if the restrictions and such became as lax as they were in the 1980′s! But I’m only sixteen, what do I know? Teenagers are stupid. Adults rule .
I dont think the ‘war’ in Iraq is a war any longer. It seems to be more of a foreign ’presence’. The point of war is to defeat an enemy. That has happened (well, sort of!). Now its just a civil conflict with coalition forces stuck in the middle. I think its a bit of a mess without end in sight.
The Australian Government pulled our combat troops out of Iraq which I think was a mistake. Regardless of whether it was right or wrong to go into Iraq, the job needs finishing and we should have stayed to the end (whenever and whatever that is).
I also think war is war. It has always been and always will be. Its our nature. And I think people who think otherwise are naive.
That said, war is a tragic abomination. It is when man is at his violent worst and also at his heroic best. What a dichotomy.
Not well and from the looks of things, there’s no end in sight!
Uncle Sam is making a fool out of himself…the war is shit. we all know what the government is up to…it’s all about domination and petroleum. screw it.
I’m asking a favor of you….please come by and see what it is!
It is a most unfortunate time for us to be in this war. The administration is riding it out, not making any new decisions, just keeping troops in Iraq, knowing if they pull out now, they will leave a legacy of failure. They are clearly leaving the mess for whatever new administration comes in next year. Its a “win-win” for them: If the next administration properly deals with the war, provides a somewhat smooth transition from “American occupation” to Iraq taking the lead at being a self sufficient government then the Bush administration “wins” in a way. If the next administration pulls out, and Iraq is left a chaotic mess (most likely situation), then the burden falls on the next administration.
Its an utter failure that we, and our children, will be paying for for the rest of our lives, both on a diplomatic scale and with our pocketbooks.
its a bad dream that i hope we wake up from. much like the bush presidency.
The ONLY part of it that isn’t laughable is the amount of lives being needlessly lost.
not sure – the media spends more time on “important” things like heath ledger these days.
As long as we continuously change our goal to match whatever is currently happening in Iraq it will be a sure success. I got the idea from Stephen Colbert. He decided that the cure for recession is to change the definition of it from a 6 month drag to a 6 year drag. He might not be the original person to put forth the idea but I’m sure he will happily take credit for it just likes he takes credit for Huckabee’s success. As for anyone who really thinks Iraq ever had a chance of true “success”. What the Hell did people think would happen? What was the definition of success when we went in? Yay! We won! We kicked Saddam’s butt all over the sand! That is like beating up a toddler. But staying there is like really kicking that toddler’s arse and then having to raise them for the rest of their life.
Give it another 20 years and 10,000 more killed in action and I think you will start to see stabilization and acceptable if not stellar results.
“u can’t trust ppl u meet off of xanga. i’m actually not even a human; i’m an AI sent from the future to help build skynet.” – LOL! I’ve suspected this all along!
I agree that the war is not going well. I agree that troops should have been pulled out rather than extended long ago. I agree, with the unsaid point, that the military is pretty much getting desperate for reinforcements as people who were once turned away are now being recruited (my boyfriend’s best friend is blind in one eye and therefore turned away from the army when he initially had interest; he recently received a letter asking if he was still interested!)
However, although Bush is and has been our president for a long time, the administration as a whole (and this war, specifically) is like a teenager having a cosigner for a loan. The people who surround Bush are more than likely the ones who also support and pushed for this war – the president is merely the important person needed to support the action. Cheney and Rumsfeld probably support the war more than Bush. Honestly, Bush certainly hasn’t seemed like so much of an insightful individual over the years and if people think it’s merely his decision with the fault to fall soley on the basis that he is the president, they’re mistaken. For all we know, Bush could have sat in his office not knowing what the hell to do, but all of his advisers and other power-hungry subordinates might have had just a little bit to do with his decision. Not saying that’s a fact, but that’s the truth behind the possibilities. Nobody can say it’s all Bush’s fault, and you certainly can’t blame a president for trying to keep the country optimistic about what is happening now that the decision has already been made. How would he look if he said yeah, I was influenced by others and we came together to the decision to go to war, and it’s a mistake? Even if he believes that, could you imagine what people would say about him then? Not only would he have made a drastic decision, he would be admitting that he has no faith in the situation and that it’s a lost cause. Maybe some of us think that’s true, but it won’t help anyone, especially a president trying to somehow get the public to believe he thinks something good could come out of it, to keep on pulling the negatives of war further and further down. Self-fulfilling prophecy – if you say it, think it, believe it enough, it will be that!
I’m not saying I agree with the war and I’m not saying I agree with all the measures that have been taken since it’s start. But you have to look at it from many different angles. The president IS president. But he is also a human that has the whole country in his hands and other people at his fingertips who also influence much of what you and I do. The world’s problems are never just one person’s fault.
And I agree most with you! Aside from my rant about not blaming one person, be he the president, for all of the country’s woes, I don’t think any one of us Americans can rightfully and even somewhat justifiably have an opinion on how the war is going. Only the troops who are there and the Iraqi people know what progress is really being made. Here, the media tells us what they want us to tell us. News stations have endorsements that will prevent or allow specific information to come forth. People rely on other people to tell us how to think even if it’s subconsciously. I think many people would benefit from a Mass Communications and Research class – you really have no idea what’s going on unless you’re the person with all the money and power in this country. Which doesn’t mean it’s a bad country, because at least we have the freedom be informed if we WANT to. People allow other people to misuse them by simply accepting everything they read and see. Hell, if we didn’t have TV, this coming election might actually be fair and we might actually get someone in office that isn’t on TV simply because they have money or are causing controversy because of their race or gender.
And regardless of TV, if more people decided to think for themselves and not take what the media told them as mostly truth or fact, someone other than those with all the exposure could win. But what are the odds of that happening . . . right?
hm. we need to get out.
Simply terrible. It could of been planned out better, our country is in terrible debt because of that. We dug a huge hole for ourselfs.
VOTE RON PAUL 2008!!!
RON PAUL 51 WEDDING ANNI. MONEY BOMB FEB 1st!!!
Depends on what your asking – I myself worked there for 20 months starting in May of 04 - Sadam was in the prison on the base I was at-The Iraqi’s I talked to dailly really appreciates all we are trying to do – Baghdad is full of cars and the Iraqi’s can buy what they want without sadams permission – Its not the Iraqi’s – Its the frigging terroists and we are getting them slowly but surelly – I lost working buddies, soldiers that I made friends with and 2 Iraqi’s I truelly trusted and loved – John
Comments (53)
It’s sad.
Consider this. An eighteen year old soldier in Iraq was 13 years old when the war started. He’s fighting for our country, but he’s too young to know what he’s fighting for.
You’re kidding, right?
@manilajones -
Wow, awesome point. Major perspective.
It’s a mess. There are ways of properly dealing with it but no one will take the steps necessary to handle the situation.
I feel like I can’t pass judgment on how anything is going because I haven’t been over there. My dad was in Bosnia for the ethnic cleansing mess in the late ’90s, and the stories he’d tell were far from what you heard on the nightly news.
That being said, though, I hope that those who went (for what they assumed would be a one-time deployment) will be able to come home soon to their families and a safe environment.
I could rant for hours about how awful it is, in general, and how we shouldn’t be there, and what a tragedy it is that the American people don’t stand up to liars and demand their country back.
but that one sentence will suffice.
@sfamylou - no not kidding, i am curious what people’s sense is for how it is going.
@john - Every Sunday, I read the obituaries of the soldiers who are being killed in Iraq. Many of them so young, it’s ridiculous. Some of them orphaning babies, little kids, unborn kids. JustMeAndy has a ticker on his blog, showing the cost of the war. My friend is writing a book about a Marine he photographed while on assignment in Iraq; the guy suffers from PTS disorder and is a shell of himself. I would be shocked if anyone thinks it’s going well. I actually would find that disturbing.
@sfamylou - I think we all agree that America has paid an extremely high price for the war. My question is specifically on how the war is going.
Hmm. Well. I will check back to see if anyone who actually is in a position to answer that leaves a comment. I don’t see how it could be going well, since our reasons for being there to begin with were based on lies. I actually think Bush should be impeached over this.
http://weblog.xanga.com/TheGreenPanther/639662872/item.html
can’t be sure how it’s going…it’s not like anything is really upfront on it, at least in the media. unlike vietnam.
i’m pretty sure it’s not going well. that’s my gut feeling.
I don’t know who’s telling the truth. There are so many mixed messages we are receiving. It’s a big mess and I wish like mad I knew what we could do about it that would be a GOOD decision that we wouldn’t regret later. *sigh*
It must be going well, because the media is not covering it.
The fact that we’re at war means we’ve failed all ready.
War? That’s not a war, that’s utter mayhem!
hiyah j-mon (j-mon is short for john. hee hee).
i got the embedding working, but for some reason still can’t upload .mp4 vids. i jsut started rendering my vids in mp4 format because i had to change video editing programs. so i’ve never been able to upload .mp4 videos on xanga before.
happy sunday!
in the process of trying to defeat terrorism, they succeeded only at feeding it.
since most of us are not there or have been we can not really speak..WHAT I can say is that we need to make them feel right about what they are doing bc those guys signed up for the armed forces so they knew what they were getting into. As for the way its going we need to finish what we started & get behind this country like in the WWs the ppl of this country rallied, what heroes. Too bad we can’t behave that way as a whole. War is War & the reasons for them have Never been clear. How terrible to cheapen their sacrafice with our opinions.
It’s a tough call to say how I think it’s going.
Most guys I know in the military say it’s improving, and are tired of what the news media are trying to make of it.
It’s sad that this means that the only thing that sells are blood and guts and sex.
It’s also a tough situation….but the reality of it is…someone had to do something.
I’m probably in the minority, but I think progress is being made. It is no longer making the headlines as the number one news story.
the war seems like it’s slowly coming to an end, it’s just sad that it’s taking so long.
sometimes I wonder is the price of “freedom” is worth living with the stubborness of some americans. the “bully” image isn’t anything to be feared or admired at anymore.
As well as can be expected from a war we had no business starting in the first place.
Too effing long. It should never have started in the first place.
Just another example of an incompetent person being in charge of something he knows nothing about. It started on a personal vendetta. I know people over there now who know the truth of it.
That’s all I have to say.
Let’s get someone else in there. Anyone else would be better.
I’m serious. Even Bill’s bitch Hillary would be better at this point.
That’s a pretty bad thought, don’t you think?
That’s how bad things are now.
Whatever.
Oh yeah, ..have a great weekend!
before or after the fact that there’s no wmd in iraq? i think we made a mistake going in there and wasting our country’s money and soldiers’ lives …
I’m not so sure it’s a war. Wars are between nation-states (which means there’s no such thing as the wars on poverty, drugs, terror)… It’s no more a war than when the UK govt was engaged in actions against the IRA.
It’s not like American troops were ever being forced to withdraw from entire provinces due to high casualties or the inability to destroy uniformed enemies. Americans thought they were “losing” because lots of Iraqis were dying.
So how’s it going out there? By what measure? In terms of casualty rates, those have calmed…
My husband is there…
this is his second tour in Iraq and his third deployment, he was also in Afghanistan. So John, which War are you refering to… because currently the United States is at war or rather an occupying force in nearly every continent on the planet, aside from maybe Australia.
and honestly what Americans are suffering and sacrificing… because aside from the military families who have lost a loved one, or those of us who have been repeatedly seperated from our loves ones for years, I really don’t see much sacrifice being made by the American public in general. Everybody still gets to buy their cheeseburgers at McDonald’s without having to pay a higher price… seems to me their all doing just fine!
also what terms are you asking for to gage the progress or lack of progress other than the body count of American service members and the ones who are coming home damaged beyond repair?
If you want to know how the war is going in any other terms ask the Iraqi people, its their country. But please don’t rely on American citizens that barely recall we’re at war, let alone gain their information from the American media that is more concerned with the latest antics of some celebrity drug addict. You disrespect those men and women who are actually making a real sacrifice- and yes, by choice- when you ask people as apathetic as most Americans how the war is going. They don’t care!
i wouldn’t know. the only news i ever hear about is the presidential races. haven’t heard from my one friend over their either so im not even sure from a source how it’s going.
Its going well.
We are rebuilding.
Yes there are still shootings. (But isn’t there still shootings here in America?)
Iraq is getting a little better every day.
-TU
Not nearly as well as the war on the poor and middle class.
I feel another controversial position coming up.
Regardless of how the war started (pointlessly), or how it was initially fought (stupidly), as of this moment in time, i wouldn’t say it’s going all that poorly.
The key, all along, was enough manpower, and the surge helped it, definitely. Last numbers (if I recall correctly) indicate that overall mortality rate is down – though whether that’s because we’ve killed most of them or the surge strategy means less direct confrontation is questionable. Either way, though, fewer people dying is a good thing, and whatever else you say, the fact is that we’re doing something necessary, and dare I say…good…over there.
Yeah, some soldiers should be thrown in jail, some people want us the hell out – but the fact remains that right now, American soldiers are providing basic support and stability. If we leave, they might be able to provide for themselves – but they might not. As is, I’m not a fan of the ‘pull out right now’ strategy.
We’re doing all right. Not as well as we could’ve/should’ve…but all right. We’re learning from our mistakes, and are unlikely to make as big of one again as we did coming into this war.
Uh?! BAD?! Bush is attempting to establish permanent military bases in Iraq. Do you know how much my brother was paid when he was sent out there? Mmm… either 9 or 12 bucks, 24/7. What a joke. WHAT A JOKE!!
A better question would be, “How is the war on drugs going?”. I would love to see everyone’s reactions when they learn that America would be a much better place if the restrictions and such became as lax as they were in the 1980′s! But I’m only sixteen, what do I know? Teenagers are stupid. Adults rule
.
I dont think the ‘war’ in Iraq is a war any longer. It seems to be more of a foreign ’presence’. The point of war is to defeat an enemy. That has happened (well, sort of!). Now its just a civil conflict with coalition forces stuck in the middle. I think its a bit of a mess without end in sight.
The Australian Government pulled our combat troops out of Iraq which I think was a mistake. Regardless of whether it was right or wrong to go into Iraq, the job needs finishing and we should have stayed to the end (whenever and whatever that is).
I also think war is war. It has always been and always will be. Its our nature. And I think people who think otherwise are naive.
That said, war is a tragic abomination. It is when man is at his violent worst and also at his heroic best. What a dichotomy.
Not well and from the looks of things, there’s no end in sight!
Uncle Sam is making a fool out of himself…the war is shit. we all know what the government is up to…it’s all about domination and petroleum. screw it.
I’m asking a favor of you….please come by and see what it is!
It is a most unfortunate time for us to be in this war. The administration is riding it out, not making any new decisions, just keeping troops in Iraq, knowing if they pull out now, they will leave a legacy of failure. They are clearly leaving the mess for whatever new administration comes in next year. Its a “win-win” for them: If the next administration properly deals with the war, provides a somewhat smooth transition from “American occupation” to Iraq taking the lead at being a self sufficient government then the Bush administration “wins” in a way. If the next administration pulls out, and Iraq is left a chaotic mess (most likely situation), then the burden falls on the next administration.
Its an utter failure that we, and our children, will be paying for for the rest of our lives, both on a diplomatic scale and with our pocketbooks.
its a bad dream that i hope we wake up from. much like the bush presidency.
The ONLY part of it that isn’t laughable is the amount of lives being needlessly lost.
not sure – the media spends more time on “important” things like heath ledger these days.
@Dorfman - Well said.
As long as we continuously change our goal to match whatever is currently happening in Iraq it will be a sure success.
I got the idea from Stephen Colbert. He decided that the cure for recession is to change the definition of it from a 6 month drag to a 6 year drag.
He might not be the original person to put forth the idea but I’m sure he will happily take credit for it just likes he takes credit for Huckabee’s success.
As for anyone who really thinks Iraq ever had a chance of true “success”. What the Hell did people think would happen? What was the definition of success when we went in?
Yay! We won!
We kicked Saddam’s butt all over the sand!
That is like beating up a toddler.
But staying there is like really kicking that toddler’s arse and then having to raise them for the rest of their life.
Give it another 20 years and 10,000 more killed in action and I think you will start to see stabilization and acceptable if not stellar results.
“u can’t trust ppl u meet off of xanga. i’m actually not even a human; i’m an AI sent from the future to help build skynet.” – LOL! I’ve suspected this all along!
@tx_christian - good point.
ryc: I knew someone was gonna think i was disgusting and it had to be you. LOL!
RYC: Want me to take you to my leader?
it’s not going, so it’s time to start leaving.
war is unncessary! we choose peace
http://www.xanga.com/idot60
http://allthewaytothetop.blogspot.com
@sfamylou -
I agree that the war is not going well. I agree that troops should have been pulled out rather than extended long ago. I agree, with the unsaid point, that the military is pretty much getting desperate for reinforcements as people who were once turned away are now being recruited (my boyfriend’s best friend is blind in one eye and therefore turned away from the army when he initially had interest; he recently received a letter asking if he was still interested!)
However, although Bush is and has been our president for a long time, the administration as a whole (and this war, specifically) is like a teenager having a cosigner for a loan. The people who surround Bush are more than likely the ones who also support and pushed for this war – the president is merely the important person needed to support the action. Cheney and Rumsfeld probably support the war more than Bush. Honestly, Bush certainly hasn’t seemed like so much of an insightful individual over the years and if people think it’s merely his decision with the fault to fall soley on the basis that he is the president, they’re mistaken. For all we know, Bush could have sat in his office not knowing what the hell to do, but all of his advisers and other power-hungry subordinates might have had just a little bit to do with his decision. Not saying that’s a fact, but that’s the truth behind the possibilities. Nobody can say it’s all Bush’s fault, and you certainly can’t blame a president for trying to keep the country optimistic about what is happening now that the decision has already been made. How would he look if he said yeah, I was influenced by others and we came together to the decision to go to war, and it’s a mistake? Even if he believes that, could you imagine what people would say about him then? Not only would he have made a drastic decision, he would be admitting that he has no faith in the situation and that it’s a lost cause. Maybe some of us think that’s true, but it won’t help anyone, especially a president trying to somehow get the public to believe he thinks something good could come out of it, to keep on pulling the negatives of war further and further down. Self-fulfilling prophecy – if you say it, think it, believe it enough, it will be that!
I’m not saying I agree with the war and I’m not saying I agree with all the measures that have been taken since it’s start. But you have to look at it from many different angles. The president IS president. But he is also a human that has the whole country in his hands and other people at his fingertips who also influence much of what you and I do. The world’s problems are never just one person’s fault.
@yearinthelife -
And I agree most with you! Aside from my rant about not blaming one person, be he the president, for all of the country’s woes, I don’t think any one of us Americans can rightfully and even somewhat justifiably have an opinion on how the war is going. Only the troops who are there and the Iraqi people know what progress is really being made. Here, the media tells us what they want us to tell us. News stations have endorsements that will prevent or allow specific information to come forth. People rely on other people to tell us how to think even if it’s subconsciously. I think many people would benefit from a Mass Communications and Research class – you really have no idea what’s going on unless you’re the person with all the money and power in this country. Which doesn’t mean it’s a bad country, because at least we have the freedom be informed if we WANT to. People allow other people to misuse them by simply accepting everything they read and see. Hell, if we didn’t have TV, this coming election might actually be fair and we might actually get someone in office that isn’t on TV simply because they have money or are causing controversy because of their race or gender.
And regardless of TV, if more people decided to think for themselves and not take what the media told them as mostly truth or fact, someone other than those with all the exposure could win. But what are the odds of that happening . . . right?
hm. we need to get out.
Simply terrible. It could of been planned out better, our country is in terrible debt because of that. We dug a huge hole for ourselfs.
VOTE RON PAUL 2008!!!
RON PAUL 51 WEDDING ANNI. MONEY BOMB FEB 1st!!!
Depends on what your asking – I myself worked there for 20 months starting in May of 04 - Sadam was in the prison on the base I was at-The Iraqi’s I talked to dailly really appreciates all we are trying to do – Baghdad is full of cars and the Iraqi’s can buy what they want without sadams permission – Its not the Iraqi’s – Its the frigging terroists and we are getting them slowly but surelly – I lost working buddies, soldiers that I made friends with and 2 Iraqi’s I truelly trusted and loved – John