Tuesday, July 29, 2008
Iraq War
This war really stinks. Bryce, Christine's fiance has been home for a couple of weeks on his mid-deployment leave . He goes back this Saturday morning. The moral of the soldiers over there is so low. Nothing like it was 5 years ago. Bryce hasn't said much at all about the war while he's been home, just little bits here and there. There is no great progress being made there like the news make it sound. Eventhough, Bryce's assignment as a body guard for a sergeant major does not put him on patrol looking for the bad guys, he has had close calls and seen things I never want my boys to see. The politics over there can never be as democratic as our government is dreaming of. We need to bring our soldiers home and use the millions of $$$ spent on the war on our own economy and on veterans benefits!
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7 comments:
War, no matter what form it comes in, is a messy, unpleasant matter. The fact of the matter is, there is evil in the world and it needs to be confronted where ever possible. Sure, the US cannot do everything, but it should do what it can. I think we should have gone into Darfur to stop the slaughter. I think we should go in to Somalia to replace the government and stop the starvation. We went into Iraq, and now the slaughter of the Kurds has ended. I think we should go where ever it is morally correct to do so. I think our national interest should include the welfare of other peoples. "Am I my brother's keeper?" comes to mind. We should help and intervene if we can. Democracy can most certainly work, even in a Muslim country. Turkey is an excellent example.
Okay, I love these blogs. Good discussions and to personal attacks. My two cents...How is it that Obama (democrates in general), yes I profess to be republican, think the rich people in America should be taxed more than the poor and should do more to help the poor through wealth redistribution, yet the principle does not apply to helping other countries in respect to freedoms. We enjoy the most freedoms of just about any country and we are arguably the wealthiest but that we should turn our backs on the countries that need our support. Should the big brother concept only apply to domestic issues? I believe if the people of Iraq could vote for the US president Obama's stance would be to dump all sorts of help and money and military aid there to swing votes his way.
Boy, this posting should get a response or two.
Spelling correction...the first sentence of my last comment should have read....and NO personal attacks. Not "and TO personal attacks.
Another thought...Bro. Burton in our ward just came home from 18 months or so in Iraq and has a very different opinion of the progress there than Bryce. This was his second deployment. He said he saw schools and businesses bustling with energy. He said the infrastructure was comming along etc. I think each soldier has their own opinion just like we all have our own opinion. For the soldiers that are there, I think each may see the same things but view them differently dependant upon their personal opinions and perceptions.
I agree with Alan's comments. They are wonderfully stated. I think that the benefit from this war will change history forever. Way to go troops!
What you all say sounds great, but our young men and women are still getting killed and thousands have had serious injuries. I just don't think it's right. I have heard that this is the first war we have been involved in where we had not been first provoked. Now, some will say we were provoked on 9/11 and I do think we should get Bin Lamen (or whatever his name is). Bryce did spend 3 months over there on his 1st deployment as an Army Ranger tracking down and arresting tallaben guys.
Unlike Pearl Harbor, we were not directly provoked in WWI, Vietnam (not seriously anyway), Korea, Panama, Gulf 1, and some other smaller conflicts. Had we been allowed politically to win the Vietnam War, Vietnam would be quite a different country today. It would have been better off and the Church would be probably be well established there with a Temple maybe even.
The price may be steep, but freedom and democracy have always proven to be worth the price for the people who come later.
Like Alan said war is messy and unpleasant, no one wants war. Yes we have lost 4,121 lives in protecting and promoting freedom over the last 4+ years but lets look at some facts over history. I did some internet research and here are some recorded facts and figures to go with each war. Listed will be the war, length of war, allied casualties fighting for freedom. I think we will see that as messy as war is we have cleaned it up a lot and Bush has been fairly responsible in defending us.
Revolutionary War..1775-83..8 yrs..22,674
Civil War..1861-85..4 yrs..620,000!
Vietnam War..1959-75..16 yrs..285,831!
Korean War..1950-53..3 yrs..44,600 (US only)
Iraq War..2003-08..5 yrs..4,124
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