Accomplishing Nothing
Dear editor:
The sign aboard that aircraft carrier said it all: Mission Accomplished. The President and members of his administration have all said it: Stay the course.
But what exactly is that Mission, what has been Accomplished, and what exactly is the Course we are staying? In other words, what is the purpose of our staying in Iraq? Does anyone know?
In a recent New York Times editorial it was pointed out that: Coalition troops are present in parts of Iraq with no achievable mission. No purpose is served by having British troops in Southern Iraq when they are not going to take on the militias or promote democracy. There is no point in having US troops in the middle of civil war when they are not going to do anything serious to stop it. So what are we doing there?
There is no way possible, practical, or militarily for the United States to shove democracy down the throat of extremist Muslim countries such as Iraq, Iran, or Syria, et al. They are truly content to live in their fourteenth century theocracy with their twenty-first century weapons. Iraq has suffered over 110 deaths per day during the month of July 2006, and the carnage continues. America has lost over 2,600 service members in Iraq since the beginning of this so-called War Against Terror. Casualties are a huge number.
Some say that if we pulled out of Iraq we would dishonor those Americans who lost their lives or were wounded in this pre-emptive war. They are in truth dishonored by allowing more of their buddies and relatives to die for a cause that doesn’t exist, and never did.
So what are we accomplishing?
Nothing, other than showing how stubbornly misguided an administration can be. We talk about giving more and more control and responsibility to the Iraqi army and police that we have “trained.” But as we do, the number of deaths climb and the impotency of the Iraqi government, that our government speaks so glowingly about, becomes increasingly evident. We are not capable of, nor should we be, changing the hearts and minds of a people who prefer a religious view, a way of life, and a government different than ours. We can not and should not force them to have our form of government, our morals, or think as we do, as we don’t understand theirs, and probably never will.
And our “pride?” Why don’t we just do as we did with that other abortive war, Vietnam. We put our tails between our legs, got out, and declared “We won.” Sounds good.
The sign aboard that aircraft carrier said it all: Mission Accomplished. The President and members of his administration have all said it: Stay the course.
But what exactly is that Mission, what has been Accomplished, and what exactly is the Course we are staying? In other words, what is the purpose of our staying in Iraq? Does anyone know?
In a recent New York Times editorial it was pointed out that: Coalition troops are present in parts of Iraq with no achievable mission. No purpose is served by having British troops in Southern Iraq when they are not going to take on the militias or promote democracy. There is no point in having US troops in the middle of civil war when they are not going to do anything serious to stop it. So what are we doing there?
There is no way possible, practical, or militarily for the United States to shove democracy down the throat of extremist Muslim countries such as Iraq, Iran, or Syria, et al. They are truly content to live in their fourteenth century theocracy with their twenty-first century weapons. Iraq has suffered over 110 deaths per day during the month of July 2006, and the carnage continues. America has lost over 2,600 service members in Iraq since the beginning of this so-called War Against Terror. Casualties are a huge number.
Some say that if we pulled out of Iraq we would dishonor those Americans who lost their lives or were wounded in this pre-emptive war. They are in truth dishonored by allowing more of their buddies and relatives to die for a cause that doesn’t exist, and never did.
So what are we accomplishing?
Nothing, other than showing how stubbornly misguided an administration can be. We talk about giving more and more control and responsibility to the Iraqi army and police that we have “trained.” But as we do, the number of deaths climb and the impotency of the Iraqi government, that our government speaks so glowingly about, becomes increasingly evident. We are not capable of, nor should we be, changing the hearts and minds of a people who prefer a religious view, a way of life, and a government different than ours. We can not and should not force them to have our form of government, our morals, or think as we do, as we don’t understand theirs, and probably never will.
And our “pride?” Why don’t we just do as we did with that other abortive war, Vietnam. We put our tails between our legs, got out, and declared “We won.” Sounds good.
posted by Sam Schoolsky | 7:18 AM
0 Comments:
Post a Comment
<< Home