Being in Iraq: We Feel Disgust, Not Despair
An American Speaks Out
Certainly not - but we could easily be overwhelmed by disgust. In fact, that is the emotion many Americans experience when thinking about the Bush administration's policy toward Iraq.
Why did America declare war on Iraq? Because we believed President Bush, who told us that Saddam Hussein was stockpiling 'weapons of mass destruction' there. He said the Iraqui government had chemical and biological weapons. He told us they were developing a nuclear bomb. He told us that we were in danger.
In the shock and grief that overwhelmed us after 9/11, we believed our President. Horrified by the death of civilians and the destruction of landmark buildings, we were easily swayed by his words.
Never mind that the international community did not see Iraq as a threat. Never mind that the United Nations could not find any trace of nuclear research. Never mind that no evidence of chemical or biological weapons could be discovered by international inspectors. Our President told us we were in danger, and we believed him.
No such weapons were found when Saddam Hussein's government collapsed in April 2003.
That alone is cause for disgust. We were tricked into believing that a great threat existed when there was no threat at all.
No other country in the world agreed to join us when we planned an assault on Iraq. Although President Bush was eventually able to pressure a few of our allies into giving their support, international opinion as a whole remained against U.S. military action.
We were frightened into a war that was condemned by most of the world and that lost us the good opinion of many nations and individuals.
That is certainly a cause for disgust.
We are spending about $6 billion per month in this unnecessary war, according to the Bush administration's own figures. Our national debt is skyrocketing at an alarming rate. It seems likely that not only our children but also our grandchildren will be paying price.
This is a cause for disgust.
Over 2,100 Americans have died in Iraq as a result of those lies. The Bush administration prevented news agencies publishing photos of their coffins. Many more your Americans have been maimed.
These young men and women offered themselves to protect us. They thought they were protecting their country. They sacrificed themselves for a lie.
That is cause for overwhelming disgust!
We are beginning to voice that disgust. In a recent CNN/Gallup poll, fifty-nine percent of citizens polled disapproved of the way President Bush had acted about Iraq. We are beginning to wake up. We are beginning to look through the cloud of politic rhetoric and see the truth behind it.
Americans are not a despairing people. We do not feel despair about our ability to help the world. We do not despair of protecting ourselves... when it is needed.
We do feel an overwhelming disgust at our military presence in Iraq.
Published by Lou Paun
I'm a retired teacher, a mother, a homeowner . . . and a joyous writer! View profile
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7 Comments
Post a CommentThe oil in the Middle East stabilizes or wrecks havic with the global markets, so therefor, the oil there is important. It is my belief that Bush wanted to go into Iraq using an ideology thats deeply flaud. Incompetence has made this war as bad as it has become, not some evil plan. The guy just has bad ideas that happen to kill half a million people. Thats what this war is. Bush and his friends dogged on Clinton during the 90s over Kosovo. I guess Bush now realizes its easier to talk than it is to govern and orchestrate a consentrated effort. All that matters is what we do from here on out. But we should hold Bush and others accountable for the wrong they've done. That is only fair.
WE HAVE NOT GAINED A SINGLE DROP OF OIL. SADDAM BURNT HIS OWN OIL-FIELDS, IN ORDER TO ASSURE IT. AMERICA SUSPECTED THIS: THEY DID NOT CARE. BECAUSE IT'S NOT, ABOUT, OIL. NOT NOT NOT ABOUT OIL. Let that sink in for a minute before reading what i have left..... Ready? Okay. Another fact which i'm sure you'll be interested in is that America gets about 90% of our oil from other sources, not from the Middle-East. We don't need them. We definitely don't need their oil. The truth of the matter is that we are helping people; an oppressed people is free because of BUSH. Slam him all you want, but you will NEVER, CHANGE, that fact.
Doug: i do not velieve that you are necessarily a stupid person, (although it is a distinct possibility,) but i belive that you are severely misinformed about the "Bush-wants-oil" deal. Let me tell you something, and i hope you will take it to heart: THE WAR, IS NOT, ABOUT, OIL. Have you seen gas prices lately? They've rocketed.
Doug: i do not velieve that you are necessarily a stupid person, (although it is a distinct possibility,) but i belive that you are severely misinformed about the "Bush-wants-oil" deal. Let me tell you something, and i hope you will take it to heart: THE WAR, IS NOT, ABOUT, OIL. Have you seen gas prices lately? They've rocketed.
Actually, "war" was not declared, although the Senate did pass enabling legislation. Which it can withdraw, at any time. At this time, the beginning of 2007, our own war-crimes in Iraq are mounting daily, while the number of direct and indirect victims of Bush's war now rival Saddam's total body count.
It did not have to be this way: if we had toppled Saddam, eschewed all interest in Iraq's oil or governance, and turned it over to a U.N. Mandate, we would have been heroes. But Bush (and Cheney, Rice and Card, Feith and all the rest of the oily crew) wanted IRAQ'S OIL. Not so much to exploit it as to control it, and Cheney wanted to use the invasion as an excuse to pour money into his then-bankrupt Halliburton. These war-profiteering motives go back to the worst examples of slimy politicians, wormy beef in the Civil War, muskets which would not fire, Mexican war for slavery in Texas, etc. Bush and his evil crew go back to the worst elements of America, the criminals and thieves
...(by Bush, "Those not for us are) ...against us." You are thinking yourself into trouble. To assume that the US is more likely to have colluded into a war and Saddam Hussein was innocent is just ...nutty.
This is a REPUBLICAN war. 61 percent of the Democrats in the House of Representatives voted AGAINST the resolution authorizing BUSH to wage this illegal war. If you want to end the war you need to help by rejecting Republicans at every level of government.