To sum it all up�
yes. That is my answer.
By the way, props go out to my few faithful readers. They diligently plow through my inane ramblings to dig out the few interesting comments I accidentaly include with each rant I release.
What was the question? Well I can�t really remember, where this all started out is almost as muddled and confusing as the reasons for the U.S. being in Iraq. I understand that it�s because he has weapons of mass destruction and has supported terrorism, yet there seems to be something missing there. Other nations have weapons of mass destruction that pose a very real threat to their neighbors. North Korea is the much spoken of example that comes to mind. There are plenty of other middle eastern countries that pose a threat to peace. In fact almost all of them.
The problem I see is that the american people have this vague notion that we are taking down an oppressive regime and freeing the Iraqi people. Unfortunately these are people that we know little or nothing about. We arent familiar with their culture, their customs, or their religion. All in all the events in Iraq don�t seem real to most of us in America.
I mostly trust the current administration and our legislative bodies to make the decisions that are best for our country. Unfortunately this means we have to sit back and watch our forces roll across a country and fight a war live on television for a cause that isn�t terribly inspirational. I garuntee you that the media presence in this war will be a mistake. Military forces have to do ugly things in order to win wars. These are things that the american public as a whole will not want to see.
The most I can hope for is that the vast majority of Iraqi citizens will live easier lives after this war is over, and that the U.S. will have cheaper and easier access to Oil supplies and a more powerful presence in the middle east to defend our interests in the region.
This business of maintaining a nation and an empire is tricky. We can�t make everyone in the world happy, but then again, we don�t have to either. I know it sounds arrogant, but history is full of examples of nations rising to power and spreading their ideals around, with force if neccesary. In time every nation falls back into obscurity and the cycle keeps on going. Wars for resources and territory like this is simply the way things are.
My only comfort in this rather cynical view of current events is that our technology has made it possible to severely limit the number of civilian casualties that are inflicted through the course of this war. Remember that during World War 2 the allies effectively obliterated the many German cities such as Hamburg. The american people didn�t heard about it and didn�t care because we were commited to what we thought of as a noble cause. And the U.S. is responsible for one of the most horrific acts of terrorism perpetrated in recent memory: Hiroshima, and Nagasaki. War is war, wether it�s declared or not. Deal with it.
Maybe I was able to communicate my opinion on this matter. If you gained some understanding of my view point then I commend you for you astute attention to the random words and phrases that pour from my mind.