insert witty subtitle here.
I think before I left, I made my opinions pretty clear about the Iraq war. For example. Link
I'm not crazy about us being in two wars at once. I'm not entirely nuts about the reasons we went to war in Iraq. (to be fair, Saddam believed he had the crap, had used it in the past, and wanted to do so again) Then again, we don't go to war with N. Korea, and they've got frickin' nukes. (instead we bargain/get blackmailed yet again, trading massive amounts of fuel oil, one of the critical items for their Army. Meh)
Before I left I thought, still, we're in the war, however we got there. Better to stay on than pull out and watch the slaughter climb into the millions. The news constantly emphasized the importantance of a pullout and the 'Vietnamization' of Iraq, in short arm and train their troops, then pull out and watch them collapse. And as the people that invaded and destroyed their government, do we not have an obligation to them? Hmmm?
I also hate "peaceful" embargos. How many millions have starved to death over the years in countries where we practiced our nice, non-violent embargos. In Iraq? It was several million between wars. But at least they weren't killed by bombs or bullets. How many are starving in Iraq right now? More than a million? No? Surely a few hundred thousand? No?
And now that I've been? Mostly GOD DAMN ITS HOT. JEEEEEEEZ. After that, sigh........Mostly the same. Except........Iraq is the most God awfully corrupt country I have ever seen in my life. Tammany Hall's got nothing on these guys. Every level of government, all the way up, and all the way down is dirty, and/or associated with insurgencies. Lying, nepotism, embezzlement, theft, protection rackets, kidnapping, blackmail.....it's taken for granted as an ordinary way of life, a survival technique learned during control by other countries, and perfected under Saddam. Granted, as a soldier, you don't necessarily meet the most savory characters, but still. I honestly don't believe that Iraq is going to be capable of standing on it's own for at least a couple of decades. Not until a generation or two has been brought up, EDUCATED (while many people over there have gone to school, almost no one you meet has an education, with a few shocking surprises), and taught to act and think differently, the only stable form of government possible will be a tyranny.
In short, my views have been reinforced and then some. If we leave Iraq in the near future, millions will die, then Iran will move in. Simple as that. And you can bet that life will not improve under the wrestling tag team of Khameni, Khomeni, and Ahmadenijad. How long until we have to come back in again? Do you really think that there's any reason we're not at war with Iran now, except that we're already committed on two fronts with an all volunteer service? For crying out loud, Ahmadenijad came to New York and did everything but rape Bush's mom in public and kick every individual senator in the nuts. Free up a couple of hundred thousand soldiers and see what happens.
Last I saw in Stars in Stripes (about two weeks ago), we've lost 3,120 soldiers to combat actions (and of course, more to accidents and such). That includes Saddam, that includes insurgents, everything. Call me crazy, but that's not even a skirmish in WWII. Over a period of four and a half years? That's incredible. And the Iraqis? Call it about twenty thousand a year or so, at this point, although it varies wildly.
Sometimes when you're over there (especially in summer) you've got to wonder if Iraq is worth investing another five, ten thousand American lives, even for possibly millions of Iraqis. And then you meet someone that's so amazing, so interesting, so honest, so hopeful, you remember what you're trying to do, why you're there. Its horrible when someone you know gets hit, but still........
I hate Iraq. I don't know why anyone in their right minds would live there. It's probably the worst place I've ever been. Including Houston. But pull out and abandon them? Unh uh. No way mister.
No having bitched about that, I want to complain about the writer's strike. WTF? I come home, and there's no new Daily Shows, Southparks, and Heroes is ending the series halfway through the season??? Pay the goddam writers already instead of giving them associate producer credits, or so help me when I get back to Iraq I'm going to start mailing back Hajji copies of Scrubs and Robot Chicken to everybody in the country. And then who'll watch TV with commercials? Hmmmm????? Yeah. Fear my wrath, biyatches.
Yours truly,
NBS