Decius wrote:
] ] I know that the only truly powerful country on the planet
] ] is continuing to manufacture the perilous,
] ] conscience-stunting myth that technology can make war
] ] relatively safe. Indeed, we are so delusional on this
] ] subject that we believe that bombing the shit out of the
] ] Iraqis is a humanitarian act. This is a continuation of
] ] the same national system of denial that we began to
] ] construct during Gulf War I. Ask a knowledgeable American
] ] how many people died in that conflict and you will
] ] probably be told that the death toll was somewhere around
] ] 150.

I agree that for the most part, he presents a very clear and thoughtful message of how we're doing the wrong thing. I wouldn't go so far as to agree with his insinuation that any conscripted soldier should be treated differently than one who enlisted. Just because someone was drafted doesn't mean that he won't pull the trigger.

Yes, it's a fact that tens of thousands of Iraqis died in Gulf War I. Many more died from the fact that we blew their infrastructure to pieces - power generation, bridges, railroads, etc. I would imagine this is one of the reasons we are making a conscious effort to leave it up this time.

It's all just a big pile of trash that divides so many people. I support our troops, but not our President and his foreign policy. That has made me less popular lately and I have been in situations where I've fealt that I had to keep my mouth shut. At dinner on Saturday night, we were sitting near a large group of Marines that were toasting various people and ideals all night long. At one point, a toast was made declaring that they are all fighting for our freedoms, even the freedom to protest. I have to seriously think about that, now, because I don't necessarily agree that they are in this case, and that's not their fault. They are simply following orders from above. Hence my statement about supporting our troops - wanting them to get done quickly and safely - without supporting their boss, who put them into harm's way.

Yes, Saddam and his sons torture people. Yes, he's trying to create "weapons of mass destruction." He's also half way around the world in a region that wants to handle their own problems. Even if it means that they ignore it. I don't have kids, but I have parents, and my main issue against our action in Iraq is that we're playing the overbearing and over protective parent. The Middle East neighbors of Iraq are making a mistake by staying out of the war, but dammit, it's their mistake to make. It may hurt them in the short term but in the mean time it "threatened our interests."

There's no easy resolution to this and no picture that we can all see the same.

RE: JPB offers a (mostly) reasonable critique