A headline and subhead in the Los Angeles Times:
Iraq attacks raise new concerns about U.S. pullout
Suicide bombings, car explosions and gunfire that killed at least 70 in an apparently coordinated assault suggests Iraqi forces may be overwhelmed by insurgents after American troops withdraw.
Of course, these attacks happened while U.S. troops are still in the country– making the point about the U.S. “pullout” somewhat hard to follow.
But this is a familiar argument. Remember the Time magazine cover photo of a disfigured Afghan woman last July? The magazine’s political point was summed up by the text on the cover: “What Happens If We Leave Afghanistan.” The attack that left her disfigured happened with U.S. troops in Afghanistan.
The implication in both cases is that violence will overcome these countries due to the absence of U.S. troops– which obviously obscures the fact that the U.S. presence is often the source of such violence, or the justification used by armed groups seeking to drive out U.S. troops.
These resource wars can certainly bring out inane propaganda that would disgust George Orwell with it’s blatant hypocrisy. The US can help setup Saddam Hussein in Iraq, then later (when he gets a bit too independent), entrap him into aggressive action against Kuwait, attack & decimate his army with our ‘turkey-shoot’ on the road to Damascus, sanction his country to the point of 500,000 people (mostly children) dying, concoct a phony war resulting in approximately a 1M deaths & 3M displaced people, militarily occupy the country, and THEN claim we’re concerned about POSSIBLE violence ‘if we leave’!?! That takes world-class chutzpah and a public with self-imposed ignorance at immoral levels.
Oh the Oil! If Exxon Mobile and BP want the resource so badly let them raise their own army. As a taxpayer I am disgusted with this endless war for the untaxed special interests.
BS (Bush Shadow)!
There was violence when we came, violence when we stayed and yes violence when we leave and the puppets or suspected ones will be eliminated as traitors and collaborators. Nothing new there. A bull shit reason.
We need to end troop deployment in Iraq for our own economic reasons. We may not have needed to send troops and resources there to begin with. Part of the legacy is huge debt to pay off.
As said by others, there was violence before, there is violence now and there will be more when we (finally) get all our military butts out of there. The only difference is that the violence will not be perpetrated on our courageous men and women. As for Exxon et al raising their own army, they already have. It’s called (or was) Blackwater and other mercenaries and they get paid a whole lot more than US/UN troops and are not obliged to follow any rules but their own.
Wars and Conflicts without an end!
Most pro-war voices have it backwards- we are in fact fighting the “enemy” here because we are fighting them there in their countries.
Usama bin Ladin had warned the USA in his 1998 fatwa that al Quaeda would attack the United States homeland because the US had occupied the Middle East after the first Iraq War.
9/11 was avoidable.
The second Iraq War was criminal.
GET OUT…or war without end. That IS the choice. There can never be military success against insurgents. For every one killed, another springs up to retaliate. We simply perpetuate a culture of retribution and war.
We have to be smarter. We have to get troops out of these countries, and do the only thing that will change that culture–offer a better future. Use our money to help build and EDUCATE, just like at home.
If I may paraphrase from Josef Goebbels,” If we didn’t have enemies then we would have to create them.” And Islam is the new Communist menace. With over a billion and the constant turning of our secular gov’t and military more toward a militant Christian type. It is the makings of a new cycles of Crusades. Only this will be global and for a time never ending GWOT.
Somehow I don’t trust the “happenings” in Iraq now that withdrawal is supposed to happen. Will they make things happen or seem to happen so they have an excuse to keep the “war” going?
Did he actually say WE are the source?Now if our military bases were bombed and people killed maybe.If a club with American military units who were mixing with civilians were all killed maybe.If roads used by our vehicles were attacked and collateral damage suffered by the population maybe.No ….this is targeting not Americans, but civilians.Bombs going off in or near mosque’s or shopping areas loaded with innocents.These scum kill non combatants and that is their goal.Create fear and terror.Iraq and Afghanistan have enough security forces to deal with them.Do they have the will?
Of course we started the violence. We continue to keep it up. And after we leave (God willing) it will still be violent because we have all the sectarian groups against each other, hoping they’ll come out on top. And we’ll desert those poor people who have worked for us while there (just as we did in VietNam to be killed by their neighbors.
Fear is a weapon, which produces uncontrolled human response. Our nations have used fear to blind us, manipulate our senses and cause mob mentality reflexes. It is time for the U.S. to get back to building their nation and face the mirror on the wall. Nation about all. No company, no self indulging retrospect, no more excuses. Plain and simple, rebuild the manufacturing economy and the people will believe again. It’s time for action, not reaction. Get the government to trim the fat military budget and work on the country and its future. Bring back the pride and work ethic. No more passifism, time to roll up the sleeves and bring back the middle class.
Lettie of course we did NOT start the violence.
Kris you better think long and hard when you say trim the military budget what it is you are leaving our soldiers without…. in an ever more dangerous world.
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