tomspug
Absorbant
Now that we're clearly winning in Iraq, it seems that the news and Congress have shut up about it. Maybe we can go back to remembering why people believe that a "war on terror" exists.
Thing is, it seems that a lot of people think that the "war on terror" is some kind of joke. Some people even think that 9/11 was staged.
In the last six years, America has been so concentrated on hating Bush that it has lost its grip on reality. While Americans argued about whether or not Saddam had WMDs, Madrid was bombed by al-Qaeda, killing hundreds of people. While people argued about troop withdrawal, al-Qaeda bombed London. While America was trying to vote for a Congress that would "get us out", Hezbollah and Palestine SIMULTANEOUSLY moved against Israel.
The evidence that there is a "war" going on is real. Every politician knows that. A Democratic president will fight it just as much as a Republican one. People forget that al-Qaeda staged an attack on the World Trade Center under the Clinton Administration as well, and it could have succeeded.
Global terrorism is real. I'm all for America minding its own business, but right now it IS minding its own business.
Remember Kuwait? We sent troops to Saudi Arabia to keep Saddam Hussein from controlling the majority of the world's oil supply. Was that wrong? Saddam Hussein had one of the largest armies in the world and access to chemical weapons (which he was planning to use against Israel). When he invaded Kuwait, he did so with the backing of almost ALL of the Arab nations.
So, did Bush intentionally lie? I don't know. But people don't realize the brilliance of the Iraq War. We created a stage for al-Qaeda to fight in a REAL war, not a terrorist war. I guarantee you that one of the purposes for the decision to go into Iraq was to create an American military presence straight in the heart of the problem. And guess what? It worked. It probably could have taken less time than it has. The Bush Administration underestimated the amount of hatred the differing factions had for each other post-Saddam. But the effect of having a democratic nation in the heart of the Arab nations is clear: it shows other Arab nations that had once believed in free markets and democracy that it CAN work.
Maybe it didn't need to take force to show them that, but how long would it have taken? How many more Arab's would needlessly kill each other and rely on the effectiveness of religious fanaticism to achieve power? The world of Islam has been stuck in history for almost 1500 years, maybe it can finally move into the 20th century.
This is about history. This is about 9/11. America was united then in believing that there are things worth fighting for, but it has become evident that in our relaxed armchairs of consumerism and wealth that the only thing we are interested in doing is defending ourselves and letting the rest of the world rot. Isn't that what politicians are saying when they say that we shouldn't be "meddling" in other countries? Did we forget about WHY we went into Korea? The result was an economically successful South Korea.
If you want history, here are some actual BAD examples of war. Jimmy Carter made the decision to assist the fight against Russia by providing fueding Afghan fanatics (as well as the ideological beginnings of al-Qaeda) with weapons. Who were we helping there but ourselves? THAT was bloodshed. No one wanted to impeach Carter. He was being a good American for fighting the Ruskies. How about when Clinton bombed Serbia? Who were we helping there? No one seemed to mind that we were killing civilians then. We were actually too busy thinking about Monica Lewinsky to care!
We need to examine who we choose to believe and what we choose to fight for. Is it our job to protect ourselves, or to protect ourselves AND our allies AND the oppressed?
Thing is, it seems that a lot of people think that the "war on terror" is some kind of joke. Some people even think that 9/11 was staged.
In the last six years, America has been so concentrated on hating Bush that it has lost its grip on reality. While Americans argued about whether or not Saddam had WMDs, Madrid was bombed by al-Qaeda, killing hundreds of people. While people argued about troop withdrawal, al-Qaeda bombed London. While America was trying to vote for a Congress that would "get us out", Hezbollah and Palestine SIMULTANEOUSLY moved against Israel.
The evidence that there is a "war" going on is real. Every politician knows that. A Democratic president will fight it just as much as a Republican one. People forget that al-Qaeda staged an attack on the World Trade Center under the Clinton Administration as well, and it could have succeeded.
Global terrorism is real. I'm all for America minding its own business, but right now it IS minding its own business.
Remember Kuwait? We sent troops to Saudi Arabia to keep Saddam Hussein from controlling the majority of the world's oil supply. Was that wrong? Saddam Hussein had one of the largest armies in the world and access to chemical weapons (which he was planning to use against Israel). When he invaded Kuwait, he did so with the backing of almost ALL of the Arab nations.
So, did Bush intentionally lie? I don't know. But people don't realize the brilliance of the Iraq War. We created a stage for al-Qaeda to fight in a REAL war, not a terrorist war. I guarantee you that one of the purposes for the decision to go into Iraq was to create an American military presence straight in the heart of the problem. And guess what? It worked. It probably could have taken less time than it has. The Bush Administration underestimated the amount of hatred the differing factions had for each other post-Saddam. But the effect of having a democratic nation in the heart of the Arab nations is clear: it shows other Arab nations that had once believed in free markets and democracy that it CAN work.
Maybe it didn't need to take force to show them that, but how long would it have taken? How many more Arab's would needlessly kill each other and rely on the effectiveness of religious fanaticism to achieve power? The world of Islam has been stuck in history for almost 1500 years, maybe it can finally move into the 20th century.
This is about history. This is about 9/11. America was united then in believing that there are things worth fighting for, but it has become evident that in our relaxed armchairs of consumerism and wealth that the only thing we are interested in doing is defending ourselves and letting the rest of the world rot. Isn't that what politicians are saying when they say that we shouldn't be "meddling" in other countries? Did we forget about WHY we went into Korea? The result was an economically successful South Korea.
If you want history, here are some actual BAD examples of war. Jimmy Carter made the decision to assist the fight against Russia by providing fueding Afghan fanatics (as well as the ideological beginnings of al-Qaeda) with weapons. Who were we helping there but ourselves? THAT was bloodshed. No one wanted to impeach Carter. He was being a good American for fighting the Ruskies. How about when Clinton bombed Serbia? Who were we helping there? No one seemed to mind that we were killing civilians then. We were actually too busy thinking about Monica Lewinsky to care!
We need to examine who we choose to believe and what we choose to fight for. Is it our job to protect ourselves, or to protect ourselves AND our allies AND the oppressed?
