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Bottomless Pit
When Dick "The Monster" Cheney was asked last
week by a TV reporter, "Do you realize that over 2/3 of the American
people disapprove of the war in Iraq?"
Cheney's response: "SO!"
That's how arrogant this administration has always been.
This
weekend marked another milestone in the tragedy of "Bush's Folly."
With the death of 4 more American troops from an IED in southern
Baghdad, the toll has now reached at least 4,000 with no end in sight.
John McCain has said he doesn't mind if we continue to occupy Iraq for 50 to 100 years!
An Associated Press reporter made a statement this weekend which brought the shocking reality of Iraq home to me when he said: "The parents of the last soldier to die in the Iraq war hasn't been born yet!" THE PARENTS haven't been born yet! If he was right, and if Bush/Cheney, Haliburton and the corporate greed which took us into this quagmire have their way, that statement will become reality and at least 3 generations of brave young Americans will die in that Hell hole.
Nothing can bring back those 4,000 human beings to their families. Nothing can change the fact that America's reputation has become that of a country which condones torture. Nothing can change the future for the 30,000+ who have been horribly wounded or the 100,000+ who will suffer the consequences of PTSD brought on by repeated tours in Bush's war.
I wish I had the answer. Unfortunately the only good "answer" was not to invade a sovereign nation in the first place. But it's too late for that.
I am stunned when I see the lack of coverage of this failure in Iraq. It has fallen off the radar screen of media. Replaced by an economy which is crumbling because of the very policies which took us into this TRILLION dollar debacle, Americans have been hypnotized into a state of inattention.
Meanwhile, Bush, Cheney, Rumsfeld, Libby, Rove and the rest will continue to prosper as our country struggles to regain its stature in the world. This is the worst administration in the history of our country in so many ways. I hope "We The People" can regain control of this nation and make certain that history is accurately written so this kind of tragedy NEVER happens again.
Comments (6)
"I wish I had the answer. Unfortunately the only good "answer" was not to invade a sovereign nation in the first place. But it's too late for that."
Chuck, I understand your anguish. But posting another critique of the war at TPM amounts to preaching to the choir. Why not offer a stab at an answer - however flawed it might be - in an effort to advance the dialogue forward, from bemoaning our mistakes to finding solutions?
March 24, 2008 9:44 AM | Reply | Permalink
Because I feel there is no "good" answer. You're right about "preaching to the choir." It's like screaming into a hurricane and it doesn't help much. I'll pull the blog.
March 24, 2008 10:07 AM | Reply | Permalink
This has been on my mind as well. Not having an answer isn't a reason to stop talking, or posting about it. Every time we revisit it is a chance that some greater degree of understanding will emerge, both individually and collectively.
March 24, 2008 10:54 AM | Reply | Permalink
Okay, if we're the choir, then we've got to sing out to those who aren't in the choir.
How to do this? You might not like my suggestions.
It's likely that the people you work with, play with, or are related to are not all part of the choir. So remind them that there's still a war going on that has no end in sight; that's killing, maiming, and damaging our children; and that's draining not only our current resources but those for the inconceivable future—inconceivable because the numbers are too huge for comprehension.
Instead of sending out emails with jokes or animals doing amusing things, get the latest statistics on the war and pass them along to your emailing list.
Instead of chatting about the weather while you're waiting in line for a prescription or a movie, say, "Jeez, it's been five years since the Iraq invasion, and there's no end in sight. Nothing we were told at the beginning was true, and we're still being told lies by our government. How about that?"
If all these suggestions make you somewhat uncomfortable, oh well. But remember, before a choir becomes a choir, every member has to learn the music. They weren't born knowing it any more than each of us was born holding the opinions we now hold. We each had to hear or read something somewhere that triggered us in order to reach the places we are in our politics and beliefs.
One small thing I try to do is to refute those annoying but potentially dangerous emails I get forwarded that promote fear- or prejudice-based reactions. Just this morning I did one on Obama and the Muslim and non-patriotic assertions being promulgated. I basically ripped my cousin a new one for passing the email along without bothering to use her brain to see if any of it was true.
I'm not going to be popular, because I sent it to her entire emailing list (and that'll teach her for not using blind mailings).
It's all the same task, whether it's keeping people mindful about Iraq or not letting lies get by unchallenged.
Hope that helps, FlyOnTneWall.
March 24, 2008 2:42 PM | Reply | Permalink
Good ideas, Facilitatrix.
March 24, 2008 5:58 PM | Reply | Permalink
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=khuu-RhOBDU
March 24, 2008 10:24 PM | Reply | Permalink
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