A Life Sentence Behind the Prison Walls of Bush's War
Reed31463
The Latest Iraq Debacle
As time goes by, the reasons our military, our soldiers, and our loved ones are in Iraq grow dimmer and dimmer by the week. The endless slaughter is inciting a vicious cycle of retaliation, turning Iraq into a wasteland of death, distrust, rage, and bitterness, and is condemning us all to spend the rest of our lives behind the prison walls of Bush's war.
If massacre incidents are to be verified, the evidence must not be tampered with or distorted. How secure is the chain of custody for the evidence? Did the troops botch the crime scene? Did they conceal the number of victims or minimize the damage inflicted on Iraqi homes and property?
Every day, Iraq looks more and more like another Vietnam. Three years of killing and being killed, three years of watching human beings screaming and writhing in pain in the bloody aftermath of IED explosions, ambushes, and bombings are fueling a bloodlust coalition soldiers and Iraqis alike will have to deal with for the rest of their lives.
Here is a marine soldier "entertaining" his Corps with an original song he had written, "Hadji Girl". Although the lyrics are somewhat controversial, they do represent experiences and the sentiment is real.
When our troops finally come home, these are the types of emotions we must all be prepared to deal with. Many of them will have been radically changed by their combat experiences and their families may never again see the son or daughter they once knew.
All of these psychological changes will have multiple consequences; veterans will struggle with their own emotions, marriages will become quickly strained after the coming home party wears off, children may become abused, and racial and social tensions will be affected. Those who choose not to stay in the military "as lifers" will have troubles at work and may even have trouble holding a job. And the longer our troops are condemned to "stay the course" in Iraq, the worse and more pervasive these problems will become.
Bush's mindless mantra to stay the course will never produce a peaceful, viable solution. You don't fight this type of battle with military combat forces. You fight this type of battle with Civil Affairs troops. There are four sordid reasons why Bush and Cheney are determined to "stay the course" in Iraq: Money. Oil. Profits. Power.
Horrifying stories like the one above will continue to surface. After all, we are the ones training, arming, and supplying the insurgent-infiltrated Iraqi police and military forces.
Stand up Congress. Develop a plan to investigate what is going on in Iraq and implement it! Go "in country" with Defense and Army Inspector Generals and ask questions.
If GOP Senators and Representatives want to stay home and wallow in denial: fine. They will be held accountable. If they decide to tag along: fine. Who knows? Maybe these chickenhawks will be so sickened by the carnage they've unleashed that they might actually develop a conscience and feel some remorse.
Do not be deceived by the frantic flag waving and pompous denials of Rove and the GOP, they are morally responsible for dehumanizing and degrading our vulnerable soldiers, because they are the ones who condemned our young men and women to serve as human targets in the mindless chaos of Iraq. They want to intimidate you into silence so they can deceive America for two more horrific years and continue to reap their war profits.
Redeem America, bring our soldiers home, intensify your activism! Don't let war criminals like George Walker Bush and Richard Bruce Cheney scare you into silence.
Comment # 1 ~ Alma ~ 07/01/2006 00:44 GMT No one is a winner with this war. Its just disgusting the way we treat our soldiers. We throw them out there into hell and then don't give them the support that they and their families need. And in this case its even worse because there was no reason to put any of them through this. In case you can't tell, it PISSES me off!
Comment # 2 ~ tahoebasha1 ~ 07/01/2006 03:08 GMT Reed, this is a most excellent article. I think you should attempt to send it to your local newspapers, or there beyond. You speak of the situation with such poignance, such that I am sure it would have great impact in the newspapers. There really are no adequate words to describe this horrendous needless occurrence of our history, but you've done a pretty good job in trying to do so Bush & Co. simply view our soldiers as "fodder" for their purposes -- nothing more!
Comment # 3 ~ tahoebasha1 ~ 07/01/2006 03:09 GMT ....do so. Bush & Co. . . .
Comment # 4 ~ Rusty ~ 07/01/2006 09:28 GMT I agree, this should be a letter to the editor. Reed's compassion for our suffering soldiers would resonate everywhere except in the reddest of wingnut homes. He clarifies that the human cost of war cannot just be measured in dead and wounded, for it inflicts psychological damage and emotional trauma on nearly every soldier.
Comment # 5 ~ Rusty ~ 07/28/2006 19:22 GMT Reed, Tahoe is way ahead of you in LTE's, you're making us XY chromosome people look bad. Please remedy this as soon as possible. Thank you.
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