War

War – Watch the DVD “No End in Sight”

Chapter 1

This is a very difficult section for me to write. I say this because we are a nation of hypocrites and I say this to include myself. The rules we impose on others don’t apply to us. Nothing shows that more than our view on war and foreign policy.
When our country was attached on September 11, 2001, I was in the Air Force on Temporary Duty (TDY) in San Antonio, Texas. I was attending a computer class. The class was terminated and we were sent to our hotel rooms after we were told what happened. When I got to my hotel room and turned on the television I could not believe what I was seeing. After seeing that destruction and hearing that it was a terrorist attack I can’t tell you how angry I was. I could try but I don’t think I could ever show the true level of anger. I was ready to go to war that very day. If it meant I had to die in the process of getting the people responsible, then so be it. I could not believe we could be attacked like that, killing so many people. Even as I write this I can feel the anger rise again.

Let’s look at this way: let’s change the location of the attack. Let’s put it in Iraq and let’s change it from airplanes to missiles. My point is it doesn’t matter what the delivery is. 3000 dead is 3000 dead. I think what makes it so hard for us is we don’t fight that way anymore. We used to but we have evolved. Back when this country was being formed the rules of war was to dress up in uniform and march out in the open and shoot at the enemy. What the U.S. did was hide behind trees and in bushes and fire. If there was a Geneva Convention at that time we would have been in violation. Much like the tactics people in the Middle East are using against us now. As much as I disagree with the tactic they are using, if things were reversed I would do the same thing, except for the suicide part.

People can say anything they want but the truth is we feel like we are better than people of other countries. Think about what we are doing in other countries. Now imagine another country doing that in the United Sates. The outrage would be from coast to coast. There is no way the American Public would stand for another country doing to us what we do to them. If you look at it that way then you will understand why we are disliked around the world.
The sad thing is that I feel we are better than the rest also. I don’t want to feel that way but I do. I guess when you hear all your life that this is the greatest country on planet earth, you start to believe it. You also believe it because so many people from so many countries come here to call home. Most of the people who talk bad about this country would live here if they could. I love what this country stands for and the opportunity it offers. Still you can not deny the hypocrisy we show towards the rest of the world.

Some of it has to do with culture. That still does not change the fact that we have double standards and we use them according to our interest. Example: North Korea has nuclear weapons and detonated one to prove it. Our President did nothing and after some time passed decided to try diplomatic talks. Iran is trying to get the information needed to build a nuclear weapon and he is already talking about attacking. The only difference I can see between the two is the lesser nuclear threat is in an oil region. The country we chose to talk to starves and limits the freedom of its people. The country he is talking about attacking has basic freedom for its people. I can’t help but to wonder if oil has anything to do with his desire to attack this country. I was all for going after the people responsible for the attacks on the twin towers. It is the twisted world police mentality we have for attacking countries that someday may pose a threat to us, if there is oil involved, that I have a problem with. We do this under the cloak of protecting the civil rights of its citizens or our allies.

I like the right wing defense of “is the world better off without Sadam?” I agree, I think the world is better off without Sadam. The problem is I don’t think it was our call to make. I’m sure there are countries out there that would say the world would be better off without George Bush. Do you think they have the right to make that call? I don’t think they do. Bush is our problem. We should not push him off on anyone else. When you look back at the history of this country, it is filled with double standards. We are always talking about preventing other countries from getting nuclear weapons. If you think about it, other countries should be trying to get nuclear weapons away from us. We have shown that we will use it. We have done it not once but twice. As far as I know we are the only nation to use it. Are we saying that we are the only nation that knows when nuclear weapons should be used? I must say that I think we are. I fear that if the countries like Iran had the weapon they might use it. I then ask myself, why do I think Iran will use it if they had it? Because that is what the American media tells me. Then I ask if the American media has spin or bias? Yes. Then I ask, is the American media wrong about Iran? I don’t know and I would be afraid to check or risk it.

Chapter 2

We are too willing to ignore the United Nations and go it alone. When there is something we want we go to the United Nations. We also encourage other countries to go there and do as they say. When the United Nations don’t do what we want, we label them ineffective and do what we want. You are only allowed to do that if you are a superpower. It’s no wonder lots of people around the world have negative views of this country. How can we expect other countries to listen to anything the United States has to say when its foreign policies are filled with double standards? I truly believe that if we applied the same policies to ourselves that we apply to other countries we would not have entered this war in Iraq. It seems that our politicians think that since we give countries money they should support whatever we do. They have not yet realized that everyone is not for sale. There are people on this planet that have principles and to them those principles are more important than money. Others have sold themselves to the highest bidder for so long that they think it is natural. Now that they have us in this mess that is the Iraq War they have found this out. Some people really do hold strongly to what they believe. They will stay true to those beliefs, and views even when faced with death. Our leaders will change theirs quickly for a few dollars without a second thought. When you look at the way our politicians do business and the way the Bush administration does its business, can anyone really be surprised by anything he does? I believe that 90% of politics is driven by personal financial gain. The other 10% is done for the country and its people. This has been the case for many, many years. The Bush administration has taken this to another level. They do things for money and they don’t even try to hide it. They do it right in your face. When you question what they do, they well you that you don’t see what your eyes are telling you. In other words your eyes are lying to you. If you ask them to prove your eyes are wrong, then they are unable to do that due to National Security or Executive Privilege.

We have wars going on in Iraq and Afghanistan and yes I believe these are profit driven wars. Bush and his boys are raking in some serious money. That’s what it is all about: money, money and more money. It doesn’t matter how many people have to die in their quest for more money. It doesn’t matter what country the dead people are from. Just get them more money. They claim BILLIONS of dollars are unaccounted for in Iraq. They can’t find the money because there is a war going on and war is hectic. When I hear “war is hectic” from Bush I have to laugh. I wonder how he knows. When he had the chance to go to war, he dodged it. Since he became president he has started two of them. He now watches the war from the safety of the white house while counting his money. You would think that the American people would be upset by what is going on in Washington DC but they are not. According to the polls that I see on television most people want the war to end and the president’s approval numbers are way down. Are the people upset yet? No, not yet. If the president was to have sex, then I think that would do it. People being killed and stealing are not big deals as long as there is no sex going on. You have to ask yourself if this is what has become of our government. I remember when the Republicans were going after Clinton about a blow job. They were on television pounding their fists, veins sticking out on their neck, and faces red because they were so appalled. Now we have billions of dollars stolen, thousands of soldiers killed, tens of thousands of soldiers injured, congress and the American public mislead with very bad intelligence, and almost a trillion dollars spent on these wars and to this the Republican party says this is okay. The Republicans beat us and lie to us until we do as we are told. The Democrats watch them and tell them to stop but they don’t get involved.

I guess I want the country to be outraged by what is the Bush-men have done to our country and our military. When I see what they are doing, I don’t understand why we as a people are so complacent. I don’t point fingers at anyone because I am not out protesting either. I can promise you one thing: I pay attention and will protest with my vote. I wish they would put the impeachment to a vote. I don’t know what I am thinking, they would rig that too. This war is being fought based on what our country deems to be injustice on another country’s people. Basically that is what we are being told. I’m not going to say that Sadam was a good guy and he treated his people with respect. In my view he was a bad and evil person. Now let’s look at this a different way: this was a different country. This country has a different culture. A culture I will not pretend to understand. This culture has a totally different belief system. This country’s culture and belief system is much more different than that of the United States. The religion there is mostly Muslim, from what I can tell. There are different types of Muslims and each type has its extremist. They fight over the differences in their religions. There are some among them who ignore the difference and live peacefully. If only everyone could be so liberal the world would be a better place.

Unfortunately the world has too many bullies. Bullies are extremists and want to control. Control as in not allowing them to decide what is best for them: not being liberal and letting them be themselves, understanding that they believe and think much more differently than we do. We decided that we could not stand by and let them live the way they were living. I understand that to a point. I too would like to liberate the world and allow them to live as free as we do. In order to do that I would have to assume that they want the same things I want. I believe that it is wrong for me to force my beliefs on someone else, no mater how strong my beliefs are. When I was in Germany I met lots of people. Most of them found it amusing that we put people in jail for smoking weed. Most of them smoke it everyday. For the sake of argument, let’s say that Germany wanted to invade us because we put so many people in jail and ruin lives for smoking weed. If they tried to put pressure on us because of our stance on weed, we would think they were crazy for trying to tell us how we should live and govern our country. It’s the arrogance in us that makes us think we are better. We have more people in jail than any other country. Let’s say that other countries were putting sanctions on us for the number of people we have in jail for non violent crimes and calling it injustice and complaining about our capital punishment laws. Most of us would want them to mind their own business. I believe that has a lot to do with why we or better yet, our foreign policy is disliked so much around the world. We say we want people to be free to choose, and then we tell them how to live and what to choose. Who is right and who is wrong?

I will be honest and say that I don’t know. I just don’t think we should force our beliefs on someone else because that means it is not free. This is the best country to live in, but that is my opinion and it is the only country that I really know. I have had periods where I have lived in other countries. The thing is; I didn’t live there long enough to say I knew that country. Unless you truly know that country, how can you say what would be best for it. Even if you do truly know the country there is still the question of, is it your call to make as to what is right for those people. Are we the parents of the world? I know parents always make decisions for their children, as they should. Normally that is not the case for adults. Adults in this country are allowed to make their own choices in most cases. That is a freedom that we have by law. Laws are different from country to country. I hear people in this country say all the time, “if you don’t like our laws then you should get out”. I agree with them with all my heart. If you don’t like where your home is then maybe it is time to move.

Chapter 3

We went to war because Sadam was a bad man. I will agree with the President on that one. Now we get down to where I think he and his side kick Dick should be fired. They are President and Vice President. Responsible for millions of people and speak for this great nation. They took us to war based on faulty information they thought to be true. I understand that people do make mistakes and I don’t fault them for that. Here is where my problem is: as the leaders of a superpower and a morally just nation, they have a greater responsibility. When we go to war there will be millions of lives at risk.

When you have that type of risk, the level fact checking should be much higher than what would normally be in place. When millions of lives are at stake and the information coming to the president means many of them will die. I would have thought that Mr. Bush would have had those facts double checked. If it came back and said millions could die, he would have asked to have them triple checked. This was a huge error and for that he should have lost his job. We invaded a county and stepped all over their rights based on faulty information. When the president found out he said, well he was a bad man anyway. Let’s look at this way: let’s pretend that the President and Vice President are doctors or company CEOs. I use those jobs because they are responsible for many people. The doctor got bad lab tests but didn’t double and triple check. The CEO got bad reports and didn’t have them double and triple checked. The fact that they didn’t make sure the facts were solid and many people died. They would have been fired. If they had any class about them they would have stepped down. I am not surprised to see them still in office because our leaders are not accountable for their actions.

The thing that I am unable to understand is Republicans went after Clinton because of a blow job and he lied about it. He was wrong for what he did. I even agreed with them on the impeachment hearings. Not because of what he did, but because he lied under oath about it. He was the president and for me he is held to a higher level of accountability. The fact that he let some chick give him head is none of our business. That should have been between him and his wife. I don’t think he should have ever answered the question. Once he decided to answer, he should have told the truth. He lied and because of that I supported the Republicans in their decision to hold the impeachment hearing. Since the Bush administration took office the party has shown its true colors. By their actions they seem to say that you are only responsible and accountable for your actions if you are a Democrat. According to Mr. Bush if you make a big mistake or do wrong, he will give you a medal. If you get caught and they try to send you to jail, he will pardon you before they get you behind bars. All of this and more is okay with the Republicans because Bush is one of them. They are a group of "party before county" hypocrites. I am not just talking about the Republicans in office. I’m also talking about the American people that continue to support them.

All I can say is that some of the people just refuse to open their eyes. They think their party can do no wrong and only look for fault on the other side. If fault is found in their party, they pretend it didn’t happen. This happens on both sides, both Republican and Democrats. That is the same attitude that got us into this war, only taken to another level.

Some people close their eyes to what this country does, pretending that this country can do no wrong. In my eyes, wrong is wrong no matter who the perpetrators are. Can we really always be right? I think we as Americans need to open our eyes to what is going on. We need to stand as one to defend this nation from our elected officials. I mean defend it against both parties, both republican and democrat. These parties do not have the best interest of the United States at heart. The officials only have the interest of themselves and their party in mind when they make decisions. When I say them, what I really mean is the big business that is funding them. We must open our eyes if we want to regain our status as the moral leaders of this world.

We went into this war without a full plan. The only plan they had was to overthrow Sadam and protect the oil. They removed all the stability the country had. All the political leaders were removed from office. The police was removed. The military was disbanded.

This meant hundreds of thousands of people out of work and a country with no security. After doing all of this the Bush administration didn’t expect what happened next. Think about this for a minute. What would happen if the same thing happened in the United States? Imagine another country invading the US and throwing Bush and his gang out of office. I know what you are thinking, “sounds good so far”. Then they get rid of everyone on the senate and house along with their staff. Okay, it’s not bad yet. Next, they shut down all police departments. Now it’s getting bad. The last thing they do is to close down our military. That would be devastating. Our government is bad and terribly broken, but we do not have chaos in the streets. If all that I said was to happen that is what we would have. The streets would not be safe. Our military was there on the streets but they were not allowed to stop looters and there was lots of it. Again, think about all that going on here at home. Some people would be happy what Bush and gang were gone. Others would be mad that another country was interfering in our business.

We have plenty of guns in this country and the people that are mad would take shots at the invaders from time to time. Now you throw in looting while the invaders watch. People start to get upset and talk to each other about what they saw. Then you add in no running water, no sewage, and no electricity. People are getting more upset. Finally you throw in rapes and kidnapping and the people are pissed. People are afraid to leave home because the streets are not safe. Imagine all this stuff happening and lasting not days or weeks but years. You see the invaders and the only thing that gets protection is the oil. I believe we would fight back, I know I would. The Bush boys didn’t understand that. I’m sure someone in the military tried to tell him but they had a plan and was going to stick to it no matter what. They only wanted to hear about what would make their plan work. The example in my mind is they are all sitting around a big table discussing flying a kite on the moon using only sticks, cord, paper and a tail for stability. The problem they are trying to decide is how long the tail should be. A general walks in and realizes what they are discussing and tries to tell them that their plan will not work because of the lack of air on the moon. They get mad and tell him to get out because failure is not an option. They tell him that unless he is bringing ideas don’t come back. After he is gone they all laugh saying “you would think a general would realize that the gravity is much weaker on the moon”. That is the type of intelligence I see in the white house.

Chapter 4

If we really wanted to hurt Sadam we went about it all wrong. All we had to do was to devote the countries resources to developing alternative energy. Like when government decided we were going to the moon. Our president is an oil guy so I think it would be a cold day in hell before he did something like that. If he would have done that he could have given or sold that information to the rest of the world making him a hero. That doesn’t even sound right, using the word hero in a sentence where I am talking about Bush. That would have removed any possibility global warming caused by people. The world would have little to no use for oil. That would have crippled Sadam. That also would mean less money for Bush and you know he could not have that. We hear the right wing talk about supporting the troops all the time, but I don’t think they really mean it. It is easy to say “we support the troops”. The truth comes when you have to show it.

If you step back and look at what happened: you can see that they don’t support anything but themselves. A while back Rumsfeld said “you go to war with what you have, not with what you want”. Just based on what he said I agree with him. When you look at the real world then I think it was a lie. Either way it shows you don’t care about the troops. Its not like we were being attacked and we were fighting back. We had been attacked a couple of years ago and therefore we had time to prepare. If you really wanted to support the troops and keep them alive by preparing them for war. There was nothing told to us that forced us to attack quickly. The decision for whatever reason was made to attack quickly with no thought on protecting the troops. I would have preferred that Rumsfeld said “we don’t go to war until we are prepared unless we are forced, because troop safety is paramount”. That would be true troop support. After the war started and they found that road side bombs were being used to kill troops: why didn’t they pull the troops back and prepare them for that type of attack? If you cared about the troops you would make adjustments with the troops as you find out more about the enemy. Would you send firemen out to fight a fire without a fire suit? The troops are going to do as they are told so it is up to the leaders to protect them. The problem is, the people at the top (Bush administration) don’t care but like to say that they do.

You want more proof? You can’t say you support the troops and then turn your back on the Veterans Administration (V.A.). When I talk about the V.A. I talk about first hand knowledge, not what someone else told me. So, how can they support the troops but not the V.A.? When troops are badly injured, they are separated from active duty then they enter the VA system. Let me first say that the V.A. varies from state to state. Some states have better V.A. care than others. I have been in some V.A. hospitals that I am ashamed to say it was in the United States. Those hospitals were not in Nevada. The V.A. hospital here in Las Vegas is pretty good; it is part of Nellis Air Force Base. The V.A. system is the problem. I believe they make it as difficult as possible for the veterans in hopes that he or she will give up and go away. I will give you an example by telling you what is happening to me. I was told by the V.A. that when I had back surgery, they would pay me 100% disability while I recovered and was unable to work. I was told that I needed to give them the name of my surgeon and the hospital where the surgery was done. Also, I was to bring them something from my surgeon saying how long I was to be off work. It has been four months so far and I am still waiting for the first dollar from the VA. I have made many calls to them and nothing is helping. My point is if I needed to rely on the V.A. to pay my bills I would be homeless (they did pay me 10 months later).

I was watching C-Span and a woman who was the Director of V.A. for Chicago, if I remember correctly; said they make it difficult because they don’t have enough money. That makes sense, and if it makes sense that it is probably true. So now the questions would be how can you say you support the troops when you don’t fund the V.A.? If you don’t fund the V.A. then what you are saying is “I support you as long as I can use you”. There is nothing about this war and the Bush Administration that makes sense to me. Here is what I get from the Bush gang. They are spending hundreds of billions of dollars on this war in Iraq. The spent no money on equipping the troops prior to starting this war. What that says to me is “send the troops into war and if they get hurt then so be it, we will just send in more”. The troops are just numbers to the Bush gang and not real people with real families. If that is the attitude of the Bush gang then it would make sense. When you don’t fund the V.A. especially after starting a war, how can you say that you support the troops? What that says to me is “we are done with you, now go away”. It’s easy to say that you support someone or something then do nothing. The hard thing is to get out there and show your support. If the Bush gang is doing anything for the troops and the V.A. then I must say they hide it well because I don’t see it.

Chapter 5

This war is wrong. Granted this is my opinion. When I say this war I am talking about the war in Iraq, not the war in Afghanistan. When we went in Afghanistan it made sense to me. We were going after the people who attacked the United States. They were hiding in the mountains there and we were going to get them. If you attack us we will attack back. I was all for that. I am still all for that. Again, I turned this around. If there was a group here in the United States that attacked Iraq and the Iraq government found out the group was hiding here and our government was doing nothing to bring them to justice. Then the Iraq government sent troops here to get them, I would understand. I would never condone another country invading the U.S. and I’m sure I would take up arms against the county doing it but I would understand why they did it. Why is it okay when we do something and wrong if another country does the exact same thing. I think wrong is wrong no matter who the culprit is. This will get me lots of flack from the right wing. They don’t believe in freedom of speech unless they are speaking or you are agreeing with them. They don’t believe the constitution applies to them. They are the only ones that should be allowed to share their opinion with the public. If you disagree with the war then you are unpatriotic. You are called a traitor and stupid and any other negative thing they can think of. These are the people who call themselves the real Americans. Most of them were too afraid to serve in the military and defend the constitution. These same people are the first to step on the rights that document gives us. We say this war in Iraq is about freedom for the Iraqi people. What we really mean is freedom for the Iraq people as long as the United States agrees. If you say you want the troops out of Iraq: the thing I hear the most is “you want us to lose”. Since when did lose become a curse word. What they are doing is using America’s ego against itself. They know what they are doing.

They see the damage they are doing to the country and do it anyway. For them the policy is winning at any cost, party before country. I think we look better as a free nation when we stand up against our government when it is engaged in an unjust war such as the one in Iraq. Can we call ourselves moral when we stand by and watch what the Bush gang is making our military do to another country? I don’t fault the military. I think they are in the middle of a civil war and are acting very responsibly for what they are faced. When I was growing up I heard many times at home and at school “winning isn’t everything”, my conduct was the most important thing. Now we are telling everyone that will listen that winning is the only thing that matters. That is the wrong message to be sending to children as well as the rest of the world. I’m not saying another nation should never be attacked but what I am saying: we should always try diplomacy first before we attack. If we are attacked first we will retaliate but not until the military is prepared, if we have that option. We must always remember that our military are people: people who have families and people who love them. We can’t allow companies like Blackwater to carry firearms and wear the American flag on their uniforms, conduct business in other counties without any oversight. Those countries see them as our military even though they are not. We are the moral leaders of the world and must conduct ourselves as such. When our fellow citizen criticizes our war policies or efforts we should listen. Asking a question or stating your disagreement makes you a free person not a traitor, we should embrace that. When you try to stifle a person’s freedom of speech that goes against the constitution and by definition would be un-American. The constitution is what makes this country what it is. That is something the right wing should be reminded of.

With all my heart I want this war to end. This is where I side with the Democrats. I believe they want the war to end like most of the American public. They are afraid to stop the funds for the war. They have been called weak for not putting an end to the money needed to keep the war gong I will admit that I also called them weak for not ending this crazy war. Now that I have given this more thought and seen the ease of the Bush veto. If they don’t give him the money he will just leave the troops there until they start getting killed. Then he will blame it on the lack of funds. I think the Democrats realize that they can’t play chicken when the other side doesn’t care.

When the first Improvised Explosive Device (IED) went off in Iraq, the Department of Defense (DOD) should have pulled the ground units back into the green zone and equipped them with armor. When the troops asked for armored vehicles Rumsfeld said “you go to war with the army you have, not the army you wish you had”. To me that means “shut up and color”. That is a saying we used in the military that means just do as you are told. Rumsfeld was asking these soldiers to put their life on the line for him and he was not even willing to listen to their complaints. I believe his response to the questions should have been “I agree you do need armored vehicles. We are pulling as many of you as possible back into the green zone until we can equip you with what you need. We didn’t anticipate the use of IEDs and for that I am truly sorry. I know I am asking a lot from you guys but hang in there. You tell me what you need to stay alive and I will do my best to get it for you”. That would have been a better response, rather than making a joke out of the question.

This last part is just some things I got from watching the DVD “No End in Sight”

*The oil ministry was the only major facility protected by military.
*17 Billion missing*No marshal law until a month or two after Sadam was removed to stop looting
*1980 – 1988 Iraq at war with Iran. U.S. give economic and intelligence aid to Iraq.
*1990 – Iraq invades Kuwait and U.S. pushed him back. The President (1st Bush) urges the Iraqi people & military to rise up against Sadam. The Shiites did just what he asked. Then our government allowed Sadam to repress and kill them.

This was allowed by Bush #1 and Clinton. The sanctions that resulted only hurt the average people of Iraq. Sadam and his friends still had the luxury life. The Iraqi people turned to religion for help.