3,000 dead U.S. Soldiers in Iraq and for what? It's Bush's Vietnam Quagmire - we get a New Year of Iraqi Hell

Question

What can we all do to stop Bush from escalating the number of troops in Iraq? Which part of bring them home right now doesn't he get? Why are American soldiers dying in a sectarian civil war that is NONE of our business to begin with? How angry do we all have to get before we impeach this nutcase Bush?

Any one who believes the silly lie that 'having our troops fight in Iraq avoids having them fight in American streets is just NOT LOGICAL and easily duped. The Iraqi people NEVER invaded our country, and the did not have weapons of mass distruction -- these were ALL LIES.

The true nature of this conflict is clear: American soldiers are fighting in an illegal war based upon enormous lies, and now we are trapped in the cross-fire of an all-out civil war, them's the facts, ma'am.

My question is rhetorical, yes, meant to stimulate a discussion. It does provide me with any catharsis whatsoever to ask this painful question, which every American should be asking.

It doesn't matter whether you are left or right or independent. Our soldiers are dying for a lie -- it's NOW THE RIGHT TIME to bring them home.

We dragged out the misery in Vietnam; almost destroyed our country's moral fabric over that conflict. We don't have to 'keep on fighting' just because the arm-chair warriors say we do!

Answer 1

I'm with you, Mark, but I don't think we'll see an impeachement any time soon. Despite the fact that Democrats in Congress have been marginalized during Bush's entire administration, they're talking about "working together" and "reaching across the aisle." If there's ever been a time to NOT do those things, it's now.

Unfortunately, I think the problem is that most Rep's & Sen's have forgotten that they were elected to represent their constituents. Instead, they represent the corporations that hand out fat checks during the campaign season. With that in mind, it doesn't matter how angry we get. Because of our campaign finance system, incumbents have inherent advantages in any campaign. They raise more money and have more name recognition. So, when it comes time to vote, the messages of their opponents are drowned out in a flood of negative campaign ads and the people who aren't really paying attention (most of us, sadly) vote the incumbent back into office, barring a huge scandal or extremely well-funded challenger.

I'd like to see public funding of all elections because of the above. It would definitely cost taxpayer money, but if that's what it takes to make sure that my representatives represent me instead of utility companies, pharmaceutical companies, etc., it's well worth it.

Answer 2

I can see that you do not yet understand the nature of the conflict. By engaging the terrorists in Iraq, the troops have prevented them from attacking the U.S. again. And I am not talking about Iraqi terrorists necessarily. Islamist terrorists from all over are now engaged in Iraq.
And the conflict will not end with Iraq; the Islamo-fascists will not stop until they are defeated. And, since they are not identified with any specific nation, they are difficult to pin down. The global conflict is only beginning, and we will be ruled by Islamo-fascists if we do not win it.

Answer 3

Our soldiers are dying for the neoconservative cause (one-world government). Bush is not representing his country, nor his party, but rather the neoconservative establishment. It is the duty of congress to remove him. If they don't, which looks to be the case, then it is the military's job to do it. Bush is a killer as bad as Hitler. That's why he recently purchased a 98,000 acre ranch in paraguay under another name. He knows he's a target after the way he's sold this country out.

Answer 4

Bush's redneck trailer trash constituents love war. When you are that degraded and ignorant, it's the only thing that makes you feel good about yourself, knowing your country can pick another country up by the scruff of the neck and dash it against the wall.

Answer 5

In order for Bush to get impeached he'd have to orally copulate with Monica Lewinsky on top of a Hummer in Iraq at high noon while on CNN singing God Bless America with Old Glory in one hand and a Dukes Of Hazzard DVD in the other! Or something else phenomal! I mean, if lying about WMD's to get a war started and 3,000 troops killed and tens of thousands Iraqis and other citizens killed, then what? You'd have a better chance of seeing Hailey's Comet twice in one lifetime!

Answer 6

Take your pick - personally I believe points #1 & #7 are some of the reason....But then you aren't interested in ideas - you just want to vent.......

The country largely kept the faith during World War II, even as about 400,000 U.S. forces died — 20,000 just in the monthlong Battle of the Bulge.
1)Speed-of-light consumer conveniences, like cellular phones and digital cameras, also reinforce expectations of fast results that spill over into war, some scholars say. In what's called "the CNN effect," the unblinking eye of video news and unending chatter of the Internet quicken and maybe intensify the public's reaction to the carnage of battle.
2)"As fewer Americans die in war, their loss is more keenly felt, not necessarily at a personal level, but at a collective and public level," says historian Michael Allen at North Carolina State University.
3)Americans instead tend to back wars to stop aggression, like the invasion of Kuwait before the first war with Iraq in 1991, polling indicates.
4)"If the public really believed that our war in Iraq now was about stopping aggression, stopping terrorism, then we would see a greater degree of tolerance for casualties," says Bruce Jentleson, a former policy planner in President Clinton's State Department who now teaches at Duke University.
In a world of smart bombs and so on, you just expect the military to be able to insulate the military from getting killed — and to a large extent they have," says Christopher Gelpi, a casualty researcher at Duke University.
5)The American people have never been known for their patience, and I suppose with these 24-7 news cycles and access to the Internet, everything seems to have accelerated," says Richard Melanson, who teaches a class on public opinion and foreign policy at the U.S. military's National War College, in Washington, D.C.
6)America's young no longer feel personally threatened, either. The military draft is history. These days, mostly working-class teenagers volunteer to do the fighting.
7)But are Americans willing to hang in a tough fight anymore?
Some wonder if U.S. society, now populated by baby boomers who recall Vietnam and never knew the hardships of the Great Depression or World War II, has simply lost its stomach for great sacrifices. Or perhaps in a materialistic culture, priorities are simply elsewhere now. "Everybody's looking to get theirs," says Tony Bouza, a veteran and former Minneapolis police chief who wrote "The Decline and Fall of the American Empire."

Answer 7

We don't impeach liars of Bush's ilk. I can only hope that the newly elected will begin the process that many of us have called for. Get yourself and others you know to begin calling and writing their elected representatives now. Become part of some sort of organization that is working towards this end. There are a few out there. It won;t get done in 2 years but it can get a god start.

Answer 8

No one cares about the 3,000 troops. Do you see 100s of thousands of people in the streets saying "Bring our troops home". NO!! You don't!! No one really cares.

Answer 9

oh yeah, you again.

Lissen... we don't speak Japanese or German because your grandparents were willing to lose 3000 of their buddies in one day in one battle. They, unlike you, know the cost of freedom.

Your parents understand that when we surrendered and cut and run in 'Nam, 3 million people died at the hands of the communists.

In this case, if we cut and run now, 60% of the world's oil will be under the feet of people having a civil war. I don't know about you, but I like staying warm, using electricity, having hot showers, and driving a car.

Answer 10

Why? Because the Israeli defense lobby has our government bought and paid for. That's the unwelcome but grown-up truth of the matter.