This question is for all who oppose our involvement in Iraq..?

Question

I am sick of this anti-war movement.why are we so ignorant?we had a dictator that harbored/supplied terrorists,killed thousands upon thousands of innocent people,stored WMD's (yes,he did have them at one time),invaded a defenseless country,terrorized his own people,broke the treaty that was supposed to have curtailed him,& yet I hear people say that we never should have gone after him!to me,that makes no sense.Now,everyone wants to pull out before the job we started is finished.Like it or not, America is the only SuperPower left ,and we have an obligation as a compassionate nation, to help those in need whic in turn helps secure OUR protection.What would have happened if we pulled out of Japan/Germany/South Korea before the job was done?We did the same (rebuilding/fight resistance) in those places that we're doing now in Iraq.I don't hear anyone bashing our Grandparents.Just like WWII showed,world affairs affect us no matter how much we want to stay out.Why is this hard to understand??

JFK- the military is only for certain people. not me, i know this. but, if a draft was instituted... i'd be first in line. trust me.

kre8iv4u2- you need a history lesson. we've done that with many regimes.. some worked out, some blew up in our face. that's just the way politics work.

Answer 1

the knee-jerk anti-war crowd hates to see a dictator brought to justice

they worship despots like Chavez and Castro

Answer 2

jasonsluck13,
I totally understand your Patriotism. However, I must start by saying that the: "police action" in Iraq is not a war. According to the US Constitution, (which almost all of our elected officials totally ignore), only the US Congress can declare war. The President, the UN nor any other elected or un-elected body can do this. “War”, as it is referenced in the US Constitution, has not been declared since World War II. Every other engagement the US has been involved with has been totally unconstitutional and thus a police action.

Are there tyrants the world around? YES! Are there are more than we can count? YES! Is it the job of the USA to be the world police? NO!
To really address your concern, if there is a direct attack on our nation, then yes, we have a right to protect and defend our lives, property and country. This is were you will disagree with me but there has never been any evidence that Saddam was ever linked to Bin Laden. The media will say there is a link but researching further you will find this is not the case. However, if this is so, WIN THE “WAR” AND GET OUT. Regardless, we are not doing this. US policy is to stay there on a permanent basis. Saddam is gone. Why stay and get more of our men killed. Defend our country? YES! Entangle ourselves in places that will get our guys killed for no reason? I say defend our home, your home first.

Here is a sight I recommend: http://www.thenewamerican.com/artman/publish/cat_index_1.shtml

Answer 3

1) We're not ignorant. We're blissfully misinformed by our media.
2) Yes, Saddam was awful. He did many, many bad things. You say he DID have WMDs. Well, that's past tense and therefore irrelevent for all purposes of discussing our invasion of Iraq at the time it was commenced. Yes, he did all of those awful things.
3) Most people I hear nowadays aren't so much pissed that we went after Saddam, it's that we're letting our soldiers be massacred in the midst of a violent anarchy/civil war. This is a job that just can't be finished.
4) America is the only Superpower left because it's afraid of competition and bombs and invades any country that looks like it might come close.

I agree with your point about WWII except for one key incident: WE WEREN'T THE ONLY ONES THERE. It was a World War. This is a World *Oppossed* War. Nobody appreciates our presence there, and our soldiers on the ground have said that there is no purpose there.

If the soldiers on the ground say there's no point, why should we expound on the reasons to stay??

Answer 4

Then as the "superpower" that we are why dont we drop our guns and concetrate on helping nations who actually need the help(i.e food, meds, etc.) Why do we attack a country that was probably better under a Dictator than it is now. He could have broke so many treaties, but it really doesnt make any sense that he aided terrorists. If he did wheres the proof, oh yeah in some CIA room being made up? like the initial excuse to go to war with them in the first place! Dont getme wrong i totally support our troops, but we cant let them die anymore, its been over three thousdand soldiers who have died in a war based on lies and greed, why send 21,500 more to harms way, for more of them to die. Soldiers say theres really no point in being ovethere, so why not get out once and for all, and spend that money being wasted in Iraq, overhere to try and solve the high rates of crimes, or try to find cures for diabetes or alzheimers(ironically one president was taken by alzheimers) cmon dude stop being into war, and u know what ask a soldier if there was really a point to being overthere.

Answer 5

Not once did Iraq ever ASK for our HELP. Yes we are one of the super powers left, and I agree with what you're saying, but at the same time this is a war that we started in a place we have no right to be in. It would have been different if they would have asked us for help, but they never did. So that's why I'm anti-war. Don't get me wrong, I support our troops, and I don't think that we should pull out before the job is done, I just really don't think we should have gone over there in the first place.

Answer 6

First i didn't oppose going to war or overthrowing Saddam. I disagree with what we are doing now, and you are very very wrong about our actions in Japan/Germany/South Korea. We were an invading army with the sole purpose of destroying another army. We did NOT stay in Japan or Germany and reform there governments or train there police or provide millions and millions for reconstruction. These are very different wars with very different intentions. We should be taking the billions that have been spent and putting them to self preservation and defense systems that will prevent future attacks against the United States. Just because we are viewed as a "Super Power" does not mean we have the obligation to be the worlds police or peace keepers, nor does it give us the right to interject our beliefs systems on people who obviously don't want them.

Answer 7

We are not the world police. There are plenty of dictators like the one you described. Many are worst. We fight them with diplomacy first, then war is a last option. We let many other dictators do a lot worse because we want war as a last resort. But this wasn't the case in Iraq.

And for the record, by being in Iraq, we have created more terrorists then we've killed. So you really don't want to use our safety as an argument.

And obviously, in WWII, war was our only option (or last resort).

Answer 8

You probably won't understand this point of view, but those that want our troops to pull out want it because how do you decide when the war is over? We got Saddam... and we will get Bin Laden too... but then where does it end?? This is a war on terrorism which will continually exist no matter who we catch and kill or overthrow.... there will always be another terrorist to take their place. And it seems pointless at this point after five years to remain in mass numbers. We still have troops in Korea for crying out loud, but they aren't over there in abundance. Hope this helps.

Answer 9

My friend, let me give you my opinion.

I am not American so i dont care about DEM vs REP.
I have many American friend and i feel not bad about American people.


Here are your words:

"we had a dictator that harbored/supplied terrorists,killed thousands upon thousands of innocent people,stored WMD's (yes,he did have them at one time),invaded a defenseless country,terrorized his own people,broke the treaty that was supposed to have curtailed him""

Are you talking about Pakistan? Saudi Arabia
The only reason that i disagree with you is that you dont say:
LETS MAKE A GLOBAL MOVEMENT AGAINST ALL
DICTATORS, THOSE WHO HAVE WMD AND THOSE WHO
ARE GUILTY FOR KILLING INOCENT PEOPLE.
but you say : Follow the President against IRAQ.

I am sure that you know that
PAKISTAN is a dictatorship : USA did nothing against them.
ISRAEL has illegal WMD : USA did nothing against them.
IN RUANDA there was a genocide (>1,000,000 dead) USA
did nothing to stop it.
TURKEY invaded CYPRUS 30 years ago : USA did nothing against them.

When the Global action against all these crimes will start then
i will be near George W Bush.




Sorry but my English is not perfect.

Answer 10

How do you explain the dissent of American soldiers who have been there and are still against it?
How can you justify letting more soldiers die in Iraq than people died in 9/11, when the guy we just hanged wasn't even the one responsible for it and we can't seem to catch the one who was?
How can you support a war that was started by a president who's vice-president is a major stock-holder in the company that is the main driller in the oil fields of the country we're invading?

Answer 11

I truly believe that Americans are compassionate people. Whenever disaster strikes at home or around the world, Americans line up to donate blood, money, food and clothing. Those tragic moments are when Americans are at their best.

And it's true that Americans have banded together to fight off fascism and other threats to world order. No argument there.

But your question betrays a shocking ignorance of American history and foreign policy.

Yeah, Saddam had WMDs and he used them on his own people. That's pretty awful right? We can agree that such an action would make him a war criminal, right?

So how do you explain the US government's support for Saddam AFTER gassing the Kurds? Oh yeah, that's right - we HAD to support Saddam because he was fighting our enemies, Iran.

Only ... we gave money and arms to Iran as well!

What you apparently fail to understand is the US has one set of moral standards which it holds its enemies and an entirely different set of standards which it holds itself and its allies.

Why for example, did the US illegally undermine democratic elections in Iran and Chile, installing regimes that were friendly to our interests, but brutal to their own people? Why did the US give military and financial support to right wing death squads in Guatemala and El Salvador?

We all need to take a long hard look at the crimes perpetrated in our name. You might have trouble understanding the motivations of certain dissidents, but they are moved to act for the same reason you are - they believe in the potential of America to act as a force for good in the world. They just don't always approve of our actions and policies.

If you really care about freedom, democracy and the future of America, you should be willing to criticize the government for actions that are not in line with its rhetoric.

But as long as we support individuals or governments with no respect for the freedoms we supposedly hold so dear, the rest of the world will (rightly) see us as disingenuous hypocrites.