do you think the war on Iraq is stupid?

Question

my step-dad is in iraq for one more year. he hasent even met my little brother and he's 2!! i think we (meaning bush) should mind our own buisness. but since WE already got in iraq Wwe should blow 'em up and just leave. and WE need to leave the office

They screwed up his scedual. he came home unexpectedly while the rest of our family was in canada at some aunts house. Because of that he hasent met my little brother. i respect the military and i no why there over there biut i just get mad sometimes

Answer 1

ALL war is "stupid" but sometimes necessary....

This is the first war in 60 years that is justified and has produced positive results.

There is no question this war is rough on everyone connected with it.....sometimes rougher on those at home.

There are reasons for this war.....reasons that could be ignored no longer....Your step father is a hero......he has saved possibly millions of lives.....many of them innocent women and children

Bombing everything and walking away......would not solve anything.....in fact it probably would make things worse

To come back alive your step dad needs your support....He does not like this war anymore than you do......but it is his job......help him come home alive......give him the support and encouragement he needs

Answer 2

First of all, it's not a war ON Iraq, it's a war IN Iraq. We (the U.S.) are fighting WITH the Iraqi people to rid their country of the insurgency. Granted, there are groups who don't want us there but trust me. From what I've seen here in the past few months, we certainly have a chance to turn this thing around. The Iraqi people are finally fed up with all of the violence and they are fighting back something fierce against the insurgency.

Even if we were doing MUCH MUCH worse and we had to leave with our tails between our legs, I would never suggest "blowing up" this country or its people. You are talking about the cradle of civilization here. If there really was a "Garden of Eden" this is where it was. There is over 10,000 years of human history in this country and all you can think to do is blow it up?

I don't know what your step-dad does (Military or Civilian) but it takes an Executive Order signed by the Secretary of Defense to extend people past a 15 month deployment. If he has been here for two years and he is in the military then what he is doing here is too important to let anyone else do it. Besides, your little brother is only two. He won't remember any of this. Your step-dad on the other hand is probably going through something you will never understand unless you yourself join the military when you grow up and are forced to be away from your young children.

President Bush will be out of office soon. His term is up in 2008. I haven't heard anything from any of the candidates so far that gives me any hope that they know what to do any more than President Bush does. This is a very tough situation with NO right answers.

Imagine if you will, you get yourself into a situation voluntarily and end up having a gun held to your head. The man with the gun tells you that you are going to be given two choices and you HAVE to pick one of the two or you were going to die a slow and very painful death.

Choice #1 - The bad guy's friend shoots your mom to death
Choice #2 - The bad guy's friend drowns your mom to death

Which one do you choose? Do you choose neither? If so, the man with the gun shoot you and then decides himself how to kill your mom. Or, do you choose one of the two horrific situations so later on you can hopefully get the people responsible and make them pay. It's an impossible choice.

That's a bit dramatic, but it is similar to what situation we are in now. President Bush got us into a situation where we had nothing but bad choices. We had to make the best possible decision of those bad choices and hope that in the long run we would succeed.

The situation now is that the "bad guy's friend" doesn't want to shoot your mom any more and as long as you help him get a better job to support his family, he is willing to shoot the bad guy for you.

Wow, I can't believe how Big Bird that is. Hope this helps you out.

Answer 3

Hi. I'm sorry you guys are living without your stepdad right now - and I know you think it's stupid, but I bet your stepdad thinks differently.

I know it's a bummer that he hasn't met your brother yet, but try to think about the 2-year-olds there that will have the opportunity to grow up in a better place because of men like your stepdad! They won't have to grow up being afraid of torture because they wanted to believe something different. They won't have to live in such bad poverty, like they do now.

I've been over there as a Soldier, and I know first-hand that the impoverished families are glad we're there to help them. They're tired of being scared all the time, and they're excited when we come around because they know they're a little safer every day.

If we blew up the whole country, lots of innocent Iraqi people would die. Even though some people say otherwise, there are a lot of good people in Iraq. There are people who care about each other and just want the freedom to decide how to live their lives - just like we do in the United States.

If we just left them now, they'd be in more danger than they were before we got there. They would have no one to stand up for their basic human rights - over there, some people would rather kill you than let you choose how to believe in your religion or how to celebrate your holidays - or even let you decide what to wear! So those people are afraid, and they're being held back by others who have bigger guns and louder voices - what we're trying to do is make it so that they have some freedom, like we do.

It's not really a war against Iraq - it's a war against terrorists who want to control every aspect of Iraqi lives. Those terrorists are willing to kill themselves and other people just to get what they want - and that's scary and sad.

Your stepdad knows he's doing something good, and although I'm sure he misses you guys a lot, he'll be home soon. I think you may have exaggerated a little bit when you said he's been gone for two years - currently, the most time Soldiers are spending over there is 18 months.

In any case, don't forget about the Iraqi people we're trying to help over there. They don't think it's stupid. I wish you could see how the little kids would run up to us and we'd give them toys and candy and let them practice talking to us in English - they think it's the coolest thing that we're there.

Answer 4

We can't just leave Iraq. Theres so much that has to be done, if we leave chances are things will get a hell of a lot worse. Yes many people in Iraq hate us, but there are some who are glad we are there trying to help and protect them.
As for your step-father, i hope he has a safe return home.

Answer 5

You say that your step-dad hasn't met your two year old brother and that he is in Iraq for another year? I say bull. There isn't ANY military person who is doing a THREE year tour.

Answer 6

Hi Alex,
As a child of someone "over there" I know it is difficult to understand. I have 3 children, and my husband is there, one of my children will be there soon as well, another is a 14 yr old girl, and she has times she doesnt understand. She gets angry with the politics of things, angry with situations. Thats when we have special times, we get out pictures, we pray, we spray dads cologne, we talk about the choices he made and the things he believes in, and the things he stands for, and the things America means to us, what life would be like if we were not a free country. It is difficult to be a military family, but know, Alex, you are in a special family as well, a very strong family, a very proud family, your dad is very special and does a very very important job! There are so many people in this country that depend on him, and we are so grateful, and so thankful that he does his job. I am so sorry it hurts you! Thank you for letting your daddy help us, and please tell him Thank You from me and my family as well. I miss my husband and my kids miss their dad too. and i know i am going to miss my son too.

Answer 7

Son the best way I can answer that is by asking you a question. Would you want to live in a country where your father can beat you to death for no apparent reason and get away with it? Would you want your mother to have to wear a vail over her face and not be allowed to talk to men or argue a point without being stoned in public until she is permanently disfigured or even killed? Would you want your little brother to be abducted by a guy who will strap a bomb to him and blow him up after a GI picks him and and tries to stop his crying?

I hope your answer is no. Men like your father and I are there to prevent those people there from suffering like that. We knew the cost when we signed up and we were willing to take that risk. It's not fun for us to miss our families. So much changes while we are gone that it's very depressing. But we know that in order for you to be safe here in America, we have to prevent children like yourself from growing up in a situation like that. And in regards to just blowing them up, would you want that to happen here as well? Would you want them to just kill you and your family because of a minority that was trying to take over?

Answer 8

You need to get better informed about the war and why we are there. Maybe you should write to your step-dad and ask his opinions. Become INFORMED, it prevents ignorance!

My husbnd is in the AF and he is in support of this war. He has ben deployed amny times. He sees first-hand the good that is being done. He has been thanked by Iaqis for his help. It is not stupid..helping to free people from tyranny is never stupid.

Answer 9

Yes. Sorry your step-dad is stuck over there. It's a mess. Unfortunately, we can't just blow them all up and leave. We could just leave though, which is what I've been advocating for four years. We're never told why we can't leave. We just stay and stay and stay and stay.

Answer 10

As the air force only goes on short tours, 7 tours in total probably equates to a year and a half, maybe 2 being generous. As an army spouse, who's husband is deployed for 12-15 months, my husband has done 3 tours in the middle east. I do agree that this war is a bit much...I don't think it is worth the American lives that we have lost.