rethinking the iraq war
This is a follow up to my post last year. I'm writing because I think I've been seriously confused about the Iraq war and even though this probably doesn't even need to be stated since most of you disagree with the war anyway, I just want to set the record straight on my own reasoning.
I think part of the reason why I defended the war for so long was because I was trying to minimize critiques on Bush during the last election because I wanted a pro-life president. On top of that most people who were against the war made really lame arguments or flip flopped or have a stake in making the president look bad for political gain. (Either personal or for the other party.) On top of that being that there were so many people who went after Bush for all sorts of petty things while I was at TCNJ, I just got fed up with it all.
I can laugh off critiques from most people in the media. But, after hearing major criticisms of the war from people like Henry Kissinger, Zbigniew Brzezinski and the Pope, I really don't think I can ignore how wrong I am.
Now, I always thought that whether the initial invasion of Iraq was up for debate. But, I always thought that withdrawing troops or setting a date from troop withdrawal was a bad idea because it would place our troops in a really bad position when they withdrawal as well as plunge Iraq into complete chaos. However from hearing some stats from Brzezinski, Iraq's population has decreased by a fifth of its population (4 million people out of a country originally of 24 million) by displacement or death. Also, we've already lost credibility worldwide from our actions since the states, like Iran and North Korea, figure we're already too busy fighting two wars to do anything about their saber rattling.
I mean the idea of spreading democracy across the middle east is a great idea and it would be a masterful move if it worked. However, as was stated time and again, you can't impose a democracy on a people, it has to grow from the traditions of that country. So, everything that Bush has been trying to accomplish in the region is doomed to fail and there's no evidence otherwise. The economic success I mention in my last post does not mean that the culture will be more likely to support a democracy.
Now, even though founding democracies is a pretty crappy reason to overthrow Saddam, national defense is a great reason to over throw any country. So, if Bush entered into the war with a straight forward easily explained reason for invading Iraq, then this would all be a different story. But, right now all we're doing is lengthening our supply lines, shortening theirs and giving other peoples reason to hate us. Like my dad says, "We're America and America doesn't wage offensive wars." And I think I ought to start listening.
But, as far as I can tell, if Bush was really interested in national defense, he would handle the whole situation with controlling our borders much better and actually try to communicate with his opponents instead of answering questions with statements that can pretty much be summed up as, "Just trust me." I'm just tired of his whole administration and he's just making it harder to defend conservative values in the long run. He's not an evil man and I love how he sticks to his word and ideas without compromise. But, his lack of ability to communicate his ideas is just getting ridiculous.
So, what do you all think about this?
God Bless
-Todd
PS Post about what its like living in a rectory will be coming soon.
I think part of the reason why I defended the war for so long was because I was trying to minimize critiques on Bush during the last election because I wanted a pro-life president. On top of that most people who were against the war made really lame arguments or flip flopped or have a stake in making the president look bad for political gain. (Either personal or for the other party.) On top of that being that there were so many people who went after Bush for all sorts of petty things while I was at TCNJ, I just got fed up with it all.
I can laugh off critiques from most people in the media. But, after hearing major criticisms of the war from people like Henry Kissinger, Zbigniew Brzezinski and the Pope, I really don't think I can ignore how wrong I am.
Now, I always thought that whether the initial invasion of Iraq was up for debate. But, I always thought that withdrawing troops or setting a date from troop withdrawal was a bad idea because it would place our troops in a really bad position when they withdrawal as well as plunge Iraq into complete chaos. However from hearing some stats from Brzezinski, Iraq's population has decreased by a fifth of its population (4 million people out of a country originally of 24 million) by displacement or death. Also, we've already lost credibility worldwide from our actions since the states, like Iran and North Korea, figure we're already too busy fighting two wars to do anything about their saber rattling.
I mean the idea of spreading democracy across the middle east is a great idea and it would be a masterful move if it worked. However, as was stated time and again, you can't impose a democracy on a people, it has to grow from the traditions of that country. So, everything that Bush has been trying to accomplish in the region is doomed to fail and there's no evidence otherwise. The economic success I mention in my last post does not mean that the culture will be more likely to support a democracy.
Now, even though founding democracies is a pretty crappy reason to overthrow Saddam, national defense is a great reason to over throw any country. So, if Bush entered into the war with a straight forward easily explained reason for invading Iraq, then this would all be a different story. But, right now all we're doing is lengthening our supply lines, shortening theirs and giving other peoples reason to hate us. Like my dad says, "We're America and America doesn't wage offensive wars." And I think I ought to start listening.
But, as far as I can tell, if Bush was really interested in national defense, he would handle the whole situation with controlling our borders much better and actually try to communicate with his opponents instead of answering questions with statements that can pretty much be summed up as, "Just trust me." I'm just tired of his whole administration and he's just making it harder to defend conservative values in the long run. He's not an evil man and I love how he sticks to his word and ideas without compromise. But, his lack of ability to communicate his ideas is just getting ridiculous.
So, what do you all think about this?
God Bless
-Todd
PS Post about what its like living in a rectory will be coming soon.