Shortly after starting second grade, the World Trade Center was attacked and my school was closed for a few days. I heard a bit about the invasion of Afghanistan but I didn't really understand it. I was quite aware why the invasion happened though, since I remembered the tragedy that happened in New York. (Hearing that 3,000 people died was pretty devastating to a kid that just experienced the first death of a close family member; my grandmother died a week prior.)
Two years later, America invaded Iraq. This one I wasn't quite sure about, but I figured it was an extension of the other war. I was 8 years old or so, and I didn't know what a WMD was. I occasionally watched coverage of the invasion with my dad. I remember watching a broadcast of the dark sky over Baghdad, my dad told me the army was bombing it. He mentioned that there were a lot of anti-aircraft defenses, and that's what some of the bright flashes were on our TV.
Iraq had nothing to do with 9/11.
Fast forward eight-ish years, over the course of which our economy's taken a bit of a tumble and we've spent an insane amount of money on the war. I wasn't old enough to vote in 2008, but if I could I would have supported Obama in no small part because I wanted our wars to end. Several people I knew were sent overseas, as well as the relatives of some of my friends. By this point I've run audio equipment and set up for two separate funerals for citizens of my tiny town at the church across the street from my house, including one for the son of my mom's co-worker.
My condolences for your loss, but try to imagine an Iraqi making a similar post about the impact that the invasion (and the subsequent civil war, and now the genocidal campaign of the IS) has had on their lives.
And then, hooray, we're finally pulling out of Iraq. Just about every other country had withdrawn from Iraq, and the country was in a reasonably stable state. We fucked up a bit, but we tried pretty hard to get everything working again. Iraq had a reasonably functional military of its own. I don't have to run any more funerals, we're not spending absurd amounts of money on that war, and my friend's dad gets to come home.
"We fucked up a bit" is putting it pretty mildly, considering the devastating civil war that followed, and the complete failure of the occupying forces to devise a government system that would not lead to sectarian domination.
Now that ISIS is going crazy over there, the same international community that left Iraq, and encouraged us to leave (I remember reading Newsweek articles about this!) is asking us to go back. I can't say I have any desire for the US to send troops there again. One of my high school friends is stationed on a ship in the eastern Mediterranean, and I hope that's as close as he ever goes.
Yes, the US fucked up a bit in Iraq. But it's a pretty tall order to just demand some other country send its people off to war just because we've done it before. I don't think that's very fair. I don't know where you're from, but how would you like it if people from another country were asking your friends, your extended family, and your local electronics store owner to go to war in Iraq? That's a pretty absurd thing to say.
Do you really think it's unreasonable to expect a country to fix the problems it creates (in this case by inflaming sectarian divisions, crippling the Iraqi army and carelessly providing weapons that are now in the hands of IS militants)? Particularly when they are the country that is best able to fix the problem. If it were possible to undo the Iraq invasion that would be great, but it isn't, so I expect the US to deal with the consequences of that.
I'm aware that it's not pleasant for people to go off to war, but it's also not pleasant for people to be slaughtered and sold into slavery.
I don't understand that standpoint, unless you're calling for general action from all affluent nations in a group effort lead by something like the UN or some shit. But if you're saying "Wow America you sure ruin everything. You should stop sticking yourself into places. Except when I personally think you should of course. Like now! Stick your nose in now!" I can't understand it.
Let's imagine you tell me not to go into somebody's house, because you think I'll break their stuff. But I ignore you, I go into their house. While I'm in there I do indeed smash a vase and set fire to their living room.
Now you're telling me that I should stay and help clear up that vase and put out that fire? But you didn't want me to go in to start with??? What a hypocrite. I'm just gonna leave now, you've got your wish.
Author
Topic: The Let's go back to Iraq, now without WMDs Thread. About the IS(IS) threat. (Read 204142 times)