Today is the 4th anniversary of our invasion of Iraq; In other words, this is the start of our 5th year in this war. Unbelievable. From what I've heard, the US has suffered 3,197 military deaths, and there has been an Iraqi civilian death toll ranging from 59,000-65,000. The UN says there were around 34,000 Iraqi's killed in 2006 alone. I've read that millions are leaving Iraq to immigrate to nearby Syria, Jordan, Europe and other places throughout the world, at a rate of 50,000 per month. What does that say about our improvements to the country? According to a website which compiles Congressional Budget estimates, the war has cost a total of $410 billion dollars. Remember that this is brought to you by the party that constantly preaches against the evil of "big government." To put this in perspective, with that amount of money we could have entirely paid for 20 million people to have four years of college at a public university. Think about it, on top of all the other money the government spends and how strapped it says we are when it comes to funding health care, we spend an additional $8.5 billion on the war every month! 8 billion dollars a month. I can't even comprehend that. Ok, I know war is expensive and there is a price to be paid, but is this war worth the price? Some would argue, "that's the price of freedom," but I will counter by asking 2 questions, 1) exactly how is my freedom threatened because of Iraq? 2) how does this war protect my freedom? The Bush answer would probably be that terrorists are a real threat to our freedom and it's important we stop them at any cost. I agree with those statements, except I don't see how occupying Iraq stops terrorists. There are evil people living there, but they had nothing to do with 9/11. In fact, fighting in Iraq actually limits our capacity to fight in places of greater threat, like Afghanistan. I don't agree with the common Bush answer that if we don't fight them there we will have to fight them over here. First off, I have not heard one credible instance in which terrorists in Iraq were planning to attack American soil. Secondly, as I was afraid would be the case, I think our presence in Iraq has actually incited greater hatred of Americans and has greatly increased the likelihood of a future terrorist attack. It's like we've handed them propaganda to use in teaching the younger generation to hate Americans. In addition, we have lost all moral clout in the world, making diplomatic relations so much more difficult. Even at home, more and more Americans are questioning our role in Iraq. For example, a recent CNN poll shows that only 35% are confident about the war, compared to 85% 4 years ago. 61% say it was not worth invading Iraq. I'll be honest, I think all these indicators are good for Democrat canidates in 2008, as it's clear that with a couple exceptions (Sen. Chuck Hagel for example), Republican canidates aren't offering a fresh perspective on the future of Iraq. But of course I'd rather see it turn around then be a campaign victory. Also, let me say that I know people in the military and know people who have served in Iraq. They are some of the finest people I know and are extremely courageous. I am infinitely grateful they are willing to put their lives on the line in answering the call of our country. I am very lucky to come from a country that I think is actually worth fighting to defend (though I don't think it's what we're doing now). As the war goes into the 5th year and Bush responds to all this by surging the number of troops over there, I pray that somehow good can come of all this and peace can be restored and hatred calmed.
Today is the 4th anniversary of our invasion of Iraq; In other words, this is the start of our 5th year in this war. Unbelievable. From what I've heard, the US has suffered 3,197 military deaths, and there has been an Iraqi civilian death toll ranging from 59,000-65,000. The UN says there were around 34,000 Iraqi's killed in 2006 alone. I've read that millions are leaving Iraq to immigrate to nearby Syria, Jordan, Europe and other places throughout the world, at a rate of 50,000 per month. What does that say about our improvements to the country? According to a website which compiles Congressional Budget estimates, the war has cost a total of $410 billion dollars. Remember that this is brought to you by the party that constantly preaches against the evil of "big government." To put this in perspective, with that amount of money we could have entirely paid for 20 million people to have four years of college at a public university. Think about it, on top of all the other money the government spends and how strapped it says we are when it comes to funding health care, we spend an additional $8.5 billion on the war every month! 8 billion dollars a month. I can't even comprehend that. Ok, I know war is expensive and there is a price to be paid, but is this war worth the price? Some would argue, "that's the price of freedom," but I will counter by asking 2 questions, 1) exactly how is my freedom threatened because of Iraq? 2) how does this war protect my freedom? The Bush answer would probably be that terrorists are a real threat to our freedom and it's important we stop them at any cost. I agree with those statements, except I don't see how occupying Iraq stops terrorists. There are evil people living there, but they had nothing to do with 9/11. In fact, fighting in Iraq actually limits our capacity to fight in places of greater threat, like Afghanistan. I don't agree with the common Bush answer that if we don't fight them there we will have to fight them over here. First off, I have not heard one credible instance in which terrorists in Iraq were planning to attack American soil. Secondly, as I was afraid would be the case, I think our presence in Iraq has actually incited greater hatred of Americans and has greatly increased the likelihood of a future terrorist attack. It's like we've handed them propaganda to use in teaching the younger generation to hate Americans. In addition, we have lost all moral clout in the world, making diplomatic relations so much more difficult. Even at home, more and more Americans are questioning our role in Iraq. For example, a recent CNN poll shows that only 35% are confident about the war, compared to 85% 4 years ago. 61% say it was not worth invading Iraq. I'll be honest, I think all these indicators are good for Democrat canidates in 2008, as it's clear that with a couple exceptions (Sen. Chuck Hagel for example), Republican canidates aren't offering a fresh perspective on the future of Iraq. But of course I'd rather see it turn around then be a campaign victory. Also, let me say that I know people in the military and know people who have served in Iraq. They are some of the finest people I know and are extremely courageous. I am infinitely grateful they are willing to put their lives on the line in answering the call of our country. I am very lucky to come from a country that I think is actually worth fighting to defend (though I don't think it's what we're doing now). As the war goes into the 5th year and Bush responds to all this by surging the number of troops over there, I pray that somehow good can come of all this and peace can be restored and hatred calmed.
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