Well, hold onto those thoughts because, if history is any guide, at some point in the not too distant future people are going to suggest that our troops could have prevailed in
Friday, November 09, 2007
Are you to blame for Iraq?
If you are one of the 75% majority of the American public who thinks that the War in Iraq is not going very well then you probably also have some opinions about the reasons our military has not completely vanquished those opposing them there. You probably blame some or all of the following: inadequate planning for the occupation, too few troops, a misguided mission, bad decisions made by our leaders, social and historical factors that result in our best and brightest young people not volunteering to join the military, our history of supporting unpopular repressive undemocratic regimes, our unquestioning support of Israel or other factors involving Washington insiders and the military-industrial complex. You probably have never entertained the thought that you might be the one to blame – your doubts, your lack of complete support for the mission. The idea probably seems absurd, if for no other reason than because those making all the decisions show no indication that they pay the slightest attention to what you think.
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2 comments:
I read your post with interest because I have written extensively on the responsibility of citizens to keep informed and demand better of their leaders. I'd not lay the blame exactly as you describe (and I think, warn against), but I would say if people kept informed and demanded better quality government, we might not be in this mess. It was too easy for Bush to scare Americans into agreeing with his war and now his torture and spying on us. Congress saw those early Bush-favorable numbers and it still leaves them paralized. I get republican commenters on my blog actually cheering for what we would have considered to be facist or Soviet dictatorship in the past, calling my urgings to stick to American and Constitutional principles "marginalized" and "dangerous". I even see some Ddemocrats afraid to come out strongly in favor of the constitution. Ben Franklin sure knew what he was saying when he said "a republic if you can keep it."
Thanks for the comments ellen beth and rosecovered glasses. I dashed this blog entry off quickly this morning before I went to work and did not do as much rereading and revising as I usually do. Rereading it now I see that it does not clearly express what I originally intended. But the fact that this blog entry has gotten such interesting comments makes me wonder if I should more often write ambigously rather than strive for clarity as I usually do.
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