Between Friends
I supported the war in Iraq. I still support the war in Iraq. Not only that, but I support the President. I even voted for him. I think then that I've earned a certain amount of objectivity in criticizing the way things are going in Iraq at the present time.
It seems that each day, there are reports of more US Soldiers killed in action. While it's true that everyone knew there would be casualties, that doesn't mean we want the casualties to continue a second longer than is absolutely necessary. It's the "...absolutely necessary..." part that is bothering me.
The administration insists that we don't need any more troops, but I'm not so sure. Granted, I'm not privy to the information the Secretary of Defense possesses. However, I do have some observations about the war in general. At the very least, there are some things that should be done differently.
- Border Control - Recent news stories have cited the increasing problem with foreign fighters finding their way into Iraq. If we can't control the borders of Iraq, then it seems to me that this war could get a whole lot worse. We'll end up fighting against every crazy muslim with an Ak-47 and a cause. Controlling the borders would seem to me to be a very high priority. The only real reason I can fathom as to why they aren't being better controlled is that we don't have enough people to do so.
- Exile Army - Where are all these expatriate Iraqi's that we were hearing about before the war began? If they exist, why aren't they being used more?
- Media Influence - Al Jazera (sp?) still seems to be the place where most Iraqis get their news. Considering that we're the country that invented television, it seems inexcusable that we don't have a more effective media presence in the country.
- Aggression - It is immoral to only go halfway to war. If our soldiers are to give their lives, then it must be as a result of our military waging war in the most effective way possible. A few weeks ago, when Saddam's sons were killed, it seemed as if things were getting better. Then, I started seeing headlines complaining about our soldiers being too aggressive. Since then, the daily casualty figures have gone back up to levels seen before. We need to do everything in our power to win the war and if we risk being too aggressive by doing so, then so be it.
- WMD - Where is this WMD that we keep hearing about? It's getting to be a little embarassing. I've heard references about a great deal of evidence said to exist for proving the existence of WMD, but so far have seen nothing.
Those are my observations. As a supporter of both the war and the President, I'd really like to see things turn around. Unfortunately, things seem to be taking a while and I wonder if someone ought to be doing something a little bit differently.
Posted by jdmays at August 24, 2003 06:49 PM