Veterans Day. A sunny and mild Tuesday in the Pacific NW. Last night winds and rain made the midnight bedroom warmth seem extra cozy. I think about my own 'veterans' today. Carter Clayton who served in a Confederate artillery regiment that spiked its guns and pushed them over a cliff lest the Yankees get them. In his picture as an old man, he smiles gently. My grandfather on the USS Oklahoma just at the end of the first Great War. My dad flying fighters on and off carriers in preparation for the Pacific theater as the second Great War ended. And my uncles- who all fought in that war. My stepfather, who was a Ranger medivaced off the battlefield in the ice hell of Korea. As far as I can tell, all of them warriors but none of them warmongers.
My limited experience is that the men and women who are on the lines aren't very often warmongers. The likelihood of being a warmonger increases with the distance from combat.
Well. Today my computer 'headline' just popped up 'Loud Explosions heard in Central Bagdad'. I remember that headline from when our missiles were flying in in the darkness and targeting Saddam and his villains. Progress? hmmm.
This week cynicism is fed by the report that Halliburton and its subsidiaries are charging us- the taxpayer- nearly the double the per gallon cost to import oil from Kuwait into Iraq that the US military oil requisition agency is paying in the same theater of operation. Hmmmm.....just another example of why we shouldn't let 'gummint' do things. Like contract for sweetheart deals...
Cynicism is further fed by the report that Chalabi- one of the Iraqi exile darlings of the Pentagon before the war and touted as a possible national leader- hasn't been in Iraq for weeks (Thomas Friedman) and that most of the Iraqi Ruling Council aren't participating in its meetings. Meanwhile, another report says Chalabi's son is strong arming contracts for his friends- including a tens of millions of dollars contract for a security firm he's connected with to provide 'security' to public facilities. OK- so the Hussein family corruption is being replaced by the new crowd- and the difference is their "ours". Well, so was Saddam.
Then there's the six month search for the WMDs that were the reason all of this was so damn important to do immediately and whether the rest of the world wanted to or not. What a joke! Yeah, Saddam's reputation as a man who was capable of brandishing a gun in our face is seriously tarnished at this point. He was just another thug with aspirations.
I've read several accounts by military analysts this week saying that we have the military upper hand. I didn't know that was in doubt. And , I think it was Friedman again, who said the real issue is whether we have the 'will' to continue in the face of continued resistance. There's a fair amount of truth in that. However, I don't read any of the experts acknowledging that the continuing use of military force, with the US soldier being the face behind the gun, could erode the good will of those many people who welcomed us. One of our generals today, told leaders in the Sunni Triangle that they'd better get their people under control or we'd 'get tough'. That's the kind of sustained strategy that can really undermine your relationships with everyone in the country.
OK. The last rant. The hundreds of prisoners being held in Guantanemo? It may be that 'legal maneuvering' can keep them there indefinitely without violating a 'law'. But it is totally inconsistent for a nation which believes in "All Men are created equal and born with certain inalienable rights..." to say we're going to keep some men under lock and key, without trial, or access to counsel, or charges being brought against them, indefinitely. A government choosing to do that has already lost the spirit of American freedom. Once again, it's a case of the 'end justifying the means' and doing it because 'we can and no one can stop us.'
so....Veteran's Day. Armistice Day. I pray for all the people we have sent off to represent America in uniform. I pray they come home safe. I pray their government does not use them cynically...
My limited experience is that the men and women who are on the lines aren't very often warmongers. The likelihood of being a warmonger increases with the distance from combat.
Well. Today my computer 'headline' just popped up 'Loud Explosions heard in Central Bagdad'. I remember that headline from when our missiles were flying in in the darkness and targeting Saddam and his villains. Progress? hmmm.
This week cynicism is fed by the report that Halliburton and its subsidiaries are charging us- the taxpayer- nearly the double the per gallon cost to import oil from Kuwait into Iraq that the US military oil requisition agency is paying in the same theater of operation. Hmmmm.....just another example of why we shouldn't let 'gummint' do things. Like contract for sweetheart deals...
Cynicism is further fed by the report that Chalabi- one of the Iraqi exile darlings of the Pentagon before the war and touted as a possible national leader- hasn't been in Iraq for weeks (Thomas Friedman) and that most of the Iraqi Ruling Council aren't participating in its meetings. Meanwhile, another report says Chalabi's son is strong arming contracts for his friends- including a tens of millions of dollars contract for a security firm he's connected with to provide 'security' to public facilities. OK- so the Hussein family corruption is being replaced by the new crowd- and the difference is their "ours". Well, so was Saddam.
Then there's the six month search for the WMDs that were the reason all of this was so damn important to do immediately and whether the rest of the world wanted to or not. What a joke! Yeah, Saddam's reputation as a man who was capable of brandishing a gun in our face is seriously tarnished at this point. He was just another thug with aspirations.
I've read several accounts by military analysts this week saying that we have the military upper hand. I didn't know that was in doubt. And , I think it was Friedman again, who said the real issue is whether we have the 'will' to continue in the face of continued resistance. There's a fair amount of truth in that. However, I don't read any of the experts acknowledging that the continuing use of military force, with the US soldier being the face behind the gun, could erode the good will of those many people who welcomed us. One of our generals today, told leaders in the Sunni Triangle that they'd better get their people under control or we'd 'get tough'. That's the kind of sustained strategy that can really undermine your relationships with everyone in the country.
OK. The last rant. The hundreds of prisoners being held in Guantanemo? It may be that 'legal maneuvering' can keep them there indefinitely without violating a 'law'. But it is totally inconsistent for a nation which believes in "All Men are created equal and born with certain inalienable rights..." to say we're going to keep some men under lock and key, without trial, or access to counsel, or charges being brought against them, indefinitely. A government choosing to do that has already lost the spirit of American freedom. Once again, it's a case of the 'end justifying the means' and doing it because 'we can and no one can stop us.'
so....Veteran's Day. Armistice Day. I pray for all the people we have sent off to represent America in uniform. I pray they come home safe. I pray their government does not use them cynically...
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