With so much emphasis put on whether or not Democrats want or dread success in Iraq really are besides the point. Somehow the administration, and media have once again drawn us away from the bigger picture. That being we should have never been there in the first place.
I just got done reading a op-ed which pointed out how Democrat's were sweating now that the 'troop surge' is producing somewhat positive results. In an attempt to make their pitch valid the article pointed out that outspoken critic of the Iraq conflict (D) John Murtha had said that "the troop surge was working" after a recent visit to Iraq. I am sure this is not news to you but I did want to include an example of what they were using to strengthen their argument claiming Democrats were now in a tough spot because the so called successful surge.
Moving on to what is bothering me about this argument, because it's one that right wingers across the board are trying to push. To say that Democrats are in a tough situation because of the 'success of the surge' is not only crazy, but another example of how well both the Administration and the media are at diverting the focus away from the reality of our involvement in Iraq.
First of all what is determining the "success" of the current troop surge? Fewer American deaths, a decrease in enemy attacks, less sectarian violence? While all those are positive for American troops isn't it similar to argue, for example, that "Detroit had 38 homicides this month and 52 homicides last month- that Detroit is obviously a better city now." Please note that those were purely hypothetical numbers, with that said the point I am trying to make is that while something can be an improvement (fewer troop deaths in Iraq, a lower homicide rate for whatever month) it doesn't take away from the fact that the situation is a bad one. The "troop surge" has caused the situation in Iraq to go from horrific, to now just really really bad.
While you may not agree with me try thinking about it this way. How much weight does the success or failure of the "troop surge" really hold in the grand scheme of the war in Iraq. In my eyes it holds very little. No matter what happens the fact remains that we should not have gotten into this situation in the first place, we were led under a fog of lies told to us by our President and his administration. No matter what happens changes the fact that approximately 75% of Iraqis want us to leave, and that 3,897 United States servicemen are now dead for no reason other then they did what they were ordered to do. Nothing the surge could possibly accomplish, will change the fact that 71,000 plus Iraqi civilians are dead and 28,000 plus U.S. military men and women are left wounded many maimed either physically or mentally.
I find it absolutely baffling that even though we know that we were flat out lied to. And that this war really-- had then-- and has now, nothing to do with the war on terror (besides the terrorists our invasion have brought to Iraq) we find ourselves not arguing over what should be done to the man who knowingly put us where we stand today but whether or not Democrats should be uneasy that the "troop surge" is showing quasi improvements. I mean Bill Clinton was hung out to dry over a response he gave when asked about his sex life, and yet Bush for the most part gets a pass on taking our country to war on a bed of self contrived lies.
Every time I see the names of those killed in action, many the same age as myself I get upset and ask myself why any of them had to die? Why anyone who holds power, Democrat or Republican is letting this go on. You hear a lot of talk about ending the war, but it seems to remain just that, talk.
Iraq will go down as one of our biggest foreign policy blunders ever, and rightfully so. It has gone from a war which would be quick and have us greeted as liberators, to a situation turning the corner, to being declared a "mission accomplished" and now to a "bad situation getting better". How much longer does this cycle have to go on for someone to realize that maybe we should man up, admit what we did was wrong, pray for those who gave their lives and honor them by preventing anymore of their brothers in arms from facing the cruel fate they did.
HyerStandard.com