| Support For IraqNam____________
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(AP Photo/Mohammed Uraibi)
| The Iraqi Constitution was up for grabs yesterday. What will the results be! It looks like there was a high turnout. A record number of Sunnis voted, most voting "No" in hopes of defeating the constitution. But there is great anticipation that it will pass. Let's hope it does. Initial results show that the Sunnis have fallen short in defeating the Constitution.
For those of us who fret and wrestle with what we ought to do about Iraq, we are in our own quagmire. There's a side to those of us who care that wants to give our unconditional support to the war efforts. Our troops deserve nothing less. But, what do we do? Do we endorse the stupid decisions that are often made and the policies that have brought us to this point: no plan, no exit strategy. How can we support the mess that Iraq has become?
Recently someone accused me of being overly influenced by living on the left coast. I don't think so, mainly because I am such a news junkie. I read many newspapers and magazines every week including the NY Times and usually the Washington Post and the Washington Times, and I scan several others either online or at the library. My favorite magazine is Newsweek for objectivity; U. S. News and World Report is to the right; Time is to the left. (just my opinion)
To me, objectivity has always been a goal in Iraq. I find that I constantly have to rethink what I feel and my position. If I don't do this, I don't wrestle with any real possibilities. I surely don't advocate leaving on a wholesale scale, but do think we need to immediately change the mix of troops: Get the conventional soldiers out of Iraq as soon as possible and surely the National Guard and Reserves. People much smarter than I are constantly telling the President the same thing, but Rumsfeld and the same people are making the decisions, doing the same things-the same strategies that are not working.
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| The Guard And Reserves Dying Faster Than Active Forces___
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The rising death toll (220 of the 500 American deaths in the first nine months of 2005) of the National Guard and Reserves is but one example of the problems in Iraq. I'll bet the Reserves and Guards would like to rethink their desire to be equated in terms of readiness with active forces which in the eighties and nineties became a hallmark of a reduced military. Instead of dying in Iraq, these soldiers could be back in their small towns or hamlets or other isolated pockets of America training to help in the next national disaster.
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| The Insurgency Is Not Going Away___________
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The big issue to me in Iraq is the insurgency. If you can't protect the people, your enemy kills at will. What can you do? Not much and the fact is that there is no end in sight. And, passing the constitution is not going to change anything. Does anybody think the insurgents will quit one way or another? Those who think the insurgents will stop their attacks just because the constitution passes must be smokin' something.
Under the best scenario, it is a long hard slog. I participate in these AOL polls all the time and Americans who care just don't support Iraq; Supporting the troops is hollow too as most Americans don't have any "skin" in the game anyway; they're not making any sacrifices.
And, I don't see any spin that is going to help us in Iraq. The President always handpicks friendly crowds to talk too, making him ever more insulated.
I think if I were the
President, I'd use the same approach in Iraq, I would have used with Katrina: "We screwed up(in Iraq); I didn't expect what happened to happen, and; now, I need the American people or those who care to give us a little more time to figure it out." But if I think the President or his administration will say what I just said, I must be smokin' something too. Kelly Thomas
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In Memorium:
General Elvy Roberts passed from this life into the next on Tuesday, October 11 in Alameda, California.
During the bloodiest days of World War II, General Roberts made combat jumps into Normandy and was at the Battle of the Bulge. He was a paratrooper in the 501 parachute regiment and his comment has become part of airborne lore, "You get pretty much down to the basics of life when standing in the doorway of a plane preparing to jump."
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