On video captured at a gas station in seattle. A man walks up to a patron fueling his vehicle and shoots him in the head, then walks away. Other patrons at the gas station continued to fuel their vehicles and then drove away as if a man had not just been shot in the head in broad daylight less than 20 feet from them. Guess I'm not the only one who doesn't care eh? For the past 12 years every now and then the news would mention something about Iraqis starving or weapons inspections but for the most part that kind of news is just background noise to the general public. They may feel, for a brief moment, some sense of sorrow or regret for the Iraqi people but it's not a lasting emotion. Within seconds they're back to thinking about the barbeque next weekend or how the Cowboys are going to do next season. Call me a bad person for thinking the way I do but if you examine my post and examine the American publics attitude towards Iraq for much of the past decade you'll begin to understand why I'm skeptical of people coming out of the woodwork to jump on the happy friendly Iraqi populace bandwagon.
The majority of Americans support spending billions of dollars and risking American lives of this war. They also supported it back in 1991. I don't consider that "coming out of the woodwork." People will keep living their daily lives...true, but a lot of people are hoping things go well.
Heretic, If you feel the US government is worse then Saddam's government, you are free to field your ignorance. DD
You couldn’t be more wrong on this point. That question for the rest of the world is just beginning. Removing Saddam suited US interests. Removing Saddam alone does nothing for the Iraqi people, and indeed in the greater context still has great potential to only make their lives worse. The real test of the US’s commitment to liberate the Iraqi people is just starting. I hope you’re right, but I have to wonder what the terrorist have been up to while the US attention has been diverted by this Iraq war. There hasn’t actually been much progress on the terrorist front for a while, not that I’ve heard of anyway. True, the alliances will reform in some manner, but I wonder what subtle and not so subtle damage will have been done to the trust and respect levels. Just like in business relationships, companies often end up working with other companies they have had serious disputes with, but the relationships don’t really return to the same levels, and there are real costs associated with that loss of relationship. It has been amazingly successful so far. Do you think this has been the result of good planning or good luck? I really don’t know which it is at this point. The next few days and weeks will tell the story of how good the planning and foresight has been. I hope that this has in fact been a well planned operation, but I see too many warning signs that suggest to me that it hasn’t been. Time will tell. I would be careful about talking too soon about how happy the Iraqi people are that the US is there. How many people have we seen cheering the Americans in Baghdad? A few thousand? Remember that Baghdad is bigger than Houston. I still think there is a chance for this to be a successful intervention, but getting too cocky about success when the job is essentially just starting in not very wise.
The Iraqis are the cocky ones. Did you see them hit the statue with their shoes? That is nothing less than a slap in the face of Saddam Husseims regime! And that one dude taking a ride on the head like it was a sled was just rubbing it in IMHO. Just a disgrace to Saddam. And how about them waving American flags? Don't they know that the Arab street is watching and this will only cause anger? The US is quickly hiding any US flags. The Iraqis should do the same, or some extremist Muslims won't help them build a democracy. The Iraqis need to calm down and stop being so freaking happy.
Grizzled, I agree with most of what you just said. The true test will be what happens in a free Iraq. We have to set it up like Germany & Japan. There is already talk of splitting it into 3 states, with a federal republic as the model. The only way for democracy to work is if people are tired of war, and I am inclined to think that the Iraqi people will be very happy to pursue their new freedoms. The key is raising the standard of living for Joe Q. Iraqi, so that they have very little reason to fight. Our work is far from over, it is just beginning, but it has been a glorious beginning so far. As for why the military moved so fast, it is good planning, and the fact that most Iraqis deep down hated Saddam. People will only fight if the cause is just, and Saddam is far from just. DD
I agree with most of what you’ve said in this post. My surprise at the military success comes from the speed with which they took/are taking Baghdad. Basra took 2 weeks and that was in an area where the people were solidly against Saddam. Baghdad was clearly not a fan base for him, but they were supposed to be more sympathetic. Also, that’s where the bulk of the Republican Guard and his other loyal (read: people who aren’t going to fair too well at the hands of the Iraqi people when Saddam is gone) were supposed to be. Street fighting neutralizes much of the American technical advantages and could even give the advantage to those who know the area and language. It could have become a battle of hit and run attacks, sniping, terrorist type bombings. It could have been a long and bloody war costing the lives of many civilians and American soldiers alike … but it wasn’t. I’m very very grateful, and I say a prayer of thanks that it wasn’t, but I don’t really understand why it wasn’t. Maybe Saddam is really dead, or he’s fled the country, and the resistance was never organised? Dunno. I’m sure we’ll hear some possible explanations from the military people at some point.
Grizzled, Perhaps because Basra was being invaded while the Baath party still had some command and contol, whilst Baghdad was bombed so hard that they lost all that control. DD
