Nothing great about war

by Mike

Do you ever get to a stage where you just keep on doing the same things in your life and do not know why you do them? You’re are so far into a routine that you cannot remember why and how you started it or how you are going to find a way to get out of it?

That’s the kind of feeling I get when I think about countries declaring war. It may be old hat but the one thing that seems to stand out like a sore thumb when I read about anything to do with Iraq is a guilty conscience.

Britain certainly seems to have it, George W Bush may not even realise he is display this emotion, but to me it is there. I always think we have a view of headline news that is important, entertaining and enthralling for the first few days or few weeks, then afterwards there’s a reaction of something along the lines of “is that still going on?”

Go to places like Washington and New York and you will find many monuments paying tribute to those who fought and died in wars gone by. I have seen some of these tributes and to be honest when I see them I sigh. I sigh at the needless loss. Now maybe there is someone reading this who has served their country and fought in a battle thinking ‘hey, you’re free to say what you like because of the likes of me’ and that is probably true. However it’s not the soldiers I am getting at.

Apart from the two World Wars, did America really need to be involved in any other war or ‘police action’? Korea, Vietnam, the Gulf war etc all brought about casualties. Maybe we turned a blind eye because war made men into battle weary heroes and women into unsung heroes. All the help the war effort posters and Uncle Sam needs you advertising campaigns gave people a sense of community and the belief that what their country was taking part in was the right thing to do. The ‘good guys’ were there to save the day.

Cut to modern day and we are more informed. Journalists question the decisions of our leaders. Ever since the Vietnam War people have been smarter in relation to the futility of sending troops to faraway lands where they may not necessarily be wanted.

I will always believe that there has to be a better way then taking out weapons and blowing up a country to solve problems. I also believe that war in Iraq was George Bush and his advisers second choice because they realised they could not get Osama Bin Laden. I think they decided to, believing it to be the easier option, ‘liberate’ Iraq and that it would not take very long and they would be hailed and blessed are the peacemakers.

I am saddened that it is politically inconvenient to acknowledge what everyone knows. The Iraq war is largely about oil

Alan Greenspan, former Federal Reserve Chairman

Even with a flimsy excuse about weapons of mass destruction pacified some but others could see through an American government who believed they were caught napping during September 11th 2001 and need to flex their muscles and allies who were too scared to stand up to them.

I would love to believe it will change soon and that we can stop sending badly equipped troops out from any country to fight the battles of men who are only to sit in boardrooms and push buttons to will cost too many lives. Maybe the promise of troops coming back next summer will come true, but I can see the next President of the United States having to clean up this mess and having a hard time doing so because they will need to appease too many people.

Monday, September 17th, 2007 and is filed under Thoughts & Questions, Views on News.