News from Iraq

I am just one member of the majority of Americans who think the war in Iraq was a mistake. I am also a member of the majority of Americans who dissaprove of the handling of the war in Iraq. Because Iraq is on the other side of the globe, my information is limited to what I read in the newspapars. That information may or may not be filtered. Suffice it to say, I have limited information on the situation, but that does not preclude me from voicing my opinions on it.

Today's big story from Iraq is disturbing because I really have no idea of the objective by engaging in the largest air attack since the beginning of the war. Presumably, we have been attacking insurgents, militants, and other combatants, up to this point. Thus, if we knew where they were, we would be going after them. This appears to another round of 'shock and awe' to terrify those that survive into submission. The target may even be civilians who are contemplating arming themselves.

History is full of examples of angry people taking up arms against oppressive forces that claim authority and demand submission. People are more likely to rebel against those forces when they have nothing left to lose, when they don't have to worry about protecting family members, property, or anything else.

Again, I am no foreign policy expert, and do not hold myself out as one. However, there are certain principles that do not require advance degrees and years of study. As a child on the playground, I realized that I should not spit on everyone else in the playground. They might gang up on me. Even the biggest kid on the playground, that hulking third grader, could not stop everyone if they united against him. The U.S. is certainly, the biggest, smartest, and most powerful kid ever to grace that playground, but I still think it is better to play nicely and share, rather than take over the entire playground and hope that a sufficient number of enemies do not get together against you.

Ask 1,000 people what they would do in the same situation and most of them will respond as I would. Most people are 'good' people. It is funny what happens when we are taken out of that face to face context. It is frightening what we tacitly accept.