[lit-ideas] Re: Willie Pete's Role Reversal
- From: Eternitytime1@xxxxxxx
- To: lit-ideas@xxxxxxxxxxxxx
- Date: Sat, 12 Nov 2005 13:18:22 EST
In a message dated 11/11/2005 11:12:43 P.M. Central Standard Time,
andreas@xxxxxxxxxxx writes:
In the other corner, wearing white Speedo thongs, white cowboy boots, and a
white cowboy
hat, the US military has between 110,000 to 150,000 troops in Iraq. They
race through
villages in their hummers and trucks. People get run over. They set up
roadblocks and shoot
wildly at any goat that approaches.
Hi,
Who in the world do you know that is doing this?
I have good friends who have kids in Iraq. Just talked a couple of days ago
to a man whose two sons were in Iraq together--one is back and the other is
still there. He does not support the war at all--but if you were to even
remotely state what you have stated above, I guarantee you that the 'anti-war'
group would probably be causing him to pause in his support of it since the
anti-war group would have absolutely no idea why parents/others who are paying
attention and caring for our military are upset by this war. (not even looking
at *why* we are there)
Those words are so disrespectful and are making assumptions about the
majority of our military that are over in Iraq because they are holding to a
contract that they made and are trusting those in positions of power and
authority
to have chosen to send them where they are needed. THEY (the majority of
them) did not choose to indiscriminately bomb. THEY did not choose to destroy
infrastructure (even the top military officials did not--they had a completely
different more sane plan)
MOST of the young men and women (and even middle-aged men and women) who are
in Iraq really ARE trying to protect the civilians and to set up the stage
so that the Iraqis can have self-rule, etc. Just because our tippy-top people
are (in my opinion) completely corrupt does NOT negate the sacrifices and
intent that our young ones are trying to do.
They are over there without proper equipment. IF they had proper equipment,
I imagine that there would be even more protecting of civilians going on.
The physicians who are over there (I remember I sent out the link to a blog
from
one--a friend of a friend was there last summer) are doing all that they can
to take care of the littlest ones who are hurt. Our military's men and women
are there often with very little--and are sharing what they have with others
who they see in worse shape than they are.
If there were no insurgents then I believe that our military would be gone.
Yes, we created a mess--and I do not believe we should have done so. LOTS of
those in our military would agree with that. BUT--we are there, there are
lots (as you state) who are doing what they can to the best of their abilities
to caretake those that they are there and were told they were 'freeing'.
(Just because they were lied to does not mean that they have been made aware
of
that lie--for they will do what they can to help, anyway...)
I keep thinking of my son's bus driver whose son is in Iraq, my other friend
whose son just left, the man whose two sons were there--and knowing that
each of those boys would die for an Iraqi civilian to save him/her from an
insurgent. My son may very likely be there one day along with many of his
friends. NOT because they think the war is 'just' but because it would give
them a
venue to help clean up our mess. I know them. They care and they would NOT
be running around in speedos...(tell that to the parents of the kids who were
killed because of lack of armor on their vehicles. Or the fact that there
were not even very many Humvees even OVER there for a long long time...)
I wish you could meet some of these young ones. I know that they want the
families of Iraq to go back to being able to live 'regular lives' such as they
themselves have had (though without the fear that their family members might
disappear to satisfy Saddam's latest purge)
Hoping my dismay will settle down so that I can write a more literary or
philosophical essay on this,
Marlena in Missouri
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