Hello ladies and gentlemen. I am glad that you have wandered over to read the very first installment of Sports and Politics. Before I write my first post, I would like to inform you of what you should expect from this site.
As the name states, every article will revolve around sports or politics in some way. I am a sports and political junky. I have so many thoughts that differ from the mainstream. While I watch ESPN( from now on ESPN will be refered to as the back back back or the booya network), I can not stand how they have such a bias for the east coast. While I watch MSNBC and CNN religiously( sorry but I am too independent to watch the right wing crap of the "fair and balanced" network) I feel that the real story about such issues as gun control, abortion, immigration and most of all, Iraq, is not being stated because of political correctness. I will try and correct this.
I am a registered independent, die hard Chicago Cub, Bulls and Bears fan and despise the Cardinals, White Sox( they will be called the SUX from here on out) and Packers. I say what I think and will never apologize for my thinking unless it was written in a drunken stoopor and made no sense. Some thoughts here will anger people, but hopefully a lot of articles will make people smile, laugh, or more importantly..............THINK. Enjoy the column.
WAR IN IRAQ???
What is going on in the middle east at the moment is bad. Bad for every soldier serving, bad for every family member worrying about their loved ones, bad for the citizens of Iraq that just want a normal life. But what is going on is not a WAR!
Yes, you read right. I said the military is not involved in a war in Iraq. The brave men and women of the armed forces are fighting, killing and unfortunately sometimes dying in Iraq. But the term war does not fit the engagement in Iraq.
When the 1st Marines and the 3rd Infantry Division invaded from the south and the 173d ABN BDE jumped into the north, the country was at war. When the capital city of Baghdad fell, along with other major cities like Mosul, Kirkuk and Ramadi, the war was over. The government of Iraq was gone, no longer in power of the country. The military was gone as well, either shedding their uniforms for civilian attire or being killed or captured by the U.S.
By overthrowing the government and decimating the military, the United States won the war. By mid April 2003, the US war victory total was upgraded by one. Think about it. What were the objectives laid upon the military. 1) Kill or capture Saddam Huessein. CHECK. 2) Rid the country of WMD's. CHECK. Bring democracy to Iraq. CHECK( since the country has had elections three different times I consider democracy brought, security is another discussion.)
The military did exactly what was expected of it. It came, it saw, it kicked ass. And it only took about a month to do it. The United States has the best trained and equipped military in the world. A country that was considered a top 20 military power in the world in 2002 was destroyed in a month. What is going on now in Iraq has never been a strong point for the Army and Marines however. The term I like to use is "peacekeeping."
That is my belief on what the military is doing in Iraq at the moment. And to be honest, the military is not very good at it, but the reason for their lack of peacekeeping skills is because they are such a good fighting force. Read me out. Infantry battalions are trained for what? To converge on and kill the enemy. Nothing less then total victory in battle. Are they trained to police an entire nation? Unless you are an MP that is not your job description.
So we currently have upwards of 165,000 soldiers and marines in Iraq playing traffic cop to a bunch of people who have seen their country lose stability, seen relatives and friends die prematurely, and don't see the situation getting better anytime soon. So maybe it should be called crisis keeping or dire straights management. But it is not a WAR.
Hope this made you think. I have many thoughts on the middle east and will share them in future articles. I would ramble on more but the Cubs game is starting in two minutes so I need to wrap this up. Take care and I hope you stop by tomorrow for another column.
4 comments:
Where's the next one - I have been waiting all day.
So what do you believe our responsibility should be over there right now? And who should be responsible for carrying it out?
Mike, it's Jonny. I am very impressed with the blog and think your candid and honest opinions about all things sports and politics is a refreshing view on subjects that rarely get such treatment. Now I have some news for you and would like to know what you think about it. I'm sure you remember a guy named Coleman Bean from Italy and Ft. Polk. He is a great friend and was a great solider to serve along side of. Now, more than 6 months since his ETS from active duty military service, he is being called BACK to active duty off of IRR. You probably see headlines showing dems and republicans arguing over troop surges, defense budgets, and exit strategys on a daily basis. What you do not see are headlines about soliders who have served their country during a time of war, fulfill their obligation for enlistment, and somehow still be forced to return to active duty. It is appauling and despicable the way our nations troops and veterans are treated. As a fellow veteran I will attempt to make public Coleman's story to as many people as I can. I urge you to do the same. Give me a call if you'd like to discuss the matter in person.
Hey Mike, it's Knapp...I basically agree with you on the basic point, that Iraq is not currently a "war", though it is part of a larger "war" on terror, or as I like to call it, us against the sandbox. It it largely unwinable and ultimately, we will pack it up and return home; the question is under what curcumstances. To that I have no idea, but it should be obvious that the current situation is intolerable, and public opinion is sinking; the 2008 elections will be decided on the issue of Iraq even more so than the 2006.
Mike, it's Jeff got to say that I am impressed with the articles and will be letting my friends know to read it. drop me a line.
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