Life During Wartime, Part 1

War is not something anyone in their right minds should want. Sometimes it is inevitable and must be done to protect those we love and those who can't fight alone. But war is the last option, and should not be the first one on the list of solutions. The war in Iraq is something I never had a heavy opposition to, but that it wasn't finished a decade earlier was irritating to say the least. It was interesting to hear the senior Bush some years before his son cleaned up the mess and long before 9/11 suggest the reason he wanted to halt the advance back in 1991 was the fear this would turn into my generation's Vietnam. Now it seems like its closer to this generation's Vietnam.

I never disagreed with going to war against Iraq or Afghanistan, but what I've been upset by is the obvious lack of planning and ineptness our administration has had. When I heard optimistic reports early on that we would be able to establish a democratic structure in a matter of months, I knew that wasn't going to be the case. I knew when our leaders said they found weapons of mass destruction and forged their whole reason for the invasion on it, there was that little piece of me that knew what would happen if this blew up in their face. Now, I expect the government to not tell me EVERYTHING under the sun, but the lies aren't holding up for me to just look away and ignore them.

This is not the incident that will tarnish this administration in my humble opinion. What will tarnish Bush's term as president is the handling of things at home, especially during Hurricane Katrina. Living at the southern end of the U.S. and hearing horror stories of what- happened tore me up. But then watching news footage and hearing the many interviews about it then and now enraged me. When our government has a faster reaction to a foreign war than to the worst natural disaster to come our way in many decades, there is a real problem. Accountability and responsibility on many levels was absent, but even worse was our government's response. I don't care about political affiliations here, but about common f**kin' sense. When your leaders appear to not have any, it doesn't speak well for your country.

I have to say that unlike Vietnam, the response to our soldiers on the ground has been generally positive. Maybe because we have learned from the mistakes we made. Our soldiers are people who are put into impossible situations and deal with unbelievable stress every day. Many of the souls sent into Vietnam managed to survive with their bodies, but often not with their minds. If anything has really been learned from our time in Iraq is that its okay to disagree with the leaders, but not with the soldiers in turn. They may be fighting in a war that many don't agree with, but that does not mean they should not be shown respect. They don't ask for pity, but they damn well deserve the respect.

To be continued...

The following was the view and opinion of the author and does not reflect the views or opinions of the host of this blog. And if you can’t figure it out yet, this particular post is the first of many. You were warned in advance.