Yesterday, all the talking heads shows were abuzz about the government announcing that Iran is arming militant groups in Iraq. They aren't being subtle any more - they are laying out their groundwork to attack Iran. This is wrong for so many reasons...first of all, I just don't believe them. This all feels very much like "weapons of mass destruction" territory to me. I'm not saying Iran is totally innocent either - they want Iraq to become a Shiite country like Iran. Iraq was not a religious country under Hussein. He was a horrible man, but from what I read, during his reign, people considered themselves Iraqis first. Now, they consider themselves Shiites, Sunnis or Kurds first and are willing to kill each other because they aren't the right kind of Muslim.
And the militant Muslims believe and teach that the U.S. is at war with Islam, not Iraq. By invading a second Muslim middle eastern country, we lend credence to their claim. That in itself is not enough reason not to invade, but should be considered carefully, because if we lend them credence, it's easier for them to recruit youngsters (and adults) to become militant. (And by militant, I mean, terrorist - folks who will kill civilians to make their point.) And the more people who they recruit who are willing to take out civilians (or, quite frankly, any American), the scarier the situation becomes for all Americans.
Plus, our military is totally stretched to the max. We've been pulling guys out of Afghanistan because Iraq is such a nightmare, so the Taliban (remember them? They're the guys who trained the folks who did 9/11.) are resurging in Afghanistan. We're so focused on Iraq now that we are close to blowing our initial goal - to rid Afghanistan of the Taliban. I feel terrible for our military. I know that many of them believe in what they're doing and they should. They're being asked to put their lives on the line. I think they're being used and misled by our government.
It's a terrible situation. No easy answers, that's for sure. I hope that at least one of the 10,000 senators announcing their intention to be the next President comes up with something that's going to help Iraq calm down (though I this is a delusional wish on my part), stabilize Afghanistan and change the perception of the U.S. around the world. It's not just Muslims who think we're out of control...
And the militant Muslims believe and teach that the U.S. is at war with Islam, not Iraq. By invading a second Muslim middle eastern country, we lend credence to their claim. That in itself is not enough reason not to invade, but should be considered carefully, because if we lend them credence, it's easier for them to recruit youngsters (and adults) to become militant. (And by militant, I mean, terrorist - folks who will kill civilians to make their point.) And the more people who they recruit who are willing to take out civilians (or, quite frankly, any American), the scarier the situation becomes for all Americans.
Plus, our military is totally stretched to the max. We've been pulling guys out of Afghanistan because Iraq is such a nightmare, so the Taliban (remember them? They're the guys who trained the folks who did 9/11.) are resurging in Afghanistan. We're so focused on Iraq now that we are close to blowing our initial goal - to rid Afghanistan of the Taliban. I feel terrible for our military. I know that many of them believe in what they're doing and they should. They're being asked to put their lives on the line. I think they're being used and misled by our government.
It's a terrible situation. No easy answers, that's for sure. I hope that at least one of the 10,000 senators announcing their intention to be the next President comes up with something that's going to help Iraq calm down (though I this is a delusional wish on my part), stabilize Afghanistan and change the perception of the U.S. around the world. It's not just Muslims who think we're out of control...
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