It’s no secret that I’m no fan of the war in Iraq. It was based on a flawed premise and, as far as I can see, has degenerated into a quagmire just short of civil war. And it’s been a colossal waste of money, thanks to the Department of Defense’s complete inability to keep a proper set of books.
Yet the people over there waging that war are fighting a dangerous enemy which wants to kill not only them, but eventually, the rest of us.
I was going to write something else to say Happy Holidays to all of my readers, until an e-mail from Baghdad dropped into my inbox.
Army Lt. Col. William Woods, commander of the 414th Civil Affairs Battalion, writes the following:
Classification: UNCLASSIFIED
We wish you a very Merry Christmas (Feliz Navidad), Eid Mubarak , Happy Hanukah, Happy Holidays, and a Happy and Peaceful 2007 from the 414th Civil Affairs Battalion, Baghdad, Iraq – Liaisons to the World!!
Attached link to a fun eChristmas card…
Civil Affairs is primarily responsible for the reconstruction efforts in Iraq. The mainstream media doesn’t report most of what it does, because it doesn’t normally involve shooting at people. Instead, CA soldiers build irrigation canals for farms, dig wells and build aqueducts to bring water to remote villages, deliver medical supplies, schoolbooks and food, and where they find destruction, help Iraqis rebuild their lives.
Of course I have a problem with the way these projects are funded. But I will set that aside for another day. I would guess that most of you, given the choice, would voluntarily contribute to a charitable reconstruction effort along these lines.
Today it’s important to remember two things: First, that what you hear from the mainstream media about death and destruction in Iraq is only part of the story, and second, that many of the soldiers in Iraq are there for the express purpose of helping them recover not only from the destruction brought about by war, but the destruction brought about by decades of living under Saddam Hussein.
They won’t have a white Christmas. Most of Iraq doesn’t see snow more than once a decade, and if it happens, it’s very light, and gone quickly. They certainly won’t see their families. And even if you disagree with what they’re doing or how they’re doing it, they are still people, just like you and me.
Please help me wish the entire U.S. Armed Forces a happy holiday and a quick end to the Global War on Terror.
(1 votes, average: 5.00 out of 5)
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Ultimately, the war supporters in Congress prevailed in the vote on the resolution. Still, the vote was significant because it places every member of Congress on the record as supporting or not supporting the unconstitutional, costly, violent occupation of a country that never attacked us. This vote should serve as an important reminder to the American people of where their representatives really stand when it comes to policing the world, empire building, and war.
Gardner Goldsmith explains why claims by politicians that consumers can become "irrational" and why claims by the same politicians that government can help "fix" markets are both false and misleading. He also explains what the terms Praxeology and Epistemology mean, which is key in understanding how to place free markets in their proper place among human history.
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Muzzia
Dec 24, 2006
Yeah… don’t forget to sell your Christmas stocks on trendio in time http://www.trendio.com/word.php?wordid=1777&language=en
Ken Larson
Dec 24, 2006
There are good points in your article. I would like to supplement them with some information:
I am a 2 tour Vietnam Veteran who recently retired after 36 years of working in the Defense Industrial Complex on many of the weapons systems being used by our forces as we speak.
If you are interested in a view of the inside of the Pentagon procurement process from Vietnam to Iraq please check the posting at my blog entitled, “Odyssey of Armamentsâ€
http://rosecoveredglasses.blogspot.com/2006/11/odyssey-of-armaments.html
The Pentagon is a giant, incredibly complex establishment, budgeted in excess of $500B per year. The Rumsfelds, the Administrations and the Congressmen come and go but the real machinery of policy and procurement keeps grinding away, presenting the politicos who arrive with detail and alternatives slanted to perpetuate itself.
How can any newcomer, be he a President, a Congressman or even the new Sec. Def.Mr. Gates, understand such complexity, particularly if heretofore he has not had the clearance to get the full details?
Answer- he can’t. Therefore he accepts the alternatives provided by the career establishment that never goes away and he hopes he makes the right choices. Or he is influenced by a lobbyist or two representing companies in his district or special interest groups.
From a practical standpoint, policy and war decisions are made far below the levels of the talking heads who take the heat or the credit for the results.
This situation is unfortunate but it is absolute fact. Take it from one who has been to war and worked in the establishment.
This giant policy making and war machine will eventually come apart and have to be put back together to operate smaller, leaner and on less fuel. But that won’t happen until it hits a brick wall at high speed.
We will then have to run a Volkswagen instead of a Caddy and get along somehow. We better start practicing now and get off our high horse. Our golden aura in the world is beginning to dull from arrogance.
Joe Ibiza-Reise
Mar 18, 2007
True words. The question always is who has a benefit out of this machinery? I think there is a huge complex of interests spending a lot of money for something which is definetly not the will of the people and anti democratic to the core. No one can stop it until there is a big defeat either in a war or in a huge beakdown of the financial system….