The war in Iraq is a very important issue for the entire world, and I would like to write about a perspective I have heard and tend to lean toward.
Each day more people are killed in the war in Iraq. I believe this war is illegal and based on false premises. Premptively attacking a country is terrible and immoral. I am proud to be an American, but very embarrassed and upset that my country is responsible for thousands of unnecessary deaths. I believe that all war is wrong. I do, however, think there is a time to go to war. The only time to go to war is if attacked first. A premptive strike is like attacking a person who carries a knife in his pocket because he could hurt a person with his weapon.
I'm interested to hear what members of the YV community think about the war in Iraq and about when and if there ever is a time for war. I hope those of you who disagree with me will tell me why you share a different opinion. I'm very eager to listen to other perspectives and learn from you.
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I agree that the Iraq War was a huge mistake. For the reasons you stated.
I'm not confident that there will ever be an end to a war as long as the notion of priviate property exists. Essentially, as long as there are perceived borders (between countries, states, homes, etc.) and people believe they truly own things (that people who buy a house realize that they don't really own the land under which the house sits; that that piece of land will continue to exist long after any particular owner dies - that the "owner" is temporary thus only occupying a space for a short amount of time), war will continue. It will take a serious global revolution to change this mindset. Perhaps Youth Venturers could be part of that revolution!
Adam
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Indeed, I agree it would be a huge shift in thinking and culture. I wonder about a possible solution. What do we do in a world with limited resources and unlimited wants and needs? I am confident every person in the world could be fed and relatively healthy with the resources and technology we currently have. I think Youth Venturers can be part of a movement to end war and greed in this world.
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This war really bothers me for the reason that we got into it and for the fact that it seems we cannot get out of it w/out someone getting hurt. And on the opposing side - the longer we stay there, the more people seem to die. Everyday I hear something on the news about people dying over there - whether its US Soldiers or Iraqi civilians. I mean - a car bomb exploded and killed 30 Iraqis. This happens all the time! And it just doesnt seem that big of a deal to the media. Maybe because people dying in Iraq is old news? I dont know. The point is - is that every life is precious, whether it be Iraqi or American and it just seems to me like this is all our fault. Yes, its great that Saddam is out of power, but the Sunni and the Shiites were living in relative harmony, right? At least it wasnt as bad as it is now. Now, people are being shot execution style on the side of the road for they're beliefs. There had to have been a better way to go about all this. And the fact that the mass majority of American people dont understand whats going on over there, is really bothersome too. Heck, I didnt even know about the Sunnis and the Shiites hating eachother enough to kill the other, until i picked up a newsweek at the Dr's office! And if there's ever a time for war? I think you have to play it by ear. I do believe that if a country is a serious threat to your country (and just because they have bombs doesnt mean they will actually use them against you) then you can consider going to war. But i think there is always a diplomatic way to go about things. I mean look at Britain? Iran took some of their soldiers captive! I thougth for sure that this would mean war, especially when they wouldnt give them back. But look what happened? They didnt jump the gun and charge in there - they talked it out and Iran ended up giving the soldiers back any way. As an Easter present, no less! Lets hope that at least one good thing comes out of this war - that we learn from our mistakes.
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Michelle,
I hope you are right about learning from our mistakes. Maybe this time we will learn that war should always be a last resort.
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But we were attacked first wernt we? They did take out the twin towers. But i think before we go to war we should always be more informed. We should lear about the culture of iraq because this could reveal hidden secrets. We think it is crazy to blow your self up at a local convienent store, but to them this is dying for their religion and they must be wondering why we dont. There has been a lot of unnessasary deaths but we have to remember september 11th. When many american lives were taken. I think we do need to re-think iraq to get a better grip on where to go next but if we back out now. What could happen? I am scared of what this world has become. It seems as if people are always fighting over stuff that really does not matter. But some thing are worth putting up a battle for. I think we need to re-think iraq and find a new approach.
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Well, Give_help2animals, we were attacked, but we were not attacked by Iraqis. We were attacked by Al Queda, a terrorist group based out of Afganistan, and I don't think a single one of the attackers was Iraqi. The September 11th attack has only one thing in common with Iraq - the fact that the people who attacked us and the people of Iraq are muslim. The reason that we went into Iraq, supposedly, was to take out a dictator who was terrorizing his people and showed potential to have Weapons of Mass Destruction (WMD's), Saddam. We went into Iraq on a "Attack them before they attack us" basis. We thought he was going to use his WMD's on us, even tho we weren't completly sure he had them. So it was actually us that attacked first. And one of the things that makes this war so bad, is that it turns out that he really didnt have any WMD's! So there is no real way that he could have bombed America. Oops! But we did catch a dictator killing his own people. That can't be bad right?
Before i say the next thing - know that I'm glad that Saddam is not in power anymore. What he did was horrible to the people of Iraq, and I would NEVER condone his actions. But when he was in power, there was relative peace between the two rival factions in Iraq. The Sunnis and the Shiites. Saddam was Sunni and so the Shiites were scared that if they acted up, Saddam would hunt them down, torture them and kill all their loved ones. Such was the way of Saddam. It is sometimes hard for us to understand (I know it is for me) why these two people hate eachother so much, and for so long, because Americans, our culture has not been around for hundreds, even thousands of years like Islam (the religion that muslims practice) has been. They believe in the same God, but have a different view of their prophet, Muhammod.
Well, now that Saddam isnt there, the Sunnis and the Shiites are free to show their hatred aggressively again. In fact, the Shiites are making up for lost time and really hitting the Sunnis hard. You hear of insurgents and malitia groups? They are mostly Shiites. If you are a Sunni, found walking in a Shiite neighborhood, you will be very lucky to walk out alive. People are dying everyday over there because of this civil war.
The reason that we are still there, even tho we got what we came for: Saddam, is that we are trying to stabilize the warfare. Its just too bad that we dont have enough soldiers or resources to win the war right now. We've poured alot of money into this war, and haven't got any closer to settling a blood feud thats been going on for hundreds of years. Go figure. The lack of results is why people want to just pull out and admit failure, rather than put billions of more dollars into a war that probably will never end. I think its something like $20 million is used up in Iraq everyday. Thats alot of taxpayer penny.
Anyway, I will finish up here, but take with you something that I've learned: Even tho it looks like they are fighting over stuff that really does not matter to us, to them it is so important that they are willing to kill over it. Maybe even kill themselves. So it really does matter.
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Oh i know it does matter the situation we are in is serious. I was saying that this may be one of those thing we need to do something about. I think that America should know alll of the factual information they can because if not how can we really be sure of where we stand.
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Well, i know that everything happen for a reason, but a far as the war enough is enough, and it's time that our family members, friends and oloved ones come home. I know that we are doing it tohelp a country who is in need but, it may we wonder if those country that we are assisting would do the same for us. It's costing all americans more money, health care and poverty along with educational benefits are on the rise and what is being done about it. The cost of gaeoline is outrageous and most people have to decided if they will buy food to get and put gas in their cars in order to go to work to still suffer all because of the war and what expensive it has build up to sopport this act of services.
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This all comes back to the initial decision to go to war. Was it accurately based or was it totally botched.
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"We know where they are. They're in the area around Tikrit and Baghdad and east, west, south and north somewhat." - Donald Rumsfeld on Iraq's Weapons of Mass Destruction.
This quote caught my eye because it says "we know" rather than "we think we know". The original justification for war has changed and evolved so many times - first it was weapons, then it was because Saddam was a bad guy, then it was because we need to bring democracy to Iraq. Now it is because if we leave, the situation will get worse. Speculating on what were the real reasons for war - one of the above reasons,or oil gets into conspiracy theories.
What was even more botched than the original decision to go to war was the total disregard of post-invasion planning. Their point of view seems to have been that Iraq would take care of itself, and any attempt to question what would happen after Saddam was overthrown was seen as an anti-war argument.
I think one of the lessons for all of us is that we really need to become informed about our government's policies and ask elected officials hard questions rather than just accepting their word for something.
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The war was a mistake but it can not be ended now until one side emerges victorious. The United States will continue to make progress and we will defeat the insurgency. We can not give up now or we will look weak to the entire Middle East. Some wars should never be entered but once entered you can not retreat until you win and some wars need to be entered and are won easily, This war is the first one.
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I agree with the fact that the war was definitely a mistake but that we cannot pull out now until we have a definitive victory. While there may not have been a big threat to our country by the Iraqis before the war, if we pull out too quickly - there certainly will be.
I just think it's amazing that 77:23 senators voted for the war. I am proud to say that both congressmen from my state, Maryland, voted "Nay". Bush did provide faulty information and we should be more wary about that before we go into another war, but it's partly our fault and the fault of our congressmen as well for not doing enough research. Let this be a lesson for all of us to learn.
As for, when is war ok...well that's a tricky question. I don't believe in most forms of preemptive attack, but I do think prevention is important. When a man has a knife in his pocket, and police know that he may use it, that is enough reasonable suscipcion to arrest him according to my law class. Should we wait for the man to kill two or three people before he gets stopped? It's definitely a balance issue - how much is aggression and how much is prevention? the only thing I can say is that we need to be more careful and evaluate all the facts objectively and thoroughly before we make another decision to go to war.
Jenny Chen
Editor-in-Chief
JJ Express Magazine
"Life is the biggest bargain - you get it for free!"
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Well I don't really agree with Jenny.
Talking about a knife, a man and a police officer. I would rather ask whats the harm of carry a kitchen knife to home after buying it from a store. Well I don't really want to go to the debate where the war on Iraq was wrong or right. It was indeed wrong. And as she said, "preventation is important." Yes it is. Unfortunately the US havent agree with the fact, before 2003, the time of Iraq War, Iraq did not had any significant air or marine force, that could have come nearby America and attack it. Its rather foolish to say Iraq even if it had WMD could have attacked America, because Saddam Hussain had no cause of attacking America. Laughing a WMD targeting American soil would have mean a straight forward distruction of Iraq, a simple fact. And furthermore, he was a dictator. And dictators do not go into fight were they knows they will have to lose one day.
As I know Pakistan was greater capabilities to launch a WMD. India has also developed nucleur weapon. Some parts of Pakistan have fall into the hands of Al-Qaida, and they pose a greater threat not in their region but the world as well. Still United States wants to pursuade Iran as it did to Iraq to dismantle is nuclear programs, which it said to would use for peaceful purposes. Forget about Iran or Iraq, but the world would face bigger threat from Al-Qaida. From the middle-east conflicts and also parts of Africa where political stabilities are rather disrupted. Let me be straight on this. If we cannot have a peaceful pull out from US froops from Iraq and replace them with multinational force, doesnt matter how many countries can contribute, things would rather get more wrost. May might say US cannot pull out until they have a final victory. Well they can't because they don't know any particular goal what they are fight for, and really whom they are fighting for. Democracy cannot be restore by raid houses and irritating people all day by suiside attacks. It cannot even be brought by fighting people against the Iraq, who might have AK47s on their hands but they are also they hands who should really cast their votes.
The world would have be a much greater place if the mid-east conflict between Israil and Palestine would not have being there. Israil is guess does not want to know what they are producing. They are creating terrorists. They are having the industry of terrorism to boom. They are blocking places. Having air raids. Fine for their security now. But what the hell would really happen, when those kids who rally around death bodies their fellow neighbours and stop going to school and live with one aim to do something against Israil. That kid which might be today 10, doesnot even know what an american congress means, is simply becoming a terrorist who might stay alive fur more 50 years. That means if we think about the future of him, at the age of 60. He would rather commited himself to at least a few more attacks killing innocents. So this circles goes forming bigger and bigger.
And how long would the world have to consider of America being the police, and every other third world country desiring to have some luxury of weapons theifs. armed with knifes! I guess the fact is simple, the big men of world has being conservative, with some very conservative appoarch, and its time for them to settle down on a few things, negotiate. And figure out more ways by economics or technology to drive into newer ways for a safer world.
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Es un tema del que en verdad siempre hay mucho de que hablar pero por desgracia, muchos hablamos pero en realidad que es lo que hacemos por evitarla, apesar de que talvez no tenemos el poder tanto econimico como politico podemos hacer algo socialmente empezando por nosotros mismos aprender a ser mejores personas y no buscar el mal para nadie, tal vez se escuche cursi pero asi es.
En lugar de criticar a los gobiernos por lo malos que son deberiamos preocuparnos por lo que pasa a nuestro alrededor, esto no significa que este a favor o encontra de los diferentes tipos de gobierno sino que simplemente debemos enfocarnos en lo que realmente importa pues es muy dificil que un gobierno cambie solo porque algunas personas se creen super heroes y quieren cambiar al mundo de la noche a la mañana, hay que hacer conciencia empezando por uno mismo; bien dicen que si quieres cambiar el mundo cambia tu primero.
Este es el comentario de una chica que esta a favor de la paz aunque muchos crean que esta no existe si nos esmeramos podemos lograr al menos una paz interior y con todos aquellos que nos rodean