In the End, Was It Worth It?

Tuesday February 1, 2005 | | Permalink | Digg It

I’m very happy for the Iraqi people. It’s great that they’ve had the opportunity to vote. But, I wonder if most of the people in the U.S. really feel it was worth it?

We’ve spent over $200 billion dollars, and lost over 1,400 soldiers. We’ve committed to a long-term occupancy of Iraq, which will undoubtedly mean the loss of more life, and destruction of families in the U.S. But, the people of Iraq can vote. We’ve reversed a budgetary positive balance, and turned it into long-term negative balance. We moved money from Social Security to fight the war, and now it’s being claimed that this program will ultimately fail. But, thankfully, Iraq can vote. We put the war in Iraq ahead of the safety of U.S. citizens by not shoring up our national defenses. Now, we don’t really have the money to solve these problems. Moreover, we’ve alienated ourselves from nearly every one of our allies in this world. They will eventually come back around, I guess. But, democracy is now possible in Iraq.

Do you red state folks care about Iraq? Did you ever really care about the people there? If you did, then why have I heard time and again—“We should just nuke all of those towel heads!” This certainly doesn’t sound like a comment that would come from a person who cares about things like voting and democracy. But, if you really do care about Iraq, then I commend you.

I suspect that there are many FOX News watching armchair pundits who are elated that Iraq can vote. But, these folks are not happy for the Iraqi people. Their happiness comes from a self-serving “I told you so” to the people who were opposed to our presence there. This is neo-con hubris. It’s not authentic concern for the Iraqis.

Every U.S. citizen has lost something in this war—I think that’s clear—but what did we win? Do you really think it was worth it?

1. JimG, 2005-02-08 19:48

Some 100,000 plus Iraqi civilians lost their lives in the process of being “liberated.” Cities have been leveled. Lives destroyed. I am deeply hopeful that the Iraqi people will be able to salvage some stability out the wreckage left behind by the sadistic and brutal regime of Saddam Hussein, the cruelty of western sanctions and the “shock and awe” of bombs of liberation.

I am not insensible to the costs of lives and resources here in the US. But at least we had a choice.

Was it worth it? I don’t think that I or any other American is even entitled to ask the question.

2. Vaughn D. Taylor (Author Comment), 2005-02-10 11:25

“Some 100,000 plus Iraqi civilians lost their lives in the process of being “liberated.””

I have no intentions of devaluing the loss of the Iraqi lives. In fact, I’m disturbed when I hear people talk about saving Iraqi lives by removing Saddam. Saddam was responsible for the deaths of more than 100K innocent Iraqis. We went in to liberate the innocent Iraqi people (or did we go in to find WMDs? I forget the real story now), and in the process we killed more than 100K innocents.

“Was it worth it? I don’t think that I or any other American is even entitled to ask the question.”

Really, why have we lost the right to ask if it was worth it? Is the war being waged by somebody else now? We are losing lives, and we are taking lives—losing or taking it’s all the same. I think we have every right to evaluate our actions and determine whether the actions have brought about a positive or negative effect.

I think you may have lost the scope of my original post. The point—I want the pro-war folks who have lost their loved ones to pause and think for just a second. Many of these people live in poor rural areas of the U.S. They spend 18+ years raising a child. That child is lured into military service with the promise of a brighter future. Education, steady pay, retirement, etc. That child goes to Iraq and is killed fighting so the Iraqis can vote.

Bush & Co. really did a great job of marketing this war. It was fear of WMDs (off the heels of 9-11), then liberation of the Iraqi people, then Iraqi democracy. These are all worth fighting and dying for—I suppose. But, this was just marketing. I think we all know this is about money and control of oil reserves. Do you think that these families would be so willing to give the lives of their loved ones if the war was marketed as a war for oil?

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