By Mary MacElveen
October 26, 2009
We say we are a nation at war, but how can we actually say that upon reading that suicide bombers took the lives of 147 Iraqis and where 500 more were wounded? We the United States of America had a causal affect in these lone bombings since we destabilized this sovereign country.
As I have said from day one when we launched “Shock and Awe”, the Iraqi people have undergone a 9/11 event on a daily basis for six years without any end in sight. Through our own actions at the hands the previous Bush administration, we became the terrorists of an innocent people. When will it stop? We who voted for President Obama were hoping and praying for a real change, yet, the killings go on. They are not only felt in Iraq, but are consistently being felt in Afghanistan and as reports are filed; Pakistan.
How can we exactly say we are a nation at war when we are not suffering from daily attacks? Yes, our military and their families do, but not we the people. We would rather focus on the ‘Balloon Boy’, Michael Jackson, Paris Hilton and the list goes on. We cannot even imagine the life of an Iraqi citizen or an Afghani citizen. Their lives are a daily hell on Earth.
While I am not a subscriber online to “The New Yorker” I was able to pick out key points in Jane Mayer’s article “The Predator War”. In it, Mayer writes: “reports of fatal air strikes in Pakistan emerge every few days. According to a new study by the New America Foundation, the number of drone strikes has gone up dramatically since Obama became President. General Atomics Aeronautical Systems, the defense contractor that manufactures the Predator and its more heavily armed sibling, the Reaper, can barely keep up with the government’s demand. With public disenchantment mounting over the U.S. troop deployment in Afghanistan, many in Washington support an even greater reliance on Predator strikes.”
Just think about it: You are an innocent Pakistani family who had no part in 9/11 and a bomb comes crashing through your home through a predator bomb delivered by a drone. You are not Al Qaeda, but a family trying to get by in this arduous world filled with war and violence.
I wrote exactly the same way after the launch of “Shock and Awe” as it affected the Iraqi people.
Yes, ‘Tenthers’ you are paying for wars without end, yet gripe when it comes to healthcare. You cite where providing healthcare for all is unconstitutional: What of perpetual wars?
In reading my Sunday edition of Newsday, I came upon a photo where a group of protesters were holding a sign stating: “Our “10” Amendment Means NO!! To Gov’t Healthcare!!” I would love to pose the question to these protestors: What of warfare since we have been at war in the Middle East since 2001? Oops, I forgot about the Iraqi War during the first Bush administration and the sanctions during the Clinton administration. When exactly will we exit this region and put a stop to our footprint in this region? After all, we the taxpayers are paying for these perpetual wars without any end in sight.
In a tweet on Twitter.com, I posed this question yesterday: “GOP say Dems health care plans too costly: http://tinyurl.com/ygzutqx What price war?: http://www.costofwar.com/ $924 billion!” Tenthers, where is your angst at that amount of money being spent on wars? You gripe at the amount to be spent on healthcare, what of war?
Just before the previous Bush administration launched “Shock and Awe” those of us who protested this ongoing war in Iraq were not listened to, yet, ‘tea-baggers’ who oppose real reform in healthcare are? Our morals are skewed if we can see merit in being a warrior nation as opposed to a healing nation.
October 26, 2009
We say we are a nation at war, but how can we actually say that upon reading that suicide bombers took the lives of 147 Iraqis and where 500 more were wounded? We the United States of America had a causal affect in these lone bombings since we destabilized this sovereign country.
As I have said from day one when we launched “Shock and Awe”, the Iraqi people have undergone a 9/11 event on a daily basis for six years without any end in sight. Through our own actions at the hands the previous Bush administration, we became the terrorists of an innocent people. When will it stop? We who voted for President Obama were hoping and praying for a real change, yet, the killings go on. They are not only felt in Iraq, but are consistently being felt in Afghanistan and as reports are filed; Pakistan.
How can we exactly say we are a nation at war when we are not suffering from daily attacks? Yes, our military and their families do, but not we the people. We would rather focus on the ‘Balloon Boy’, Michael Jackson, Paris Hilton and the list goes on. We cannot even imagine the life of an Iraqi citizen or an Afghani citizen. Their lives are a daily hell on Earth.
While I am not a subscriber online to “The New Yorker” I was able to pick out key points in Jane Mayer’s article “The Predator War”. In it, Mayer writes: “reports of fatal air strikes in Pakistan emerge every few days. According to a new study by the New America Foundation, the number of drone strikes has gone up dramatically since Obama became President. General Atomics Aeronautical Systems, the defense contractor that manufactures the Predator and its more heavily armed sibling, the Reaper, can barely keep up with the government’s demand. With public disenchantment mounting over the U.S. troop deployment in Afghanistan, many in Washington support an even greater reliance on Predator strikes.”
Just think about it: You are an innocent Pakistani family who had no part in 9/11 and a bomb comes crashing through your home through a predator bomb delivered by a drone. You are not Al Qaeda, but a family trying to get by in this arduous world filled with war and violence.
I wrote exactly the same way after the launch of “Shock and Awe” as it affected the Iraqi people.
Yes, ‘Tenthers’ you are paying for wars without end, yet gripe when it comes to healthcare. You cite where providing healthcare for all is unconstitutional: What of perpetual wars?
In reading my Sunday edition of Newsday, I came upon a photo where a group of protesters were holding a sign stating: “Our “10” Amendment Means NO!! To Gov’t Healthcare!!” I would love to pose the question to these protestors: What of warfare since we have been at war in the Middle East since 2001? Oops, I forgot about the Iraqi War during the first Bush administration and the sanctions during the Clinton administration. When exactly will we exit this region and put a stop to our footprint in this region? After all, we the taxpayers are paying for these perpetual wars without any end in sight.
In a tweet on Twitter.com, I posed this question yesterday: “GOP say Dems health care plans too costly: http://tinyurl.com/ygzutqx What price war?: http://www.costofwar.com/ $924 billion!” Tenthers, where is your angst at that amount of money being spent on wars? You gripe at the amount to be spent on healthcare, what of war?
Just before the previous Bush administration launched “Shock and Awe” those of us who protested this ongoing war in Iraq were not listened to, yet, ‘tea-baggers’ who oppose real reform in healthcare are? Our morals are skewed if we can see merit in being a warrior nation as opposed to a healing nation.
Author’s email address is xmjmac@optonline.net
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Copyrighted material: Should you wish to use any portion of this column, please email the author.
