Were you expecting otherwise, regarding the last part? Have you not been paying enough attention to the way politicians use soldiers like cannon fodder, and then toss them on the street like useless tools?
Again, war is the worst solution. Going "all in" and acting like a trigger-happy cowboy is immature, irresponsible and plain dangerous. It may appear to calm things down for a while, but in the long term, it makes things worse. I don't know if you feel proud, accomplished, or any other self-fulfilling feeling for having been part of all that, or perhaps just idealistically patriotic, but the fact that you still seem surprised from the end result is, in itself, surprising.
I know it is painful to realise that you have been used as a tool, and to see once more the confirmation that the road to hell is paved with good intentions. I have no doubt that your intentions were pure when you enlisted. And believe me, I deeply sympathise with the feeling of betrayal that you and many of your comrades must be feeling right now.
As for the Iraqi situation, the whole thing was done in an inadequate way right from the onset, despite the temporary good signs that you are talking about. It is because the whole premise was flawed. You do not fix a society through war, especially when there are so many factors involved, many of them obviously incomprehensible for the one who is intervening - and especially when there are other options available. I am aware that Americans tend to resort to the violent option as the first and only option more often than not, especially when their economic interests are directly at stake, but maybe you should have asked yourself first - what were you doing there, and on whose behalf? The Iraqi people? The American people? Or for something else? Something tells me that deep down, you have already realised what the answer to this question really is. Whether you want to acknowledge it and if not, why not, is another story that this is neither the place nor is it my business to discuss.
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Date: 16/8/14 14:06 (UTC)Again, war is the worst solution. Going "all in" and acting like a trigger-happy cowboy is immature, irresponsible and plain dangerous. It may appear to calm things down for a while, but in the long term, it makes things worse. I don't know if you feel proud, accomplished, or any other self-fulfilling feeling for having been part of all that, or perhaps just idealistically patriotic, but the fact that you still seem surprised from the end result is, in itself, surprising.
I know it is painful to realise that you have been used as a tool, and to see once more the confirmation that the road to hell is paved with good intentions. I have no doubt that your intentions were pure when you enlisted. And believe me, I deeply sympathise with the feeling of betrayal that you and many of your comrades must be feeling right now.
As for the Iraqi situation, the whole thing was done in an inadequate way right from the onset, despite the temporary good signs that you are talking about. It is because the whole premise was flawed. You do not fix a society through war, especially when there are so many factors involved, many of them obviously incomprehensible for the one who is intervening - and especially when there are other options available. I am aware that Americans tend to resort to the violent option as the first and only option more often than not, especially when their economic interests are directly at stake, but maybe you should have asked yourself first - what were you doing there, and on whose behalf? The Iraqi people? The American people? Or for something else? Something tells me that deep down, you have already realised what the answer to this question really is. Whether you want to acknowledge it and if not, why not, is another story that this is neither the place nor is it my business to discuss.