Tag: Iraq

We had a young person in court a while back that didn’t treat the judge with much deference. In itself, that’s not saying much, but what really irked the judge was this: the person in front of him didn’t meet his expectations. The Judge expected more from a person in the military.

As far as the judge was concerned, he earned the right to be judgmental, and not just because he’s a judge… he’s a retired military man himself (30 years in the Marines).

I didn’t bother me much (the behavior), but not just because most folks are operating at less than 100 percent in court. The first thing that came to my mind was: “I wonder if this person has earned the right to be belligerent.” I know, there are probably lots of folks who are sent overseas and don’t come back assholes. But, if we look for them, we see articles like this a little too often: (Newsvine/AP)

While many Vietnam veterans began showing manifestations of stress disorders roughly 10 years after returning from the front, Iraq and Afghanistan veterans have shown the signs much earlier.

That could also be because stress disorders are much better understood now than they were a generation ago, advocates say.

“There’s something about going back, and a third and a fourth time, that really aggravates that level of stress,” said Michael Blecker, executive director of Swords to Plowshares,” a San Francisco homeless-vet outreach program.

“And being in a situation where you have these IEDs, everywhere’s a combat zone. There’s no really safe zone there. I think that all is just a stew for post-traumatic stress disorder.”

A part of me wonders if this person could detect something like pity in me, and it made the situation worse.

It’s widely assumed that the administration scheduled General Petraeus’ testimony before congress on 9/10 and 9/11 to emphasize “what’s at stake,” but to me, it only emphasizes why I can’t fully trust what I’m being told.

If the administration dishonestly linked 9/11 and Iraq to start a war, if they cherry picked or invented evidence to justify the war, if they strong-armed the White House press corps to suppress dissent on the war, how can we believe their evidence to justify continuing the war?

I want to trust someone. I want to believe General Petraeus is an honest, principled man. However, I can’t ignore what appears to be this administration’s tendency to surround themselves with “yes” men. Do we believe the general when he tells us Iraqi deaths are down, or do we believe some press reports which suggest they may still be trending up? (The AP suggests it’s still trending up, but some other surveys do tend to agree with the General’s assessment.) Do we believe the general when he tells us the progress in Anbar can be attributed to the surge, or do we believe common sense which tells us the violence started coming down several months before the surge started? Do we believe his comments that Anbar may be evidence of reconciliation, or do we share others’ fears that it is evidence of Sunnis consolidating their power for an inevitable clash with a Shiite dominated government in Baghdad? (“The enemy of my enemy is my friend.”) Do we celebrate the evidence that fewer people are being killed in Baghdad, or do we morn the evidence that there aren’t nearly so many Sunis left in Baghdad for Shiites to kill? Do we take the General at his word that the Iraqi security forces are getting better, or do we worry that the predominently Shiite Iraqi security forces seem to focus on Sunni militias? Should we be optimistic because of his reassurance that al-Quaeda’s presence in Anbar is declining, should we be wary because others feel al-Quaeda’s numbers are rising in Ninevah, or do we once again shout out in frustration that al-Quaeda may not have been there at all if not for this damn war?

I want to trust someone, but these days has to be earned. Thanks to Bush and Cheney it won’t come cheap.

BBC NEWS | Middle East | US lawmakers’ plane evades shots

Three U.S. Senators were taking off at Baghdad.

The lawmakers said their plane, a C-130 Hercules, had to avoid three rocket-propelled grenades over the course of several minutes.

After taking evasive action, they safely completed their journey to Amman in Jordan.

“It was a scary moment,” said Republican Senator Mel Martinez.

I wonder if they think the surge is working.

I’m kicking myself for not saving an article written by an AP military writer sometime in the last week. The article discusses the author’s feelings that progress is being made in Iraq. A re-reading would make me more comfortable characterizing the article, but I’ll give it a shot anyway. From what I recall, the basis for this position was increasing cooperation from locals in the fighting against al-Qaeda, and a general feeling based on two weeks in Iraq.

At the time I was pleased to read something that trended optimistic… it was a nice change. At the same time, I would have felt better if something more concrete was offered as evidence. What was the frame of reference for the writer’s better than expected trip to Iraq? Was it expectation or previous experience? Knowing which it was would allow me to put the comments in context, and evaluate them appropriately.

As for the increasing cooperation of locals in the fighting against foreign terrorists, an article in the New Republic put a different spin on things:

U.S. forces collaborating with Sunni militants who have turned against Al Qaeda–seems likely to make any eventual reconciliation (with Shi’ites in Iraq) even more improbable. However useful these partnerships may be tactically, U.S. assistance to the Islamic Army and 1920 Revolution Brigade necessarily strengthens and legitimizes such groups. Whether intended or not, one result is to undermine the claims of Iraqi authorities in Baghdad to represent the nation’s sole, rightful government.

It’s the equivalent of the police arming the Crips to take on the Bloods. Here and there, gang violence might briefly subside, but the rule of law is unlikely to benefit. And, sooner or later, the Crips will turn their guns on the cops.

In the mean time, it seems the numbers on violence are holding steady. So much for optimism.