Alrightie… here’s my philosophical entry for the month. Recently Michel asked my opinion on an anti-Iraq war website and their internet broadcasted conference. I thought this might be a good way to share my thoughts since it’s slightly interactive.

Winter soldier – I was only able to watch a couple of the testimonials and the "trailer" that is posted on the site. I apologize for my lack of proper research but the download speeds here really are deplorable. And just a little warning, my thoughts on this are a bit circular and contradict themselves continually. But back to the point, watching the clips on the website was really difficult for me. I didn’t care much for the "trailer" (it wasn’t actually called that, but it seems appropriate to me) and I can’t quite pin point why. I felt like it was a series of images that were clearly put together and arranged to music to make me feel a certain way. I hate stuff like that. Propaganda is stupid, regardless of who puts it out. Getting unbiased facts is difficult in this era, but responding to events emotionally is something I can handle just fine on my own.
On the other hand, the few testimonials I watched I thought were really well done. Here’s where it starts to get confusing – I felt so sad for all of us. The events that I experienced in Iraq (with the obvious exception of friends dying) have never cost me a second of sleep. Actually I did wake up once in a complete panic. Hmmm, I had forgotten about that until just now. Anyway, I’ve never felt sad for the events of Iraq. The bad moments have never haunted me and I don’t spend time thinking about it. However, watching those guys tell their stories I felt so much sadness for them. But I have so many of the same stories and somehow I felt sad that I had the same stories locked away. I know I’m not saying that effectively. I guess I’m trying to say that I could imagine myself being one of the testimonial people and the fact that I could tell those stories saddened me. But don’t misunderstand, I don’t feel bad for what I did or what happened over there. Which feeds into my next big thought.

War is horrible. Nothing has ever changed, war is awful. I keep thinking back to the POW museum on Phu Quoc. In one of the cases was a human skull piece with an old corroded nail driven through it. I didn’t need to read the Vietnamese caption to understand what I was looking at. I keep thinking of it and somehow it makes all of this Iraq craziness make sense. This has been such an incredible chance to interact with the two wars that have shaped my and my parents generation. What I’ve come away with is that war is war… period. There is no amount of technology or rules of engagement that can separate war from a barbaric act. War exists to settle a dispute by means of violence and might. There are two basic options for a war to end – defeat or total destruction. In defeat, one side concedes that they are weaker and is thereby the loser. In total destruction, both sides battle until one is utterly annihilated. Either option requires that the participants must use every bit of violence and terror that they can muster to overcome the enemy. War cannot be anything else. It is violent and it is ugly. Iraq is a terrible place to be, Somalia was/is a terrible place to be, Vietnam was a terrible place to be, and the list goes on and on through each generation. And yet we are shocked to find out that war is ugly.

This is where I disagree with the Winter Soldier website. I felt that their platform is to show all of the terrible things that happen in Iraq and to use that as a justification for leaving Iraq. Our presence in Iraq isn’t wrong because war is shitty, our presence in Iraq is wrong because it is unjustified. I believe that the war is wrong because we have no cause. Of course, I also must say that if we made that entire place into a parking lot I wouldn’t lose a wink of sleep. I honestly say that entirely out of vengeance because my friends are dead at the hands of Iraqis. My personal justification for the war is entirely vengeance which I realize is wrong, but it is honest. I believe that is what guides most of this war. There was never any reason for us to enter Iraq, but now that we’re there we’ve got a whole laundry list of grievances. My point is that this war is wrong because we shouldn’t be there period, not because of what happens to the soldiers over there. However, the fact that we’re enduring a war with all of its impacts seems especially tragic since the war is plainly illegal. War is something that should never be embarked upon on a whim. The responsibility to wage war is incredible and should be treated with the respect and reverence that it deserves. It is the responsibility of the people of this entire country to ensure that our government remembers what it is gambling with. I have a hard time believing that our politicians had forgotten what war meant and what it would do to its citizens. Our politicians are the same men and women that fought in (or more accurately - to avoid going to) Vietnam. How dare they send us on such a ridiculous mission for no clear reason…again.

A military exists physically protect its country. This means fighting. And to be a great military to protect a great nation, you must be able to win the fights. This means that bad things are going to happen on both sides. Long gone (if they ever even existed) are the days of noble wars and chivalry.