We are remembering the horrors of 9-11, 13 years afterward. Many have noted that we have been at war for that entire 13-year period, but actually, we have been in continuous hostile military action since January 15, 1991 when the first Gulf War began. Immediately after the Gulf War ended, we began flying combat patrols over Iraq to enforce the no-fly zone. That involvement, which frequently involved exchanges of gunfire and missiles, lasted until the second Gulf War had ended. So, we have had troops in harms way for 23 years. Their sacrifices are undeniable, unless it comes to providing the funding and services to take care of them. We need to think about where this unending war is taking us. It has led to our Presidents assuming unprecedented military authority. The government is wiretapping and spying on civilians -- even members of Congress -- to an extent that makes Richard Nixon look feeble. We have spent trillions of dollars trying to build nations in remote parts of the world whose people appear to be just fine with their endogenous and misogynist lifestyles. We have lost more than 4,500 of our own people, and killed or caused the deaths of uncounted hundreds of thousands of Iraqis, Afghanis, Somalis, Pakistanis, and Libyans. The 9-11 attacks were monstrous. Those who perpetrated them are despicable. The attacks were not the right way to raise issues about US involvement in the Middle East. There are issues that need to be addressed, though. If we do not, we may be in this war for a long time, and we may not like what we become.
Posted on: Thu, 11 Sep 2014 20:40:51 +0000
Trending Topics
Recently Viewed Topics
© 2015