Blue for my blues I'm wondering why we don't take the gloves off in Iraq. It's frustrating to hear that soldiers are getting killed because we've got a policy of winning hearts and minds instead of a policy of winning a war. Whatever the generals' plans are I hope they include saving some of our troops for the attack on Baghdad.
And with Bush declaring we're going to be in Iraq until the job gets done - the job being what? I'm not sure! - to whack Saddam, disarm the nation, eliminate the Republican Guard, all of the above. Who knows. We go tearing across the desert chewing up ground and bypassing towns and cities in favor of putting our troops in strategic locations close to Baghdad. But our supply lines and rear echelon are exposed and I don't know what contingencies the leadership have in place to address those little issues.
We have toothless women dressed in black veils and toting AK-47s in the name of Saddam; we've got young soldiers being given make-nice orders that lead to their deaths and it's crazy!
Bush seems to have lost his senses. He certainly hasn't done much to evoke confidence in the way the war is being conducted - not for me at least.
Ah well. That's why they pay him the big bucks I guess. I'm sure it weighs heavily on his conscience when our soldiers (some as young as 18 years old) die or are injured so severely their lives as they knew them are over. And I'm sure he's trying to do the right thing in his own mind, but when I hear him belligerently state that "Saddam's regime will fall no matter what it takes," I cringe. Because no matter what it takes could entail a great many scenarios unfolding, none of which I find too pleasant to contemplate.
If the madman Saddam does have weapons of mass destruction does anyone doubt that he'll use them when he's backed into a corner? I certainly don't doubt it for a second. And if he uses them, what then? Do we nuke the nation? Do we obliterate the city of Baghdad, level it until it's below sea level? Christ, this is a mess and I cannot that the silent majority, the huddled and befuddled masses are just observing what's going on as if it's business as usual. Does no one care that we may wind up embroiled in World War III over this action? It's not beyond the realm of possibility. Let's face it, the first World War began with a single bullet that killed the king of Sarajevo or some such 'royalty,' and here we are in the middle of a continent that's home to probably the greatest number of America haters on the globe and we - I think - naively expect that none of those nations will try to retaliate against us for sullying their lands: Yes, I can see a progression that might bring Syria, Iran (despite the war between Iraq and Iran) and Turkey all going to war against one another as well as our troops.
I wonder, have we prepared for any contigency? Can any army anywhere prepare for any contingency? I think not.
And even if those nations don't get drawn into the conflict, there's always Saddam's threat that "[Iraq] will fight our enemies here and pursue them elsewhere;" a direct allusion to terrorist actions on our home soil.
Are we really ready to accept the loss of thousands or more of our people in our own backyard just to prove that we're the meanest, toughest bully on the block? It's a given that we will defeat Iraq, I've no doubt. But the fallout is what concerns me even more - although I must admit, the conduct of the war so far is less impressive than the daily news briefings would have us believe.
But that's just me, I suppose. And what do I know? Nothing.
So I'm going to a movie with my baby and I'm going to forget about the nightmare that's going on 10,000 miles away for two hours. And maybe I'll get laid later on - you never know. But I truly pray that Gen. Tommy Franks is as brilliant a tactician as his cohorts make him out to be because he's got himself a helluva war on his hands at the moment. And unless the president and his cronies don't sign off unleashing the dogs of war, choosing instead to continue this limp-wristed policy of winining hearts and minds, I fear there're going to be a lot of widows, orphans and broken-hearted wives in this nation when it's all said and done.
So, live well, laugh long and sincerely and make love whenever the opportunity arises (no pun intended).
Monday, 31 March 2003. There it is. I'm out.