i'm so confused

This whole war in Iraq is really beginning to bug me. I'm not really sure who to believe anymore. The liberal media is everywhere, and I am no longer sure who to believe.

Sen Kennedy, who I dont give too much credit to in the first place wants our troops pulled out now. If we pull out now Iraq will collapse into chaos, and may even be taken over my Iran. And America will still be blamed.

It seems like anymore we cannot win on the home front. No matter what we do, even on the 09/11/2001 the media was mocking our president. I am quite sure if this was possible and happened: brought the federal debt to $0, solved world hunger, fixed the UN, ended terrorism, and cut taxes. Some of the liberal media would complain.

My biggest problem with Iraq is this, if Saddam could hold onto power for so long, why is this insurgency so tough? If they are so organized, and patient. Why did they never overthrow saddam? Yes they could be former followers of him, but greed strikes everyone. And if saddam and his army could do this, why is it a problem for the US military? My first thought is the World media and the liberal media makes the USA fight with one hand tied behind our back, if not both hands.

Just to touch on the media a little more about this whole prisoner abuse. Lets compare prisoners, even if we compare them in Iraq, I do believe we give better care to our prisoners than they give to ours. And it has always been that way, and its very upsetting to me. Islamic people claim racism, I have been guilty of it myself, but what can you do except try as hard as you can not to harbor those feelings? We have home grown terrorists who attack us also.

And now people are upset because female interrogators are wearing mini skirts and playing with their tits? Who cares? Why is it so important to bother the rest of us with watching conflicting stories come from Iraq. Why is it that people we let go from gitmo are being captured again back in afghan?

I'm so confused about so many things I just need to stop reading the news. If anyone cares to explain any of this to me I would really like it.

I think one thing that helps fuel the insurgency is the fact, that the vast majority of the boots on the ground are American. It gives the terrorists fuel to add to their fire, to claim that the "imperialist crusader" has invaded their beloved homeland and is bent on enslaving all followers of Allah, yadda, yadda. While many Iraqis don't agree with the insurgents and would gladly be rid of the violence and chaos they bring, they can't help but dislike us as well (foreign factor) and maybe even blame us for causing the insurgency and the resulting violence.

Of course liberals are going to disagree with Bush, since he is their ideological counterpart and those in the media aren't going to want to portray his actions or his policies in a very good light. So of course CNN, MSNBC, and the other "liberal media" is going to try and slam Bush, just like Fox News slams Ted Kennedy and other liberal politicians and policies.

If we could explain the madness of it all, we would be the sage of a life time.

The media, looks for dirt, because that will rise their stock, good news does not make the headlines.

Is Iraq headed for a civil war?
Wish that we could travel to the future for an answer.
Will Sunni be fighting a Sh-ite , will they both be fighting the Kurds?
Than there's the Christians of Iraq.
Many of those have left Iraq, after the bombing of those Christain churches.

Will Iraqi's stand by and watch Iran take over?
I doubt that they will, they will fight the Irans because of the hate they have for the Irans.

When you state; "Who cares?", that might be said for many in this Nation.
They only care if they have kin there.

With us capyuring people in Afghanistan, would we had as prisoners in Gitmo.
Is one reason that we never should have release them.

We're all confused because we were told that there were Weapons of Mass Destruction there.
The Neo-cons that were all for us invading, are no longer on the radar screen.
They have no one to explain to, not us that for sure.

We haven't even touched the cost of this war on our treasure.
Will the Iraqi's elected to run the government repay us in oil.
I doubt that, we stuck with the bill.

Semper Fidelis/Semper Fi
Ricardo

You want to know why an insurgency is so hard to defeat? Thats easy. No one knows who they are. When you are a small" relativley anyway) cell system" orginization, it is almost impossible for a large government or military force to defeat you. You can go when and where you want, you do not have the logistics problems, the communication problems, the medical prolblems, or people whining about being away from home.

Hell, just look at the American Revolution, if you wanna see why rebels and insurgents are so successful WHEN their enemies power base is thousands of miles away.

as for the liberal media? yes, they are part of the reason we cannot defeat the insurgency with ease, unlike Saddam, we cannot just go in and wipe out thier entire families. ( unfortunatley)

We have been bombarded by bad news for so long concerning the situation in Iraq. As MillRatUSMC said, the media is always looking for the dirt which results in bad feelings about our efforts.

I am just as much a victim as many of you are. Constantly hearing & seeing all this negative stuff.

Over the past 2 or 3 days I have seen some great amounts of good news out of Iraq. No.....the insugency hasen't gone away and our brave Marines & soldiers are still putting their lives on the line against an enemy that will not play by any rules.

In the past 48 hours I have seen stories of an 18 year old Kurdish police officer (whos Brother was killed doing the same job) determined to bring order to his country even if that meant he would die.

A "town meeting" of sorts that brought together members of different religious sects, Americans and even former insurgents (who have sworn off violence in favor of dialog) discussing the future.

Great strides made in a normally violent, anti-American suburb of Baghdad concerning new sewers, running water, electricity and, most importantly, a reduction of the violence.

Last minute campaigning in the streets by candidates that risk life. Women candidates canvassing voters by phone. The real names of candidates being listed in newspapers and in flyers. Volunteers setting up polling places.

13 million Iraquis are registered to vote. Turnout to vote might be in the 80% range. This in spite of great danger.

After all this time of hearing and reading bad stuff (even in these Marine Corps forums) I suddenly am very excited about this historic event.

Like TRLewis, I was really starting to loose hope.
I've recaptured a bit back.

Think of it.
We live in a democracy. No biggie here. We have it down pat !!
We wake up, work, eat, sleep in a democracy. We know what it means to be free, to choose our representatives and live without shackles.
The Iraqui people have no idea of what it means to live in this manner.
Fear rules.
But, they are about to embark on a voyage that may one day allow them to live like us resulting in a more stable Middle East.
That realization is only a dream right now and the election will, no doubt, be shaky and contested.
There might be blood in some streets.
And the insurgency won't dissappear.

But, I am feeling good right now for the people of Iraq.

I agree with most of what was said here, but I have a question, had to get trainin on this cause I was one of dem heathens lol. What religion is the foundation of all religions and who is considered the father of all religions. We are more closely related to our muslim brothers then ya might think, not givin em the right to do what they did. And by religion I mean one of the big 3, christians, jews and muslims.
SF

Greetings: Unfortunately we have just put yet another great Warrior to rest due to this crazy situation we are involved in over in Iraq. He was a wonderful brother, son, fiance, uncle, and friend to many. He was a former member of The United States Marine Corps. 2nd Reconnaissance Battalion, and a former member of the 75th Ranger Battalion. He ironically died 14 years after the first Gulf War in 1991. He died on January 17th, 2005.
This wonderful man I had the pleasure to serve with for many years, and in many lands. He was one of the best. On January 17th, 2005, a car disguised as a Taxi entered a US perimeter and ended up being a suicide bomber. The Warrior I speak of put his life on the line and tackled another member of his team in order to get him out of harms way. His partner lived. The Warrior received the cherished Bronze Star at his funeral for his actions.
Enough is now enough.
We are fighting an enemy who does not have the courage to fight face to face. This enemy is hiding in the crowds of civilians and firing on our troops. We are unable to return fire for fear of hitting innocent civilians.
This enemy does not care about innocent civilians, as demonstrated on September 11 in 2001.
On December 7th of 1941 the United States of America was suddenly and deliberately attacked. A US Base was attacked, and numerous civilians and military personnel were killed.
This attacker used Suicide bombers to fly into our ships. They would fuel up their planes with just enough fuel to make it to the target. It was an honor to conduct these “Kamikaze Missions”. After years of fighting this enemy, in order to put an end to the madness, we dropped the bomb.
Even though there are numerous similarities to the 2nd World War, and the current War on Terrorism, there are also huge differences. The enemy then did not deliberately kill innocent civilians. The enemy then had the honor and courage to stand and fight face to face. The enemy then did not disguise themselves as civilians in order to kill other civilians.
On September 11, 2001 THOUSANDS of innocent Americans were killed in their offices and on their way to work. These people had no military involvement, and this enemy attacked and killed them. Now many Americans are living in fear, and feel like they no longer have their freedom. President George Bush has done an outstanding job of attacking this enemy, and attempting to finish what they started. However, the only way to win this war is to continue to send more troops in order to destroy this enemy. We can not walk away from what has started. We can not turn our backs on the families of those civilians who were killed on September 11, and we definitely can not turn our backs on the families of those warriors who have died during this war.
We have always said “Peace through Superior Fire Power”. We can send more and more troops, but will that help us win? This enemy is a coward. They will not stand and fight, but they hide in the crowds and kill our men. We can not tell who they are. They will not face us. We need to end this.
The second World War was ended by dropping the bomb. The time has now come for us to do the same. We no longer have a choice, other than to destroy this enemy completely. We need to pull our men back, and nuke these bastards. Every one knows it, but no one wants to do it.
The only problem is that the United States can not do such an act. In the event the Government of The United States of America nuked Iraq, it would start World War III. The act has the be done, but the US can not do it.
I have the solution. I am conducting a fund raiser. I am going to nuke Iraq. The problem that I have is the lack of funds. We can purchase a nuclear weapon, place it inside of the Sunni Triangle, pull back all of our troops, and nuke these bastards. I will need a team of “Morally Flexible” individuals to help enter the area, and help place the bomb. I will lead the team into the zone to avenge the deaths of all of the Americans who have died since September 11 by these bastards. We will need the funds to purchase the weapon, supply the team, and get in and out of country.
There are over 280 million people living in the United States. If we can have only a quarter of them donate one dollar, we can raise the funds, and end this war without the United States Government getting involved, or in trouble. I have set up a Paypal account for any one to send any funds for this mission. The address is TheEaglesRevenge@aol.com. Any volunteers for this mission, in any capacity can reach me as well through that address. As soon as we have the funds, we can complete this mission. Time is of the essence. We need to have this done within the next few weeks before more Americans are killed over there. We also need to do this before they decide to move. Send this to as many people as you know, and lets TAKE BACK OUR FREEDOM.

^ you need to get out more.

It's Vietnam re-visited! Same pattern..different time!

TRLewis, Brother. Forget about the media. You've rejoined up to get back into the fight. Concentrate and train for that. Dan Rather and Ann Coulter will never be there to watch you or your team member's backs.

Now go run 10k and do 50 push ups! :marine:

Quote:

---

Originally posted by gbudd
It's Vietnam re-visited! Same pattern..different time!

---

And here I thought I was the only one who noticed the similarities lolol..gbudd...............you ole salt you have been paying attention.............jk Semper-Fi

hell i been saying its vietnam again all along, i agree we need to ask these people which ones want to stay and which one want too leave and move them out in transports and then put the big bomb on there butts. Its time, this election is not going to prove a damn thing who ever gets in office you can bet he wont be alive very long, then what we let them all vote again?? gulf war 1 we lost 100 men and the war was over in a matter of days, we should have fought this war the same way.

Quote:

---

Originally posted by hrscowboy
hell i been saying its vietnam again all along, i agree we need to ask these people which ones want to stay and which one want too leave and move them out in transports and then put the big bomb on there butts. Its time, this election is not going to prove a damn thing who ever gets in office you can bet he wont be alive very long, then what we let them all vote again?? gulf war 1 we lost 100 men and the war was over in a matter of days, we should have fought this war the same way.

---

Marine.............I couldn't have said it better myself...!!!

I was all for the gulf war simply because of the way it was handled.
In my eyes Gen. Schwartscolf really did a great job. He know what had to be done, and the politicians pretty much gave him the freedom to do exactly that. No one stood in his way. Please excuse me if I didn't spell his name correctly.

Think back to WW11...........Did any of our Great so called war lords really care what the general population thought when making decisions......Gen Patton, Gen McCarthur, Gen Haulsey,
Again please forgive my spelling..........All these leaders made huge life or death decisions. Unlike most politicians then and now. These men made these decisions not by what was going to be more or less popular for their careers...!!! Semper-Fi

Right you are jo1753...not so much politics back then and the general public and the media didn't have much of say so either. I also agree with you hrscowboy....those that want to stay and fight...so be it and those that don't...send em home. Sounds good on paper but if that was to happen, there would only be Marines over there.....turn em loose, back em up with fire power and get it over once and for all.

Quote:

---

Originally posted by jo1753

Gen Patton, Gen McCarthur, Gen Haulsey,

---

Don't you mean Adm. Halsey?