View Message

Iraq - off topic
My thoughts go to the unfortunate people of Iraq...long-repressed by the unscrupulous dictator Saddam and now senselessly bombed to smithereens :( They deserve a better fate.
vote up1vote down

Replies

Maybe we all do.
Something that worries me is i heard someone on my bus say, in response to someone reading the death count in the paper, something along the lines of 'good, they [the iraqis] should be bombed to smithereens' which made me want to reason with them, but i hadn't the time or breath to waste (they'd never have listened).
We're all innocents, but we all make choices to do things that make us seem less so.
vote up1vote down
Indeed.To return to names for a moment, how apt it seems that the US President of the moment should have the surname of Bush.In South Africa we had our share of undeclared wars in the 70s and 80s, and our (conscript, then) armed forces were sent across the borders to Namibia, Angola etc to fight in strange guerrilla raids on villages, armed camps, nothing at all ... and frequently suffered psychological damage as a result. They were said to be "in the bush", in Afrikaans, and the shell-shock-like results of this on them meant that they were said to be, or to have gone, "bossies" - basically, Bushy.
vote up1vote down
yes. I had hope Bush would be a better man and do a lot more diplomacy. And keep everyone happy in that region. But war is war. No matter how smart the bombs are, there will always be a civilian killed, no matter how hard we try. Although the military is a lot better than before. I hope this doesn't turn into World War 3. I wish Bush Sr. helped the people overthrow Saddam in the early '90s when they had their civil war so we wouldn't be doing this now. Save us alot of worry. my thoughts go out to everyone. God Bless
vote up1vote down
We've had WWIII, unfortunately, but it was called the cold war.
vote up1vote down
I totally agree with you, Pavlos!War just can't be the right way in any case at all. I can't believe that there's no other way to get rid of a criminal leader of a country than to bomb the country. It's horrible!Satu
vote up1vote down
At this point it's inescapable, but I do wish they'd go back to the older way, and let the leaders duel it out!
Y :)
vote up1vote down
Iraq & the importance of namesdoes anyone else find the name of the operation "Shock & Awe" offensive?not to mention operation "Iraqi Freedom." after we destroy their cities and kill their families, we will reward them with freedom.the politial double-speak turns my stomach in concert with the war itself.
vote up1vote down
Shock & Awe / Iraqi Freedom: An anagrammatic analysis [rated R]The Anagram Oracle reveals that these two expressions hide aspects of George Dubya's intellectual capacities, as well as of his onanistic inclinations:"Operation Iraqi Freedom"
=
Error! Idiot, me! IQ of an ape!"Shock and Awe"
=
A son whacked (i.e. Dubya Jr)
Wank, sod, ache
Chaos wanked
Shake own cad
Saw and choke
Chokes a wand
Choked a swan
Coda: He wanks
Shake own cad
Sack oen head
Hack one's wad
A wad's chokenMy apologies if I have offended anyone.Take it as comic relief, which is far less offensive than watching Mesopotamia burn on CNN...
vote up1vote down
Have you read Rudyard Kipling's poem, Mesopotamia...?That's pretty damn apt at the moment too, mostly the last three verses...Mesopotamia (1917)They shall not return to us, the resolute, the young,
The eager and whole-hearted whom we gave:
But the men who left them thriftily to die in their own dung,
Shall they come with years and honour to the grave?They shall not return to us, the strong men coldly slain
In sight of help denied from day to day:
But the men who edged their agonies and chid them in their pain,
Are they too strong and wise to put away?Our dead shall not return to us while Day and Night divide -
Never while the bars of sunset hold.
But the idle-minded overlings who quibbled while they died,
Shall they thrust for high employments as of old?Shall we only threaten and be angry for an hour?
When the storm is ended shall we find
How softly but how swiftly they have sidled back to power
By the favour and contrivance of their kind?Even while they soothe us, while they promise large amends,
Even while they make a show of fear,
Do they call upon their debtors, and take counsel with their friends,
To confirm and re-establish each career?Their lives cannot repay us - their death could not undo -
The shame that they have laid upon our race.
But the slothfulness that wasted and the arrogance that slew,
Shall we leave it unabated in its place?
By the way, you may be reading/hearing that anti-war protests have died down now that war has started; this certainly isn't true in the UK. Where I live in Wales, 700-800 people (in a town of 12,000) marched through the town on Saturday...
vote up1vote down
Woa, what a poem! Thanks, McMintyAirFreshener!
vote up1vote down
Thanks for the poem, Merriment MNIMN.
vote up1vote down
Most apt! :)
vote up1vote down
Long oppressed, now invaded, and soon to be further impoverished if their mad leader succeeds in his "scorched earth" policy of destroying Iraq’s remaining oil fields. There will be no wealth left for either the victor, or for the people of Iraq to whom it rightfully belongs.
vote up1vote down
I might be naive but I hope that this time, war does lead to freedom and peace for all those unfortunate people.God help us...~Magia~
vote up1vote down
Amen! Also, our thought should be on the brave men and women risking their lives in the support of freedom.I came across this "Adopt a Platoon" website, where you can be a pen-pal, send money, or send care packages to the soldiers.Check It Out! http://www.adoptaplatoon.org/My humble opinion. God Bless!
vote up1vote down
Also their families and friends.I know a few of the soldiers and sailors over there (from a different website), and they and their families need our support more than anything now. I don't agree with Dubbya, but the military personnel (sp?) don't have a say in what they do or where they go (unless they resign from the military.)I also feel horrible about those who have lost their lives doing what our countries' leaders have told them they had to do (especially since there's going to be a number of questions raised about the international legality of this war no matter what happens.)Here's my $.02. *ka-ching*
Phyllis (aka Sidhe Uaine or Gaia Euphoria)
vote up1vote down
I admit that I am a pacifist......and personally, my thoughts are going more to the people of Iraq who (unlike the soldiers) did not have the option to choose whether or not to go to war.
vote up1vote down