16 Years of War With No End In Sight
The war in Iraq has been ongoing for more than a decade now.
It's caused an unconscionable amount of damage to consider.
There's been incredible damage inflicted to housing, the environment, and infrastructure.
“There were no international terrorists in Iraq until we went in. It was we who gave the perfect conditions in which Al Qaeda could thrive. - Robin Cook, former UK foreign secretary”
After more than a decade, all of that which has been lost has been a tremendous price to pay and we should reflect on what exactly we've gotten in return for that investment. Just this year, the US saw what was described by the media as being one of the biggest terror attacks to take place since Sept 11th.
The American people were sold on this war of aggression under the promise that we would be fighting them overseas so that the problem didn't come home to our own doorstep. The problem, as the media and our officials would have us believe, hasn't been contained overseas. It's now causing issues at home.
And the American people have paid the price with their own lives in fighting this conflict for more than a decade now, as well as paying the price literally through taxes for the conflict overall. As a thank you from their lawmakers, officials here at home and elsewhere have decided to work to erode the personal liberty of the people, with moves for increased spying, further militarization of police, and more.
Just as the war on drugs has gone on for far too long, this war as well has caused much more harm than good and there is no justified reason to continue with it. Even former President Bush himself has admitted that the world would be better off if the US did adjust its disastrous foreign policy and did decide to just go back home.
While troops have been trying to carry out their orders overseas, you would hope that they would engage in their duties in a professional manner. However, on many occasions we've seen the opposite and seen the actions of various military members and others involved in the conflict, engage in activities that bring the reputation of the organization into disrepute. It's no surprise that many veterans themselves have called for an end to the war. And it isn't only in the US, people elsewhere are fed up with the war as well.
Just this week, a court in the UK ruled that the British army had violated Geneva conventions by engaging in inhuman and degrading treatment of innocent civilians from Iraq. This included things like sleep deprivation, sensory deprivation, beatings, and more. And this isn't the first time that the Ministry of Defence has had to settle legal battles regarding UK military activities in Iraq.
For the US too, a variety of service members have been found guilty of horrendous acts that they allegedly committed in Iraq. There have been some pretty damning photos and video footage that has been released over the years that have no doubt changed how some view this and other wars of aggression in this ongoing battle against terror.
Will the US ever call it quits on the conflict in Iraq? Or will this be just one more country that they decide to never leave? After a decade of effort, the mission now reads more like a stain than any sort of accomplishment. It hasn't worked out in multiple ways and the American people can only wonder when lawmakers might decide to finally quit.
Pics:
Pixabay
via Wikipedia
Adam Zygus via Buffalo News
Mike Keefe via The Denver Post
Sources:
https://www.nytimes.com/2016/07/08/opinion/iraq-war-lies-13-years-later.html
https://www.vox.com/2016/7/9/12123022/george-w-bush-lies-iraq-war
http://money.cnn.com/2017/08/21/news/economy/war-costs-afghanistan/index.html
https://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2017/dec/15/british-soldiers-iraq-war-fiasco-iraqi-civilians-tony-blair
http://www.newsweek.com/us-military-lost-track-1-billion-worth-weapons-and-equipment-report-614391
https://www.huffingtonpost.com/entry/americas-wars_us_5a394cefe4b0fc99878f2906
http://www.huffingtonpost.ca/entry/bradley-manning-leaks_n_3788126
http://www.nytimes.com/2009/04/16/world/middleeast/16sergeant.html
https://www.indy100.com/article/everyone-should-listen-again-to-robin-cooks-resignation-speech-over-the-iraq-war--WJe4kxLv8BW
Related Posts:
My, How The War On Terror Has Failed
https://steemit.com/writing/@doitvoluntarily/my-how-the-war-on-terror-has-failed
New Report Suggests Anti-Terror Efforts More Concerned With Enriching Contractors Than Thwarting Terrorism
A Push For Alternative Treatments To Deal With PTSD
https://steemit.com/ptsd/@doitvoluntarily/a-push-for-alternative-treatments-to-deal-with-ptsd
This is what happens when the populace becomes obedient & compliant tax payers. None of these idiotic wars would be possible without the willful compliance and ignorance of the taxpayer.
The compliant population, yes, but where does the money come from? Four years after the FED was created WWI started. The rest is very bloody history.
Nice post guys
We hope that ini the future, there are not war, because that's Terrible for human and can effect to the world
May peace always
the amount of human casualties is un acceptable and most of them are women and children
Wars should not exist, they do not do good to anyone, only those who lived in a country at war can understand what I say, our people suffered a lot in the war that kept my country in Argentina, with Great Britain, the South Atlantic conflict It was the worst thing that could happen to my country, shameful acts that our governors assumed.
thank you very much dear friend @doitvoluntarily for remembering this story
I wish you a great day
wars only benefit the weapons manufacturers and the corrupt officials , the rest suffer a great deal
Such an insightful post. I'm a Marine, combat-vet of Afghanistan. I look back on that experience, and wonder what it accomplished. I remember being on a patrol. We sat with a village elder, drinking chai tea. He said something to us that still sticks with me today. He told us, that after we left, the Taliban would remain. Because that was their home, not ours. And this was his answer when asked why he wouldn't help us. I couldn't help but agree. When we were there, we were nothing more than glorified police. The locals didn't want much to do with us. We were down in Helmand, close to Pakistan, and life there still beats to an ancient heart. And that's the way they like it. These wars have done nothing but made private firms rich, and politicians even richer. The area, Trek-Nawa, where we'd pushed out large elements of the Taliban, recently fell back into their hands. All that wasted effort. All the tax money wasted. And let's not forget about the incredible amount of trash and garbage that's being left behind...
thank you for checking it out and for sharing about your experiences there, i see you are new to steemit so welcome! :) followed !
Thank you! So far, this community has been great. A breath of fresh digital air. A place where meaningful content and meaningful dialogue can happen!
Afghanistan too! The "War on Terror" longest war in US history. BTW, whatever happened to the anti-war people?
good ques!
I was also thinking about Afghan war. These 2 wars create new wars in other countries. Now dozens of countries are on fire. What did world achieve through these wars? First there was AQ in Afghanistan & now there are a lot of AQ franchises in Muslim countries. These wars also create new global terror force, ISIS. Believe me that majority of Muslims didn't know about AQ & ISIS, then media presents these groups & wars made them (& their ideology) more strong & acceptable in Muslim masses.
That first cartoon is dead right @doitvoluntarily. Excuse the pun.
Well, at least we found all those WMD’s.
Oh, wait.
Never mind.
I am an Iraq Veteran, I was in country from 2004-2005 and participated in the battle to retake Fallujah, I was only 19 at the time and truly thought we were making the world a better place. Many years later, with the collapse of the Iraqi military and the rise of ISIS I felt like how I feel most Vietnam veterans felt… What was the point?
Of the approximately 130 men and women I have served with 4 have already committed suicide and another died young of a heart attack. While we know more and treatment for PTSD has improved, the stigma surrounding it still acts like a barrier for those that need help to seek it, until it is to late…
In college, in an interesting turn of events my lab partner in one of my classes was an Iraqi who had lived in a small town called Habbaniyah not far from where was stationed in Taqaddum before Phantom Fury started. We made small take and eventually became comfortable enough to take about the war. I asked her if she felt that her country was better off after the invasion. The short answer was no… While they were initially hopeful, greed and corruption set in and left the vacuum that gave rise to ISIS, and she felt they ultimately made things less safe than they were under the Saddam regime.
I agree completely!
"One Day, there'll be no more war and our children will play. One Day."