McCain's Iraq Challenge

[AesSedai]

This is from my personal blog.  Go to http://shannonlstewart.blogspot.com for more. 

Barack Obama's campaign says he's considering a trip to Iraq this summer, though he's refused John McCain's invitation for a joint trip, calling it a "political stunt".

What does a trip to Iraq have to do with being President? Does John McCain really believe that one needs to be in Iraq to understand this endless war?

Because it doesn't seem to have helped him any.

For all John McCain's Iraq trips, he still doesn't understand that this war isn't doing anyone any good. We're not helping the Iraqis; we're making them angry. We're not helping the soldiers; they just want to come home. And we're certainly not helping America; we're just providing terrorists with new propaganda.

And after all those trips, John McCain still stands up in front of a crowd and says he will never surrender in Iraq. He goes on to say that our troops will come home victorious, with pride.

Does Sen. McCain truly believe that our troops have to win a war that should have never been started to have pride in themselves and their country? Because none of the troops I've known personally have felt that way. Not one. These men and women have more than enough to be proud of already, and I doubt that dying in a pointless war will increase that in any way. And speaking as a mother myself, I can guarentee you that their families would rather have their sons and daughters back than "pride", Senator.

I got a distinctly uncomfortable feeling watching these remarks. I kept thinking back to Sen. McCain's first run for President in 2000. And I remember seeing an interview with him during that campaign in which he talked about his time as a prisoner of war. He talked about how he'd been ashamed of not doing more and how he was concerned that his father would be disappointed in him. (His father being an Admiral and all) Fast forward eight years, and we have another unpopular war with no real plans for victory against a populace that seems content to run a resistance movement forever fought by soldiers who don't really want to be there. This time it's stop loss instead of a draft, but the effect is the same.

And now John McCain is talking about leaving with victory and pride. For who, Senator? The soldiers you're supposed to be fighting for? Or yourself?

This war was started by a President who wanted to prove to the world that he was just as good as his father. Do we want to continue it because yet another President has Daddy issues?

This isn't Vietnam, Senator. It's Iraq, worlds away from southeast Asia despite the situational similarities. And to insist that people on both sides keep dying so that you can work on your personal issues, is not only unfair but it's borderline sociopathic.

Might I suggest some therapy instead? Or that you fight this damn war yourself? Or that you just let it go and stop punishing the entire country for your personal trauma? Or all of the above?

[dreamer_8568]

May. 29, 2008 at 1:03 PM i agree....i have a few good friends that are soldiers and they are proud of themselves but that doesnt mean they necessarily agree with the war...

[AesSedai]

May. 29, 2008 at 1:11 PM No, because they've served their country honorably.  that's something to be proud of.  winning a war that shouldn't have been started?  Not so much

(Original Poster)