Will Barack Obama end the war in Iraq?

(should he get elected President, of course)

Inquiring minds would like to know

 

I think he will slowly send more troops back home but won't end the war over night.

 

My sentiments exactly. This "war" must end now.

 

Yea that would be the best

 

Yeah, I have my own opinions on this whole thing, and I've been trying to tell myself for the last five minutes to just shut this window down and not respond, but I just can't seem to keep my mouth shut. I still have images in my head of the Marine Corps Ball I attended in November of 2004, where my ex's Company had just returned from Iraq and were in Fallujah when everything started to go down there. I can't say that I've had any experience more sobering in my life than to be introduced to kids at 19, 20, 21 years of age whose injuries were so severe and smiles were so wide because they were simply thrilled to be alive. Some of it was downright cartoon like, I remember one kid who had survived a suicide car bomb attack, and his head literally looked like Wylie Coyote had dropped an Acme anvil from 50 feet above him. But I digress.

I think there are enough people on the "This 'war' is ridiculous, bring home the troops" train, so I'm on the "Do something about helping them not come home psycho" train.

(Be-you-tiful86, or anyone else with a friend or loved on in Iraq right now, I preface this by saying nothing is meant to scare, hurt, or offend you, and I don't know crap about the Air Force, except that there was a base in my hometown. I too have several friends who are still there.)

I heard the other day that the divorce rate in the Marine Corps right now for troops returning from Iraq is over 75%. 75 PERCENT. I spent seven years as a Marine Corps wife, and while I won't bore you with the details, I will suffice it to say that I supported him and his career, and put parts of my life on hold for reasons like "supporting the mission," and "for the better of the Corps," and my all time favorite, "Corps and mission first, family second." :vom:

I (obviously) ended up in that 75% statistic, but up until now, the Marine Corps has done little to nothing for those who return with things like PTSD and tendencies towards violence. I almost ended his career when I called the "I think my husband is crazy" hotline. I was seven months pregnant with our son, and apparently I turned the wrong way in bed one night, and in his sleep he jumped on top of me and my pregnant belly, got me in a choke hold, and started yelling at me in Arabic. Great experience. But since I almost got him kicked out of the Corps for one little phone call and an incident of which he has "no recollection", I shoved everything else under the rug, which only perpetuated his behavior after he got back the second time, and I finally left after six drama filled months.

He still has problems remembering things (God forbid he would actually admit that), and I'm quite positive that he's had some brain damage from things exploding right in front of him for a cumulative total of probably two and a half years.

And yes, the "resources" are there, but it's been my experience in observation if these Marines come back and actually admit they have a problem (unless half of their face has been blown off and reconstructed), they can count on not re-enlisting. (I don't know anything about the non-combat MOS's, but with those MOS's that are combat related, that's been what I've observed.) A weak Marine is a dead Marine, and you dare not let a Marine with PTSD or a Marine on Prozac carry a rifle, so don't let him be a Marine anymore. It's only been in the last few months that one of the biggest USMC bases in the US has been making strides towards putting in a department in the Naval Hospital on base to address such issues as brain injury and PTSD. Nevermind that a good portion of the guys and gals from the Corps who went over two, three times are already out of the Corps.

So I hope they fix THAT. Bring them home, obviously, but then make sure they're not all crazier than a bunch of shit house rats.

Sorry that was so long, little passionate on the issue. :wink:

 

I see what you mean. Especially for not married coupled of who 1 is in the military it is hard. Married coupled get more benefits but it is still not easy.
Many military spouses cheat when their partner is deployed in Iraq,Afghanistan or wherever for over a year.
And soldiers overseas find themselves in the situations that some women literally throw themselves at them.
Non-married soldiers cannot bring their partner with them when going overseas even if the country got housing area and all.Thats just for the married ones.
Plus a mission in a war country like Iraq definitely change those soldiers.
It even breaks some of them.

 

I’m against the war not only because it was started under false pretences, but because it has bankrupted this country, gas prices have sky-rocketed, our economy has dwindled, it has lost the lives of many U.S. soldiers, it has destroyed families, and it has severely divided this nation as a whole. Not to mention the fact that it has done a great deal to line the pockets of several of George W. Bush cronies and defense contractors alike.

I just want to have a ringside seat to see what happens to Bush on his judgment day. This is about as bad as all of the people who profited from the Nazis during the holocaust.

 

Thank you all for your thoughtful responses! I too, am opposed to the Iraq war.

While I look forward to a Barack Obama presidency (having a Black Man as a head of state in the US is very significant!), I am skeptical that he will be able to push for withdrawal. There are too many powerful interests (who buy off both political parties) who want this war to continue.

Even with a Democratic congress, there are too many conservative elements even on the Democratic side that continue to push for funding the war.

Perhaps I am just cynical?

 

No you’re not cynical at all. It just seems as if you are part of a group of people who are not afraid of change, and not afraid of progress. I’m a glass half-full type of person who tries to be optimistic even in the most troubling scenarios. So if we can come this far as a people then what’s wrong with wanting to a little bit farther?

I see it as if there were 400 years of slavery; there was a 401st year when it was over. It didn’t end when we wanted it to end, but it had to end in its own time and it took both black & white working together to make it happen. There was no one particular race that did more to abolish slavery, it was a 50/50 split.

Believe it or not, there were people both black & white that didn't want slavery to end. Some people are just not ready for change.

 

I remember scrolling through a Marine casualty list (yeah, I do odd things like that - i was curious to see where we were taking the most losses in Iraq) and seeing that multiple battalions, over a short period of time, took a nice chunk of their combat-related losses there. There have been other cities where Marines have fallen, but not many have been as deadly within such a short time span, as Fallujah. So yeah, I could understand why those guys would be happy to be back home in the states. I wouldn't wish fighting like that on anyone.

My uncle was in the Navy during our current wars, so i really wasn't worried about him and his shipmates. Our Navy hasn't had a real challenge since world war 2 (where we were losing just as many sailors, as we were losing army and marine guys).

 

And the blood of all of these U.S. soldiers woh have been lost in this "oil war" is on George W. Bush's hands.

How does he sleep at night?

 

in silk pajamas, under silk sheets, in an oversized bedroom, with plush carpet and pillows..

while everyone else sleeps in a foxhole, observation post, in a cot, in a tent, or in a sleeping bag..

go bush, go!

 

No he will not end the war, but that shouldn't be the responsibility of the United States.

He can pull our troops out though.

 

Turmoil may be a contributing factor, but the reason why you're paying $4+ for gas is because it's becoming progressively more difficult to extract oil from the ground.

http://www.theoildrum.com/

Peak oil is real.

 

Sorry, But I'm not buying it.

No sir, not at all.

 

-newsflash- the Saudis "just discovered" more oil in their backyard, and people are predicting increased oil production and lower prices..

read this on msnbc i think earlier today

:roll:

 

This is like in "Trading Places" where rich people are playing the stock-market except in real life they're bidding on oil, but only the average consumer pays the hefty tax.

We have a better chance of ending this "oil war" under Barack Obama than with John McBush. I'm a little bit more optimistic about the future than many of my peers I guess.

If only I were one of George Bush's Haliburton cronies. :roll:

 

Yes you are buying it at $4 a gallon no less, a price that you've never paid before.

 

Well it's good that you read, but oil remains a finite resource. That means that you can only pump so much of it out of the ground before it becomes increasingly more difficult to extract.

Don't get me wrong, human beings will still be pumping oil out of the ground 200 years from now. The problem arises when the supply no longer is able to equal the breadth of its demand.

Fact: The United States was the world's number one exporter of oil until it reached its peak of production in 1970. Is there still oil under U.S. land?

Yes.

Is it enough to economically meet the demand of its own domestic market?

No.

That is one micro level example of peak oil, now use it to extrapolate a scenario at the macro level.

 

Huh? :smt017