Fighting in the war flipped Daniel's political beliefs. "I came back very anti-Bush. I used to be a Republican before I joined the military. Not any more." His experiences on the ground, he says, convinced him he'd been lied to. The Iraqis "are a defeated people," he says, not a threat to America. "It's a third-world country. These people walk around with no shoes, nothing. These guys are working for a dollar a day. The military would pay the village people to come on base and build sandbags so that they can be more comfortable in their tents and pay them a dollar a day, and these guys will work making seven dollars a week just to feed their family."
Watching the construction of permanent barracks on bases in Iraq convinced Daniel that the real goal of the war was control. "Iraq is the center of the Middle East. If you control the center, you control the whole Middle East. You control all the profits that you get from there," he says about the oil reserves.
2006-06-15
The Marine Who Saw Too Much
A former lance corporal explains why he intentionally failed a drug test to avoid going back to war-torn Iraq.
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3 comments:
I consider this a valid, compelling, and sensible commentary. I remain less than 100% convinced that the Iraq & Afgahni invasions represented the best possible reactions, and even less convinced of the decision to "nation-build" afterwards. I am especially doubtful that invasions comprised the least-possible amounts of destruction, and that the nation-building has involved the exemplary efficiencies and ethics.
However, my survey of history gives me hope that these imperfect invasions and nation-building efforts may result in a great lurch forward for civilization and humanity. But some facts do indeed discourage me, and pull down my hopes.
Invasions and nation-building are both big-government operations, and I have become convinced that usually big-government operations are the worst kind. Certainly I oppose the big-govt responsed called Homeland Security and Patriot Acts.
Whereas I should consider the soldiers whose Iraq experiances disenhearten them and cause them to resist further service, Nadir should consider the soldiers whose Iraq experiances hearten them, and compel them to re-up.
Paul said: "Whereas I should consider the soldiers whose Iraq experiances disenhearten them and cause them to resist further service, Nadir should consider the soldiers whose Iraq experiances hearten them, and compel them to re-up."
Precisely.
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