Rambling Thoughts on the Iraqi War

My Thoughts on the Iraqi War

by Nix Winter

This is just my thoughts. I've been studying history and I'm aware that a proper historian should use more formal language that I'm about to, use lots of foot notes to support what they're going to say. This is just an opinion piece. The opinion and experience I'm about to talk about is mine. 

You know what war sucks.

During the combat operations in Iraq, I lived in California, Michigan, and Washington. None of those places got hit by missiles. There were deaths by gunshot, but they were, as far as I know, done by Americans on other Americans. In those three states, where I was living, no human being died by having rocks thrown at them because they wanted to control their own sexuality, or were controlled by their own sexuality. Point of that thought is, no one killed anyone else by throwing rocks at them.

I don't think anyone got stoned in Iraq. Maybe fewer people got stoned in Afghanistan because we were there. 

I guess that matters to be me because throwing stones at someone until they die is a really stupid thing to do. 

For what it's worth, I think killing people in any way because of sexual passion and the acts that come from it, as long as they are between consenting adults, is a dumb fucking thing to do. 

War is bad. Sex is good. 

Back to the Iraqi War...

Now, I know this is going to seem unlikely, but when we were in the midst of "Shock and Awe" I was calling bullshit. Saddam Hussein was trying to comply with UN requests. He hauled those questionable missiles out and destroyed them. 

I wonder how it would have been different if we'd gone to him and said, "Look. We'll give you a house in Arizona. The climate is kinda similar. You get to keep your kids. You don't die, we'll give you couple million USD, and you let us have your country?"

Completely flippant and unreasonable speculation.

What we did was roll in a bunch of military, shoot a bunch of people (even if they were shooting at us first), fucked up a lot of infrastructure, created a refugee flood. The Kurds got what they wanted though, and I'm glad about that. I felt really bad for them in the Iran-Iraqi War.  Horrible things were said about what was happing to them during that war, at least in the church I was going to at the time.  That same church also ranted a lot about how the Soviets were oppressing the Christians in Afghanistan. Today... I want to know if there are many Christians in Afghanistan. I'm not very rational about it, but maybe the Tailiban stones them too.... 

If I had a choice between the Taliban and the Soviet Communists... I'll go with the Soviets, thought I'm pretty sure neither one of them would be okay with me.  I just can't see a pink haired, gender confused, intellectual historian and anarchist getting over real well in either system. I'd trust the Soviets to shot me or work me to death, not just throw stones at me.  It's a practical technology thing, I guess.

Obama is speaking on CNN.. I guess he was at Fort Brag today.  Iraq has an opportunity and America is more secure. 

Today is the day that major combat operations is over. 

Legal speak.

I love President Obama's legal speak. He's intelligent and articulate. I actually saw some commentator that he should speak in smaller sentences so people can understand him and his words won't get twisted around. 

Someone should have said that to the people who were writing the bible. 

*claps hands to face* 

I look back over the last decade and I just stand here in this moment in time.. going ... oh my god. 

In that case, god stands in for all that is valuable, sacred, and true. 

So many people have died. Our own country is deeply divided. 

I'm sure there are a lot of very religious people out there who fear people like me.  There are people who seriously believe that hate speech at dead soldier's funerals is an act of worship to their god. 

Shia and Sunni Muslims have killed the hell out of each other. 

A human being ruled by fear and driven  by a belief that they are right is a terrifying creature. 

What have I learned about life from the Iraq war? Where bombs have not fallen in my cities? 

I have learned that bombs have fallen in my cities. 

Bagdad is my city. 

People are my kin. 

Where ever you live in the world, I'm your sibling. 

My sibs, please... don't freaking kill people!

Don't be afraid. We're all in this together.

If we're going to have peace, we have to do it ourselves.

Nix