I am against war utterly and completely. I was certain that Iraq had no "weapons of mass destruction" right from the start. I was within walking distance of the twin towers on 9-11 and was as horrified as anyone. But I never felt that invading Iraq had anything at all to offer the situation. Now, though, it is clear to me that to have a complete withdrawal at this point would be disastrous. We have been responsible for the deaths of far too many innocent Iraqis to leave them now in such a state of chaos. We have a responsibility to help put their country back together. But there must be a draft. It is unfathomable to me that all the "red state" folks so in favor of this war are not enlisting to help. No one is sacrificing anything. People blithely drive around in their bloated SUVs and cheer on the war from their overstuffed couches, watching jingoistic propaganda on the television news. There MUST BE A DRAFT. And anyone who was for the war in the first place should be the first to go and fight it.
Ok, I will stop hyperventilating now.
About Me
- madabandon
- Brooklyn, New York, United States
- a musician/artist living in brooklyn with two l gray cats and an super-cute dog, writing about the trivial and the not-so-trivial, often sleep-deprived and benignly neurotic.
3 comments:
I agree with you that the pro-War need to take more responsibility, and stop the hypocrisy of not wanting their own children to serve. But a draft would punish those of us who are adamantly anti-War as well. I'm not sure that a draft is the answer - but understand your frustration.
You're right - withdrawal would be entirely unacceptable. You can't make a mess and not help to clean it up
The worst feature of the war on Iraq for me was the lies - especially on this side of the pond - that were told in order to effect it. I'd have preferred if Tony Blair had said, "Hey, that Saddam Hussein - not a nice chap. Me and my chum George are going to get rid of him." Instead, he banged on about (non-existent) weapons of mass destruction. We had the "sexed up" intelligence dossier, which contained the controversial 45-minute claim, which resulted in a bitter battle of spin between the BBC and the government, which, in turn, resulted in the suicide of a government weapon's inspector.
Introducing the draft would certainly politicise the issue in your country - in that, as you say, people who supported the war would then be directly affected by it. But, as Medusa pointed out, a draft would also punish the anti-war camp. It would be truly interesting to see the effects of a draft in this country. But Tony Blair's political career will be long dead and buried before that happens.
Post a Comment