The death toll for American soldier casualties in Iraq and Afghanistan has just reached 2,000. Sadly, the number will surpass 2,000, and there is no clear answer as to when this number will cease growing.
2,000 mothers, fathers, sisters, brothers, sons and daughters have been lost, yet the insurgency aggressively continues.
We have heard a plethora of different deadlines referring to when our troops will be sent home. Few of these deadlines have been met thus far, and the soldiers that do find a way home quickly are requested back into combat.
America has shown its doubt in the war in Iraq through different actions. Some actions are more outspoken, like anti-war protests, while other actions like below-quota recruitment numbers are not as loud, but equally painful.
Some opinions claim that American soldiers will have a presence in Iraq for the next 10 years. Such a long period surely causes pain in the hearts of the American people watching their loved ones being attacked on a daily basis. It hurts to imagine how many lives potentially could be lost if our troops were to stay for another 10 years.
At home in America, it is emotionally painful to watch the concern of a parent with a son or daughter fighting in Iraq. An empty hole remains in their hearts that will only be filled when their babies return home. Even if one may justify these emotions as part of the nature of war, the cause of this conflict has undoubtedly created controversy in the United States.
From the unsuccessful hunt for Osama bin Laden to our failure to find weapons of mass destruction, faith in our leadership has weakened since the attacks of Sept. 11, 2001. President Bush portrays himself as a confident figure with a clear message, but this message has been altered slightly on repeated occasions since 2001 to become something very different.
The one constant emotion throughout this war, however, has been the support of our troops. Although the Bush administration firmly denies the war in Iraq’s resemblance to the Vietnam War, the American public is not able to avoid contemplating such a thought. One thing for certain is that the American people must never look down upon its troops again.
Leadership in Iraq has been elected, a constitution has been drawn-up and Iraqi soldiers continue to be trained. These are all positive strides occurring in Iraq, even if they are highly criticized.
The troubling aspect is that for every positive action that takes place, just as many, if not more, negative offenses arise.
Whether or not the insurgency is too strong and if we will be able to overcome the terrorist attacks is a frightening thought that has entered the minds of the American people. This war has been quite different from the first war in Iraq, Operation Desert Storm, where American troops steamrolled Saddam Hussein’s regime.
The war we are involved in at the present is not just a war with Iraqi insurgents, but also recruited terrorists from all different sections of the Muslim world. The difficulty of defeating such an unknown enemy potentially could be devastating to American troops. We are at 2,000 soldier casualties right now. The cause of action for the United States must be clarified and justified with the American people before the casualties continue any further.
What is meant by this statement is that there are still many skeptical opinions concerning the motives of the United States’ involvement in the war. For example, many people still believe we are in Iraq for one reason: oil. Therefore, the leadership of our country should deliver the truth to the American people because they are the ones sacrificing their lives for the questionable cause.
Posted to the web by Shane Evans
