Aja,
Steve wrote in re. your query as to whether this site is mostly Pro or Anti-war:
Quote:Mostly anti.
There are one or two "pro" (if anyone can be said to be in favour of war), but their forces are depleted somewhat right now.
It certainly seems that the anti-war crowd predominates. They are loud and often outrageous in their claims and doomsday predictions.
Those who support the necessity for this conflict are not so vocal. There are half a dozen, or so of us who have never lost faith in our troops. We are confident that the war is being managed professionally and in a manner that keeps casualties to a minimum. It really isn't necessary for us to challenge those who would rather believe enemy propaganda, because the actual battle for Iraq speaks far better than we possibly could. What is the picture emerging from chaos of war? It is that Saddam did secretly retain prohibited missiles, and prepared his troops for operation in a chemical/biological environment. It is that Saddam adopted a strategy that is in clear violation of international law and the Rules of War. The Ba'ath Regime is again revealed as a brutal and despotic organization with absolutely no concern for civilian life, or for the religion they now claim to defend. The best of the Iraqi military forces have shown, so far, that they are incapable of standing against coalition forces. The irregular, and criminal, tactics used by Saddam loyalists has been generally ineffective, though they have greatly retarded the willingness of the average Iraqi to rise against their Masters. The coalition air strikes have pounded and destroyed at will the enemy's CCC+I capabilities in the heart of a modern city with remarkably few civilian casualties. Today we hear that the Baghdad and Medina Divisions have lost their combat effectiveness, and that our troops approach the outskirts of Baghdad. This is a time of maximum risk that Saddam will utilize chemical/biological weapons, and we watch with interest to see what the short-term outcome will be.
I've said several times that this would be a short war with minimal casualties. Every indication is that those predictions were correct, but I do not gloat. Every death and every wounded person is in some measure a loss and failure. Great suffering always accompanies combat, and this war is no different in that respect from those waged a thousand years ago. There will be a period following the victory where chaos will still reign, but that period will also I think be relatively brief. Our conduct of this war has not significantly destroyed the infrastructure of the nation, and the civilian population should be able to resume their normal lives rather quickly. The de-nazification of the country will be a challenge, but I think we are capable of it.
Much of the anti-war rhetoric in this country, it seems to me, comes from the highly polarized nature of American partisan politics. Many of the most vocal anti-war postings here are by folks who believe that the President of the United States won the White House unfairly, that he is at the same time both barely an idiot and a clever schemer at the heart of a monstrous conspiracy to subvert the Constitution, and that any on supporting the administration is dreaming of world conquest. It has been said here that Bush is the worst despot since before Ghengis Khan, and that he is the anti-Christ. Others have claimed that the President is conducting a religious war to impose fundamental Christianity on the whole world. One poster said that they would rather lose 1000 American lives in removing the President of the United States from office than a similar number of American lives lost in Iraq. They all claim to be patriotic Americans.
The second group of anti-war people are not U.S. citizens, and some of them are even more virulent in their anti-American statements. Frolic, who appears to be either French or Belgian, is a mouthpiece for Al-Jazeera. There are several living in London and Canada who are quite outspoken in their beliefs that this conflict is morally, legally, and ethically wrong. Many also have predicted a war lasting years, huge casualties among the troops, hundreds of thousands (if not millions) civilian casualties, and destabilization of the world.
Both American and foreign anti-war forces cling desperately to any negative report about the war, and deny every positive report coming from the field, coalition command, or from coalition governments. They seem to prefer bad news to the good news that this war is going extremely well and the future appears bright.
