Moving America Forward?

There is a California organization that thinks it can "prove" why we went to Iraq. They believe the same rhetoric even our President hasn't repeated very often lately:

**LIE #1: That Saddam killed his own people sorry -
the Truth: KURDS are not his people. He committed crimes against another ethnic group. )

**LIE #2: Saddam and Bin Laden were good pals
the Truth:When Iraq under Saddam Hussein ordered a military invasion of Kuwait on August 2, 1990, Bin Laden called for jihad against Saddam and asked the Saudi government for permission to send jihadists to protect the country and help liberate Kuwait.

**Lie #3: Those killed by our military and coalition forces are all terrorists:
the Truth: Apart from the children and families we accidentally murder( I will not discuss my experiences now) - MOST of the problems in Iraq are due to ethnic and tribal tensions that have been in existence for centuries. These tensions often lead to prolonged periods of violence and will most likely culminate in a civil war if we leave Iraq ( or occur while we are there). Those killed are not terrorists to America - but to "their own people" - or those of other ethnic or tribal backgrounds.

**Deception: "the terrorists know they can not defeat our military -- they can only win by beating down the morale of the American people."
the Truth: While I agree that the terrorists going head-on-head against our military would not survive - it is also ridiculous to think they will do this.

Our military cannot "root out the terrorists" - even with billions of dollars thrown at them. The military fights conventional wars - it is not smart enough to get all the terrorists - unless we want a "thought police" and a neverending spy campaign on all civilians. To me this war on terror brings these ideas into the acceptable realm of government activities.

And apart from the ads - let's dig into the administration a little with regards to terrorists:
"We do not negotiate with terrorists. We put them out of business," said White House spokesman Scott McClellan.

I was in Iraq when Mr. McClellan made this statement - while we were dealing with terrorists - supposedly "negotiating" with them. This business of not doing so is utter crap. We deal with terrorists if our government thinks they are of future value (i.e. war with Iran). If they are not of value - we lock them up until they are freed or actually proven to be enemies of America.

And even if these groups are "put out of business" - do we really need a "graceful degredation" of an organization over 30 years while giving them all the support and protection that they need? To me it is pathetic and a waste of resources. But that is what is happening.

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The truth is always more complex than the simple arguments used in debates. Nothing is simple. The war isn't solely about oil - nor has it nothing to do with terrorism. It has parts of each - and it seems that only looking back on this war 30 years from now will we be able to see it for what it truly is.

I believe this moment in time is critical to the future of humanity. We can either use Iraq as a stepping stone to a World War over Oil - or we can change our violent and consumption mentalities and create a better world. I truly think we will blow this opportunity for the future of Earth - which is fine because those who have learned this lesson most likely will not be reborn here again ( unless they choose to learn another lesson here).

Earth isn't here to become a utopia - the Garden of Eden will never be on Earth - assuming it ever was . Those on Earth are destined to continue making the same mistakes over and over until we realize certain truths - like preventing horrible things from happening instead of letting the. There is a reason history repeats itself: those who have learned from it do not stay around for long. The lesson being learned they move onto another world - be it "better" or not.