Balls and Walnuts
more than you ever wanted to know
What will it take?
Bush’s poll numbers on Iraq have spiraled down inexorably. In particular, the recent deaths of 14 Marines from a powerful roadside bomb have eroded public support of the Iraq War.
Like the Tet Offensive in Vietnam, huge explosions and casualties can change U.S. policy. If there are successful bombings and mass casualties, the war will become more and more unpopular. Bush will be forced to change course in Iraq.
Does that mean I want to see Americans die in battle? No. I’ve seen the photos that the mainstream media will not publish. I know what an IED will do to arms, legs, and faces, the areas unprotected by body armor. But, I wonder if anything less than widespread public outrage will stop the delusions of Bush, Cheney, Rumsfeld and the rest of the neocons.
The general public won’t pay attention if there aren’t spectacular killings. Remember when the death of one soldier would be prominently displayed in the news? Would that even get reported today? If U.S. soldiers and Marines die at the rate of 1-2 per day, the war will just keep on going indefinitely. How long until it goes past 2,000, past 3,000, past how many more until it ends?
How many Iraqi civilians will die? How many children will suffer the agonizing brutality of war?
How many of our civil rights will go down the toilet? What will happen to our economy? Will al Qaeda strike in the U.S.? Bush is creating huge numbers of guerrilla fighters with extensive experience in bomb making and urban warfare. It isn’t very hard to attack a subway system or a crowded mall.
Must it take some spectacularly awful atrocity to end Bush’s idiocy in Iraq? I hope very, very much this will not happen, but I fear for the worst.
You know what really gets me lately? I’m losing sleep over it–but Bush, Cheney, Rummy, and Wolfie aren’t.
Jeff
I spent a lot of time writing and re-writing this blog, trying to make my position clear. The ONLY way to change the course of the war is a disastrous event for U.S. soldiers? From a moral perspective, is that what one should hope to see?
There’s nothing but nasty outcomes as far as I can see.
I think we need to pray for miracles.