1. What are the blogger’s deepest fears about the U.S. military presence in Iraq?
2. What American dilemma do we see in the first paragraph? Winning is losing. It’s a lose-lose situation. There was no post-war plan so in effect the war has never stopped.
3. What moral dilemma does the blogger describe in the second paragraph? He’s in effect warring on civilians. See pages 26 and 27 in which his major and other American soldiers hate all Iraqis.
4. What does the blogger mean in paragraph 3 when he calls humanity an “oxymoron”?
5. What is the futility, both in Iraq and as history shows us, of urban warfare? See the humanitarian crisis described on page 24. Consider how the “monsters” can’t be identified until it’s too late on page 26. Children are killed during raids, human shields, etc.
6. What extremes of human reaction does the blogger describe on page 23?
7. Based on the traumas described, what kind of psychological and psychiatric crises will affect the soldiers if and when they return to the United States? Are there appropriate treatments and accommodations for them? Consider the nightmares described on page 25. (research paper topic)
8. Describe the blogger’s empathy on page 25. He does not blame the Iraqis for hating him for he would hate also if the situation were reversed.
9. What evidence is there that war atrocities, mindlessly killing civilians, has become a daily part of the American presence in Iraq? See page 27.
10. How does the blogger suggest that American civilians, living in their relative comfort, are too willfully ignorant and too self-absorbed to care about America’s catastrophe in Iraq? See page 27.
11. How do the soldiers transform into misfits on page 27?
12. What is the struggle and responsibility of an American soldier? See page 28.
1A Class Notes: The Ten Reasons the U.S. Invasion of Iraq is Futile So That Staying Or Leaving is a “Lose-Lose”
1. Urban warfare means killing innocent civilians resulting in adding to our enemies’ list.
2. Urban warfare creates nihilism (a breakdown of psychic barriers and insanity) in U.S. soldiers so that we look like “invaders” and “barbarians,” which in turn is fodder for Al Qaeda and jihadist recruitment.
3. Sectarian, tribalistic, and religious violence cannot acquiesce to American notions of “democracy” so that in staying in Iraq American soldiers will suffer a “slow bleed,” lives being lost like a leaky tap faucet.
4. On the other hand, if U.S. soldiers leave, we will have a genocidal bloodbath on our hands.
5. What we need is a multi-nation political solution but because the U.S. invaded and behaved unilaterally there is no multi-national political support or trust.
6. Insurgent activities, including IEDs (improvised explosive devices), in Iraq against the United States military have provided invaluable training for Al Qaeda and jihadists as they hone and improve their operations.
7. There was no post-war plan to address the crises that we are now seeing.
8. For all the talk about caring about our troops, our government does not send the necessary safeguards (armored Humvees, for example) for our military personnel.
9. The United States cannot impede Iran from causing havoc in Iraq since U.S. has its hands tied militarily.
10. World-wide scorn and defiance against United States pleas for cooperation results from Bush’s use of false reasons as a pretense for going to war. This lack of goodwill puts the burden on us so that, whether we leave or stay, Iraq remains a bottomless pit of volatility that will bleed our country dry.
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