The Saga Continues...

I apologize in advance if this blog is rambling, it's been a long day.
Good news is that I've made it to the main doctor again... bad news is the doc I need to see is booked up for a couple of weeks.

Now I'll get to the point- Senator Chuck Hagel today said that a US draft may be unavoidable if the war in Iraq continues.

I feel that if the war had not been mismanaged in the first place, this wouldn't even have to be considered. If you remember, we went to war on the promise of finding WMD's in Iraq, and NONE were ever found. Later, the reasons became the "War on Terrorism" and "Fighting the Global Axis of Evil." Now don't get me wrong, Saddam Hussein was a nasty guy... but look at the lives (civilian and military) that have been lost for a war that the basis for was fictitious. Wouldn't it have made more sense to send in a Special Forces team to take him out, or even try and negotiate with him? Pres. Bush says that the US doesn't negotiate with terrorists. If you don't negotiate with the people that you fear, you become overwhelmed by the fear itself. The old saying, "Keep your friends close, but your enemies closer," carries real weight. In my experience, it will more often be your friend that stabs you in the back, and not your enemy.

If we continue this pattern of invading and avoiding people that we don't agree with, nothing will be gained and so much will be lost. Last spring, I spent an amazing and eye opening day with kids from military families and several service members that have been in Iraq. The kids don't understand why their family members are sent to a war that they see is pointless. The service members called Iraq, "A disastrous bloodbath."

I ask you, what have we gained with this war other than destroying lives and international relations? Access to one of the world's top oil suppliers so that the oil companies won't have to pay as much?

At what price of lives, American, Iraqi and Afghan, does it become too much? Ten Thousand? A Hundred Thousand? Would we accept the civilian deaths that we are now accepting in these wars if they were happening in the United States?

What world are we leaving our next generation?