Conflicting Convictions:

Misunderstanding Reasoning in a Time of War

 Kevin L. Mayer, co-news editor

There have always been conflicts throughout human history.

It is who begins and who ends the conflict, that gets discussed the most. However, during a conflict, all that can be heard is the complaining.

Remember the Vietnam War? I know, it was not a war; we actually never declared war. It was classified as a conflict, just like Korea was in the 1950s. But most refer to Vietnam as a war. Now, it is a fact that public opinion began in favor of the incident under President John F. Kennedy. The problem then became the reason to be there, and the reason to be at war. We do not need to go into detail about the problems, concerns, or theories regarding either of these conflicts, just that it is a reference point for a conflict occurring today.

Some may know my political views, as I am a conservative. However, I am not one who just walks the party line. President George W. Bush did pull a bait-and-switch with the American people. This does not mean I loose faith in the president or the office. I am unaware at this point if his spin was intentional. There are those who think the president is an idiot, and if that were true, then he could not have done it intentionally. However, many fell for the switch.

Saddam Hussein and Osama Bin Laden are two separate, different people. On the other hand, they were working together. The evidence shows their organizations did and are still working together, but the individuals may not have. There is a mound of evidence to prove this. It comes down to whether one is a cynic or a skeptic. A skeptic is one who does not believe; a cynic does not want to believe, no matter the evidence he or she is shown.

The world has been thrust into a holy war of unimaginable magnitude. We are seeing the possible beginnings of a third world war. Some say that Bush started this war, while those who are in charge of our nation’s national defense know the truth. There are radical religious fanatics out there. Most of these crazed nut jobs hate and want to destroy America. Why? Simply because America is the only country on top, the lone super-power. Who would not want to take out an undefeated champion? To bring in a sports analogy, the world champion Pittsburg Steelers will face extremely tough games next season, not because they have a difficult schedule, but simply just for the fact that every team wants to beat the champs. This is what we are seeing around the world.

Another concept to take into account is our political system. We have many political parties in our government, but only two major parties. The world sees this. At times, we are perceived as two-faced, which is understandable, but should not happen.

Being a student of history, I understand why there is currently a holy war occurring across the globe. It simply comes back to Israel. Why did Saddam Hussein attack his neighbors? So he could get oil to pay for his war against Iran and Israel. Why was he building a nuclear facility in the 1980s? He hated Israel. What does Osama Bin Laden’s message always come down to? The end and destruction of the great Satan, America, and little Satan, Israel. At the United Nations what country does the Arab Coalition continue to sanction and pass resolutions against? Israel. Just for reference, why was there a World War II? That’s right, the Nazis wanted to further the Arian race and exterminate all the Jewish people.

There is much more that could be said. However, many have said it before. As I said before, are you a cynic or a skeptic? Because it might not matter what evidence I have or what I say. We attacked Iraq because they violated 13 United Nations Resolutions that they agreed to after they lost a war. It is like saying, “do not cross this line,” and you draw a line. Then they cross the line, and you draw another line, saying, “OK, now, do not cross this one,” and so on.

Where does it end? The U.S. is the only country with enough backbone to stand up and say, no, that is wrong. You must stop killing and oppressing innocent people. The rest of the nations in the U.N. are too busy taking bribes, payoffs, and seeking deals to care about issues that the U.N. itself was created to stop.

Just because we leave a war zone and pull out does not mean the mission will result in success. A successful mission on the ground in Iraq will occur. We will leave, once the total objective has been achieved. The top military advisors have said over and over, “…as the Iraqi soldiers stand up – we will stand down.”

Day by day, the U.S. is able to send troops home that are stationed in Iraq. This is a tremendous accomplishment considering many never thought we would take the country as fast as we did, while others preached of high-end casualties and fatalities.

As mentioned when I began, all that can be heard is the complaining. Where is the talk of the free women or the first elections since Saddam took over? Let's talk about the children being able to go to school instead of to Saddam's military boot camp. These are issues that should be discussed and looked at. By the end of January, there were a little more than 140,000 U.S. soldiers stationed in Iraq, and the number continues to decline.