2008 Woodie Awards
The glory and the reality of war
Joe Caporoso
Issue date: 4/5/07 Section: Op/Ed
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War is a complicated matter. As a nation, we are constantly being reminded of this harsh reality. As debates in both houses of Congress rage on to decide how to handle the upcoming years in Iraq, President Bush pushes for America to stay the course, and a host of Presidential candidates for 2008 articulate their viewpoints on the topic. Outside of the politicians, citizens constantly debate on what should be our next move. Families of those troops overseas worry and pray for the safety of their loved ones.
War starts out so seemingly simple. Something bad happens and then an angry nation rallies behind its flag and leader to take care of business. Protests fall onto deaf ears and a frenzied rush of support floods into whatever our President suggests. The unity present in our country is something of which to be proud. No nation could ever survive without patriotism. Yet, over the course of time, unless the cause for war is just and is executed in the most effective manner possible, the reality of its associated complications set in.
Hindsight is always 20/20, but in the case of the war in Iraq, there should have been some early indicators of problems we would face. Overthrowing Sadaam Hussein and taking over Baghdad were celebrated as "mission accomplished," vindicating the decision to invade Iraq. Yet, this should have been expected. Iraq is a third-world country, and it should not have surprised anyone that the most powerful country in the world could overpower its military and track down its leader. Nevermind the question of why we were invading Iraq, since they weren't responsible for the war's rallying cry, September 11th; they never possessed any weapons that were any threat to us either.
So, we topple Iraq's standing government, which is a very uncomplicated thing to do. What do you do, however, with the mess after you break something? That is where complications set in, and why we have found ourselves between a rock and a hard place. No exit strategy and no understanding of the infrastructure of Iraq make leaving awfully hard.
War starts out so seemingly simple. Something bad happens and then an angry nation rallies behind its flag and leader to take care of business. Protests fall onto deaf ears and a frenzied rush of support floods into whatever our President suggests. The unity present in our country is something of which to be proud. No nation could ever survive without patriotism. Yet, over the course of time, unless the cause for war is just and is executed in the most effective manner possible, the reality of its associated complications set in.
Hindsight is always 20/20, but in the case of the war in Iraq, there should have been some early indicators of problems we would face. Overthrowing Sadaam Hussein and taking over Baghdad were celebrated as "mission accomplished," vindicating the decision to invade Iraq. Yet, this should have been expected. Iraq is a third-world country, and it should not have surprised anyone that the most powerful country in the world could overpower its military and track down its leader. Nevermind the question of why we were invading Iraq, since they weren't responsible for the war's rallying cry, September 11th; they never possessed any weapons that were any threat to us either.
So, we topple Iraq's standing government, which is a very uncomplicated thing to do. What do you do, however, with the mess after you break something? That is where complications set in, and why we have found ourselves between a rock and a hard place. No exit strategy and no understanding of the infrastructure of Iraq make leaving awfully hard.