Thursday, June 12, 2014

The collapse of Iraq

I don't have any great thoughts. I'm deeply, deeply sad.

In case you missed it: extremist jihadists have seized several cities in Iraq; the national army appears to be fleeing and disintegrating. The Kurds -- who control the north -- are taking more territory. They seem -- from my poor vantage-point -- to be stable and sensible. The much-suffering Christians are fleeing there (they have no where else to go, but to martyrdom). The Iranians are moving in to gobble up things.

So many of our fellow Americans -- along with so many of our allies -- sacrificed so d*** much for a stable and free Iraq! So many men and women without arms and legs, with their faces disfigured, so many with minds and souls tortured from their experiences. So much was invested. So many fought so hard.

And a couple of years ago, against all odds, they seemed to have done it. So many here gave up on them. But they put it all on the line, at the behest of their nation. They did everything that was asked of them, however impossible. It looked like they did it.

The people of Iraq had suffered so much, and finally, it seemed, they'd reached a hopeful point.

And now, it's all going down the drain.

I was against this war; but once in, I thought (and I stand by this) that we should seek to win if we can. We had to make it work if we could.

One Vietnam was more than enough.

Again: nothing but profound sadness today.

3 comments:

Shouting Thomas said...

I don't think that there is a way to "make it work."

Some problems cannot be solved. We Americans tend to believe otherwise. I think we are incapable of understanding the mindset we're up against in the Jihadis.

My thoughts on this subject.

Deacon David Oatney said...

That war was a waste of energy and of American manpower upon a people who did not appreciate it.

Fr Martin Fox said...

David:

I don't agree with part of what you said: "people who did not appreciate it."

My impression is that lots of Iraqis did appreciate what Americans did for them. But, as so often is the case, they don't call the shots.