Remember that war? Whatever happened to that? I heard a lot of people died. I also heard that there was no end in sight. I don't seem to hear about that war at all anymore. I remember promises of it coming to an end, even talk of a troop withdrawal. But I don't think the war ended. Still, I can't seem to find anything about it anymore.
Occasionally on the news I see stories about more deaths, more bombings, and even another hostage or two. However, there's no talk about the war itself, and certainly no talk about when it's going to end.
The news media has been fixated on stories of a healthcare crisis and swine flu. This sexy tale is full of controversy, fear of imminent death by an invisible invader, and even contains all the stimulus of high spending and corporatism
Remind you of that War on Terror? The war that President Barack Obama promised to end. The war that the Democratic party promised to stop - even going so far as to swear to take congressional action to end it as soon as possible. Instead, Obama and the Democrats have decided to continue occupying foreign soil.
There's no need to call this war a necessary step for national security, nor is it appropriate to refer to human lives lost as "collateral damage." Instead, the media needs to be bold and describe this war as exactly what it is: special interest groups committing the murder-for-hire of people very far away from us.
We're so distant from the lives being lost that I suppose it was a matter of time before we forgot about the war entirely. After all, America is having problems at home with its own economic crisis and mounting debt. The millions being spent to maintain this war overseas would surely anger the public. How can a government that is so greatly in debt afford to maintain the occupation of two foreign countries? How can an administration that wants to ease pressure on the middle class continue fighting a war with money taxed from that very middle class? It doesn't make any sense to me.
If the government is serious about saving the economy, they can begin by pulling out of all foreign countries immediately. Taking this action would save the public billions of dollars - now that's a stimulus plan I could get behind.
However, the war will not end until it's forced to end. It will end when the economic situation at home deteriorates further and the war is no longer possible to financially maintain. It will end when a dollar crisis forces the war back onto American TV screens.
The argument in defense for continuing the war is that it's impossible for American troops to just leave, despite the fact that American soldiers simply walked into Iraq and Afghanistan. Our troops will remain there until those nations are stable enough to govern themselves.
However, if the war becomes impossible to maintain, troops will be forced to simply walk out anyway. After the Vietnam War, American soldiers were forced to simply leave. All talk of an exit strategy was ended with a complete withdrawal.
Since World War II, the United States government has been in a constant state of war with no real end in sight. Early after taking office, Obama called for a troop withdrawal from Iraq. I smiled and eagerly sought more information.
I soon learned that an occupation force of over 50,000 soldiers would be left behind. Also, more troops were to begin moving into Afghanistan immediately.
This wasn't the withdrawal I had hoped for. This also wasn't the end to the war that America voted for.
What happened? How did the administration move on to other topics with a war going on overseas? How did the news media forget about the war when so many have died? The war should be the single most important issue. It should be the central focus of the Obama administration, and it should be ended immediately.
How this administration can talk about the economic crisis without mentioning the war is absolutely beyond me.
I assume it's because they don't want the public reminded that the war continues to be waged with no end in sight. I'm sure they also don't want the public reminded that - once upon a time - Obama and the Democratic members of Congress promised to end the war. Instead, it's best if we all simply forget about it. With so much bad news about swine flue, healthcare and a possible dollar crisis, maybe the war just isn't sexy enough anymore. Perhaps the threat of terrorism is no longer as scary as the threat of an economic downfall.
The Obama administration cares so deeply about the American people that it forgot about the foreign people being killed in the Middle East.
Maybe Obama and Congress care so deeply about American lives that they simply stopped caring about the lives being lost. Remember that war? Bombs are still falling.