Where does Iraq and the Middle East go from here?

[Joelcool7]

Samuel the majority over whelming majority of civilian deaths are caused by the locals in Iraq, Libya, Afghanistan.

You mention the 140,000 Iraqis but neglect how many hundreds of thousands were killed under Saddam. You mention Afghanistan but fail to mention that the death rates in Afghanistan are supposedly down considerably since the Taliban were removed. You forget Afghanistan had fought over twenty years of civil war and the Taliban killed 10-20x as many people during those years then we have.

Also unlike the Iraqi, Afghani and pretty much every force we currently fight civilian deaths are accidental and our forces go to great lengths to prevent them. Where as the Taliban will line up unarmed men women and children infringement of a firing squad. Stone rape victims before dragging their bodies behind trucks through the streets and hanging their torn up bloody corpse for all the citizens to see you don't mess with the Taliban.

War is a terrible thing I agree. But our allied forces are not in the wrong in any way.

I am pretty pissed at our Governments here in the west not because we are in Afghanistan or intervening in Libya. Rather because we have left the people to die at the hands of vicious tyrants.

The millions killed in Vietnam since America's cowardly retreat are dead only because America abandoned them. The whole Afghan civil war was America's fault for not sending in advisors and troops to help the Afghan Government form itself after the Soviets were kicked out. Somalia was also let down as have dozens of other countries including most recently Iraq.

Samuel also just a week before America announced the begin of withdrawals was being moved up to 2013. Their was a UN poll which found 65% of Afghans wanted NATO forces to stay, other recent polls had shown that NATO had overwhelming support in Kabul and growing support in Kandahar. Until the US fucked up with the burning of the Koran and that American soldiers mental breakdown killing innocent women and children.

My hair salon was run by an Iraqi family. One that was extremely happy the Americans were present. But when America began to wind down and Shari'a was being imposed. They freaked their family back in Iraq was Christian and they had friends who were Sunni. Last I heard from them death threats were being sent to them a church had been attacked and their family was desperately trying to get out. They said the Iraq Government was no help that their Sunni friends had fled their neighbourhood fearing death. The Iraqi family told me they were desperately trying to get their family out they were extremely angry with the Americans for leaving the Christians and Sunnies to the mercy of Shiite extremists supported by a Shiite Government.

I also know a pastor from Vietnam. One who served in the Vietnam war alongside America. He loved the Americans and his people did too. He saw his friends blown away fighting for democracy alongside the Americans. They fought hard but America abandoned them. He said his home town was destroyed after America left. Southern Government officials massacred. He spent 15 years in jail for having served in the army. He then spent another ten in jail for being a pastor. He said the South Vietnamese don't forget how America came in promised them peace democracy and freedom and then left them to be slaughtered and persecuted because it was inconvenient.

I have friends in the Canadian Forces , South Korean forces, US Forces and Japanese self defence forces. I have a friend who came back fucked up with PTSD from Iraq, another from Afghanistan. These men fought hard they saw their friends die in front of them they had to see children blown to pieces by IEDs they were shot at sometimes blown up in a Buffalo. These men put their lives on the line day in and day out to help the people of Iraq and Afghanistan.

Now we are leaving and letting the Taliban walk right back into power, letting the Shiite Government in Iraq start abusing its own people.

My friends friends my countries soldiers should not have died just to see our Governments let the Taliban come back. Our soldiers deserve to have died for a purpose they deserve not to have died in vein. Every man and women in our Armed forces should no NATO doesn't chicken out that we stand and fight.

Samuel it is very easy for you to spout this peace crap. You haven't seen what is going on in the ME. You can sit in your comfortable house drinking tea and watching movies and playing video games. You don't have to worry about being slaughtered for your faith having your daughter raped then brutally murdered by stoning for being a whore. You don't have to worry about your son never coming home. Where your next meal will come from if your house will get blown up by some Islamic group because your interpretation of the Quran is different.

You have no right to criticize what our soldiers and our Governments are doing. At least they are trying to help these people. You mentioned Libya, Qaddafi had ordered his men to go door to door in Benghazi and shoot anyone who supported the protests. Every protestors killed like dogs was his wording I believe. If such an act was carried out we would be talking millions of people. But you don't seem to think about how many hundreds of thousands of Libyans Qaddafi could have killed rather the few casualties caused by our air strikes.

Look at Somalia how many millions could have been saved if the international community had maintained a large force in the country? If the UN had supported Brigadier General Romeo De'lair would the Rwandan genocide have killed that many people?

Its not as simple as most make it seem.

As for American citizens wanting out, screw American citizens. Americans are among the most selfish and spoiled people in the world. Even more so then my fellow Canadians they have no back bone for the most part they don't care about their fellow human beings at least not the majority of them. The crap I hear about what entitled rich spoiled Americans think should happen to the lower class sickens me.

Then you see Middle Class Americans with 10x my income more money then I could think of how to spend. Standing outside at Occupy protests winning about how bad they have it.

Sorry but if the American people decided entirely when to go to war and who to go to war with. Canada would be a state, Mexico would have been at war for decades. Heck America would have been bombed to kingdom come.

I recently watched a Vietnam documentary that made me sick. If I could I would have gone to America and slapped the shit out of every one of those smug self righteous jerks.

A man joined the US forces to fight in Vietnam. He served his tour which got extended to 16-months because of lack of volunteers and conscripts. Every one of his friends were killed but he said in an interview that he saved hundreds of lives. One town was being attacked and the Americans were called and he talked about his friend bravely dying protecting the town. He was proud of his service he was so moved by the South Vietnamese and he couldn't wait to get back home.

But when his plane landed and this man who just served 16jmonths saving innocent lives, serving his country and seeing his friends die sometimes in his arms. He stepped off the plane to a couple hundred angry self righteous scum bag protestors who actually through produce at him calling him a murderer. Police had to escort him to the back where they drove him out of the air port. His families house was vandalized by these scum bags and he couldn't find a job because everyone called him a murderer. Eventually he had to move to a different town and hide his army service.

That is what the American people did to a true hero! He wasn't alone I have heard dozens of similar stories. In fact just recently watched a YouTube video uploaded to Facebook from a Christian pacifist group which picketed an American unit returning from Iraq. The video was proud of the shit those scum bags were saying to the brave men and women who served over seas.

So honestly if the people of Afghanistan want us their, if the people of Libya or Iraq. If the military is protecting thousands to millions of lives. Then screw the American people. The politicians should not sell their souls for a vote. Yes leaving millions for dead will win you another term, but how do you live with yourself? Doing the right thing should always trump the public's opinions. If politicians always followed the public's opinions Gays would be being strung up, blacks would still be slaves, abortions would never have been legalized (not necessarily a bad thing) we'd still be stringing up witches. Almost every major human rights achievement made in the last fifty years was done without the majority supporting it. I see no reason why we should do the wrong thing just because a slight majority don't want too!