What Do The Female Members Of ATS Think About The War In Iraq ?, page 3
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reply posted on 23-9-2004 @ 12:31 AM by nanna_of_6



reply posted on 23-9-2004 @ 01:18 AM by lmgnyc
Originally posted by belowthemoon
I may be throwing myslelf out to the wolves on this one, but i don't care. Personally I disagree with many of you. First of all, being a woman in this day and age is no different than a man in war. We can both fight.

Secondly, I agree with the war in Iraq. Whether or not there were weapons of mass destruction in Iraq, Bush was only relaying information that he had recieved from trusted sources. Say there were weapons and they were just moved to Syria, why couldn't that be the case. We cannot be one hundred percent positive that there were no weapons of mass destruciton.

Speak to a soldier who has come back from Iraq and ask him if what the media relays to us about the people despising our presence is truth.They definitely outnumber us, and if they didn't want us there they would surely try and fight us away. If they are willing to decapitate and blow others up, why wouldn't they as a group have an uprising?

Our presence there has been very beneficial to the people. schools are being built, bridges rebuilt, women are regaining the self-worth and respect they deserve. If we were to leave now, there would be utter chaos, and those who want to terrorize our nation would indefinitely take Iraq under their control.

Our soldiers were not drafted into the military. If they joined, then they knew the risk. War happens, and that is what their training is all about.

I want to ask other women,

If your whole life you were treated as though you weren't even worth being alive, and that all you can do is be a slave to men, and bear children that will never have a chance to learn and make something of themselves. When another country comes in, takes out the dictator that is causing more and more poverty every year, safeguards your streets from militants, helps to build schools and bridges so that your quality of life can be better, giving you some sense of self worth... would you want them to just up and leave you with the work half done, so that it all just went back to hell, and the hope you had gained was shattered?


Right now, nothing is being built--the country is still very unstable and most of the money is going toward security. The future is a big questionmark--a lot of rhetoric has been put forth about schools, bridges, and infrastructure, but the insurgency has to be put down first and that is a long way off if that is even possible. If you've read recent news, Bush has begun diverting the money marked towards rebuilding towards security to attempt to build up the Iraqi police force, which is way behind schedule.

As far as the evidence of WMDs prior to the war, the quality of the intelligence was always in question. Colin Powell threw most of it out when he made his speech before the U.N. because he felt that it was not credible. Obviously, his presentation didn't contain enough evidence gain U.N. support. The weapons were not found--and even if there was a plan to build weapons, it did not pose an imminent threat. This is not enough to go to war.

The insurgency we are fighting now did not exist before the war. There were no terrorists in Iraq prior to our invasion. Deposing Saddam opened the door to terrorists and created the insurgency.

Unfortunately, I don't think that the situation will become much better for women in Iraq because the situation is a long way from being stable. I also think that it is a catch-22 when it comes to changing religious law. Having a government that supports women's rights is one thing, but many women will adhere to sharia because it is their family tradition, as well as "street law."

Obviously, I did not support Bush's decision to go to war nor the way that he misled the public regarding his "war on terror." Osama bin Laden and Al Qaeda destroyed a big part of my world when they attacked my city on 9/11. I expected justice when the president said that he was going to get the people responsible.

I was dismayed and felt lied to when he claimed that the "war on terror" was our number one priority, then made a token effort in Afghanistan and in Tora Bora, he left the job of capturing Osama bin Laden, the world's number one terrorist, to a foreign army that had been fighting against us just weeks prior. When he issued orders thwarting plans to capture other Al Qaeda terrorists in the coming months in favor of planning to invade Iraq, I felt that he had betrayed those that had been affected by 9/11.

Bush had been warned about the lack of an exit plan in Iraq and those warnings have come to fruition in the worst possible way. I am sick of hearing the rhetoric he spews about spreading democracy and protecting the world from terrorism when he has made the situation much worse. I was sickened that he would use 9/11 for political gain--to lie about the situation to get reelected when he has not prosecuted anyone responsible. Removing Saddam should not have taken precedence over punishing the terrorists who attacked us on 9/11.


reply posted on 23-9-2004 @ 08:31 AM by Byrd
Originally posted by belowthemoon
I want to ask other women,

If your whole life you were treated as though you weren't even worth being alive, and that all you can do is be a slave to men, and bear children that will never have a chance to learn and make something of themselves. When another country comes in, takes out the dictator that is causing more and more poverty every year, safeguards your streets from militants, helps to build schools and bridges so that your quality of life can be better, giving you some sense of self worth... would you want them to just up and leave you with the work half done, so that it all just went back to hell, and the hope you had gained was shattered?

You grew up post 1960, right?

The conditions you described existed in the United States for most women and in particular for non-white women until the 1960's.

And if Bush HAD done all that, he might be seen as a hero... maybe. Instead, look at his legacy from THEIR viewpoint: More than 30,000 of their men have been killed, including their relatives and their neighbors. There are a lot fewer jobs now and resentment against women who take them is very high. The streets are MUCH more dangerous now -- we hear daily reports of car bombings and other attacks on Iraqui citizens and the daily death toll is mounting higher.

There wasn't that kind of danger under Saddam.

In addition, they now have foreigners coming into the country, trying to convert them to a foreign religion (Christianity.)

Saddam was small potatoes and could have been dealt with otherwise. Bush deciding that he was a bigger threat than Osama bin Ladin is just plain ridiculous and the unrest he has caused in Iraq (so that HE could look like a Hero President) has spilled over to cause more problems for the rest of the world.

Bush hasn't been fighting a war on terrorism, because he hasn't gone after the big targets. He's been fighting a War To Be Seen As A Big Macho Guy... ignoring social issues and killing our kids and the kids of Iraqui mothers.

This November, he's gone!


reply posted on 23-9-2004 @ 08:29 PM by DontTreadOnMe
Originally posted by Tesla
Yes, I am a woman!

WOW...I didn't realize. I know some thought I was a man cuz of my user name, in spite of the elf.

__________
I stand by my government's decision to be in Iraq and fight the war on terrorism.
I also am not naive enough to think we really know what's going on there or anywhere else. I have equally bad thoughts for both parties, just the Republicans less. I really don't think there's much difference, but there seems to be fewer social programs with them.
As for the atrocities, well, war is hell...war is not P.C.

War is a terrible thing. But I don't think mankind will ever get away from it. It is unrealistic to think mankind will ever get spiritually more aware, esp. as long as religion controls the minds and hearts of many people. And, we should remember how many wars are fought over religion...geez, even this one on a certain level.

_____________
I disagree that men don't have a sensitive, caring, nurturing side. They just don't let it show often.



reply posted on 24-9-2004 @ 07:20 PM by 1stcavgrunt

quote: Originally posted by belowthemoon

I may be throwing myslelf out to the wolves on this one, but i don't care. Personally I disagree with many of you. First of all, being a woman in this day and age is no different than a man in war. We can both fight.


Yes, women can fight, just like men...in Vietnam we killed women fighting us bedause their guns killed just as efficiently as mens. But the onus then is on you..do you wnat to die for a great nothing, for a senseless cause...your family and children to mourn forever, trying to make sense of your sacrifice for a nothing?


Secondly, I agree with the war in Iraq. Whether or not there were weapons of mass destruction in Iraq, Bush was only relaying information that he had recieved from trusted sources. Say there were weapons and they were just moved to Syria, why couldn't that be the case. We cannot be one hundred percent positive that there were no weapons of mass destruciton.

You agree with the war!!! How naive are you? You say Bush was only relaying information he received from trusted sources...a responsible president then would have waited for varifying sources like the UN Weapons inspectors who begged him to wait just a bit more until they completed their investigations. Hans Blich, the head of the weapn's inspectors, said he had told Bush to wait, but that thus far he had seen no incication that there were WMD's present. Patience is a virtue in a leader, not a preemptive rush to judgment with spotty intel, before you know the facts.
Why couldn't he have mnoved WMD's to Syria, you ask? On that same vein, why couldn't he burind them all in a great. bog gp[her hole...or why couldn't he have removed them to the moon? These aren't any more ludicrous than your question...because the fact is, if he moved something with that bulk, we would have detected the movement.

Speak to a soldier who has come back from Iraq and ask him if what the media relays to us about the people despising our presence is truth.They definitely outnumber us, and if they didn't want us there they would surely try and fight us away. If they are willing to decapitate and blow others up, why wouldn't they as a group have an uprising?

I have done just that, dear lady...asked soldiers over there...and of those who actually did the fighting outside of the green zone, there is an overwhelming response that they are suffering over there...dying over there...and it's getting harder and harder. The Iraqis are about 80 percent militantly against us. Oh sure, we are helping a few to live better lives, but at what cost? So far the war has cost us over 200 billion dollars and 4,000 live of Americans killed or seriously wounded, plus many thousands of others will be adversely affected for the rest of their lives by the image of the man they killed, or the bloody mass of humanity of their buddies dying in their arms. Have you ever seen a dead body killed in war? It's not clean and antiseptic like you see in the movies. There are just pieces...a foot here, an arm...you try to plug them together like when the arms or head fall of a barbie...but it doesn't work. I know, I've tried. Modern war weapons make the body a mass of bloody laundry...and nothing can prepare you for that.

Are you for real? Don't you read the papers...it's on every new channel, yahoo, msnbc, CBS, Fox...they don't want us there, and they are fighting us en masse, they are decapitating more and more of us, and growing bolder and more efficient, killing more Americans and innocents daily, each day more than the day before. And they are banding together as groups, and armis to fight us...haven't you heard of Muqtada Al Sadr and his army...haven't you heard of the unrest and violence being done bagainst us by both Sunni and Shiite Muslims? We are very close to a civil war, and close to a World War because they hate us so much.

And when they kill Americans, like those four contractors, or those men in the Bradley fighting machine the other day, have you seen the footage, when the camera pans up and down the street, everybody on the street is celebrating the death of Americans, the shop owners, the man on the street, not just the ones who ambushed the vehicle, and killed the men...everybody!!!!!!!!


Our presence there has been very beneficial to the people. schools are being built, bridges rebuilt, women are regaining the self-worth and respect they deserve. If we were to leave now, there would be utter chaos, and those who want to terrorize our nation would indefinitely take Iraq under their control.

Our soldiers were not drafted into the military. If they joined, then they knew the risk. War happens, and that is what their training is all about.

I want to ask other women,

If your whole life you were treated as though you weren't even worth being alive, and that all you can do is be a slave to men, and bear children that will never have a chance to learn and make something of themselves. When another country comes in, takes out the dictator that is causing more and more poverty every year, safeguards your streets from militants, helps to build schools and bridges so that your quality of life can be better, giving you some sense of self worth... would you want them to just up and leave you with the work half done, so that it all just went back to hell, and the hope you had gained was shattered?


Do you know that the US and coalition forces have killed more innocent Iraqis than Saddam did during his entire reign. And you said something about safeguarding the streets from militants...what???? Again don't you read the papers? There are thousands of unlawful militants roaming the streets more than there was in Saddam's day...they are everywhere. Our troops cannot go anywhere without being shot at. And just like in Vietnam, the people of the streets may smile at us as we pass, and say all the proper things...but as soon as our back is turned we are shot at from them. War is hell, lady...and senseless war, is, well, senseless hell. If you are going to fight and die for something, you want it to be something that means something. Vietnam didn't, and neither does Iraq. And I, Like General Clarke said, "I am not attacking our president for attacking terrorists, I am attacking him for not attacking terrorists."

Battles are won by killing the enemy, so military leaders should strive to produce the most efficient killers. The problem, however, is that soldiers who kill reflexively in combat will likely one day reconsider their actions reflectively. If they are unable to justify to themselves the fact that they killed another human being, they will likely--and understandably--suffer enormous guilt. This guilt manifests itself as post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD), and it has damaged the lives of thousands of men who performed their duty in combat. CPT Pete Kilner, Instructor, U.S. Military Academy
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