some thinkings: my war

i should say something because of Obama's speech on iraq today, when he officially says we've ended combat missions. it's weird though, my good friend from college, Tom, is one of the 50,000 troops headed over there now. my head's still there.

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iraq is my generation's war. but unlike the vietnam war and its pervasiveness on my parents' generation, most of us (Gen Y-ers) forget that we're there. while it is true that the violence was never as high, nor have the deaths reached a staggering number (although, how many deaths does 'a lot' constitute, in a war that we've been in almost 10 years?), the politics, the scandals, and the hatred surrounding this war is felt in a real way by people like me.

i think my generation won't really start thinking about it until years down the road. it's too complicated, too much other information that we'd rather be reading (jersey shore, anyone?). which is sad.

and the thing is, i don't think we understand it because so many people have different opinions on it -- why we were there, why we stayed there, how we could've gotten out. ask anyone the question of "was the iraq war a good idea?" and they'll have a gut reaction (for me, NO) and then they'll probably say ("but..."). it's the 'but...' where it gets murky. and we don't like murky. so many different problems and politics gumming up our black and white answers. while i have a black and white answer, i couldn't come up with a great debate. i just couldn't.

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the New York Times today does an awesome job summing it up with this slideshow, which i found very powerful. they're coverage in the articles is great too, so if you have time, check those out.

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i remember clearly when the war started, the 'mission accomplished' flub, and the first time i knew someone personally who went over there and got wounded (my first "boyfriend"). my international problems teacher in high school, Mr. Mars, was the one who made me pay attention. he wrote the deaths and the casualties on the board every day -- 60, 75, 81 -- didn't seem like that many to us, we thought. but now, the death toll is roughly 4,500 Americans and far too many iraqis for anyone to get a solid number, and many, many more wounded.

freedom? liberty? democracy?

... i'll have to try and explain this to my kids.