Article i wrote for school newspaper

[codebuster11]

You can tell me what you think if you'd like. Its a rough/1st draft, rushed a bit. This particular one has obvious influence from Keith Olberman. Enjoy!
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Touted as another turning-point in Iraq, the execution of Saddam has been prophesied to bring yet another one of those all too commonly promised betterments for Iraq and its people. Yet, let us never forget, Mr. President, your past declarations of “turning-points” that all too perfectly lead us to more disaster and disarray in Iraq. You, sir, promised us peace and prosperity in Iraq when you advertised your all too infamous “Mission Accomplished” battle cry, yet we were met with an insurgency our troops were not prepared for. You, sir, promised us stabilization after the Iraqi charter, its new government and its constitution, yet we were met with hostility from former Ba’athist Sunnis and Shiites alike. You, sir, promised us less troops would be needed and Iraqis would begin to “stand up” when Iraqis held their elections, yet our troops were met with heightening instability and sectarian violence as the Iraqi Security Forces we trained began to “stand down”. And now with the trial and execution of the former leader of a sovereign Iraq, you, sir, request additional troops, funding, and outrageous support from a nation that has already voted their views on your falsified War in Iraq. These injustices shall not stand any longer.

Mr. President, the right course in Iraq can no longer be your course. Asking for an additional 22,000 troops is simple heresy against what you declared all too long ago, to what seems as a distant memory to many Americans. For a war that has dragged on past your many deadlines we must weigh the more appropriate options in ending instability in Iraq. Sending more troops is not one of those options.

The American people and the Iraqi people need a massive troop pullout from Iraq. Sir, in your last few speeches, and most unmistakably your speech to the nation, it has been evident that the troops you are sending are not part of some massive peace-keeping initiative, but some ill-planned attempt to wage war against an enemy which has shown, which we know, will not rest until we make steps to leave. These troops you ask for are not meant to train new Iraqi forces, but to continue fighting an insurgency with nothing to gain but the loss of yet another service member.

Consider this, Mr. President. Polls taken of thousands of highly religious and non-religious Iraqis showed increased loathing of our troops, saying not only do they support a massive pullout, but support murdering any and all US troops. Iraqi government officials from nearly all provinces have began to continuously denounce the stationing of more troops and call for the pullout of certain areas so Iraqis can begin building stability on their own, peacefully. Many insurgent groups from certain provinces have promised to drop arms in the event of troop pullout, increasing the chance for stability without a US troop presence. Yet, Mr. President, you have offered none of these solutions and offer only more of what has been far too common these past 4 years.

A pullout does not mean all troops, in means certain troops to help alleviate the tensions we have seen these past few years; tensions that have caused the more than 3,000 US Troop deaths, the 100,000 Iraqi civilian deaths and the 27,000 US casualties. A pullout does not mean we stop rebuilding the country. Troops are not trained to rebuild infrastructure, and pulling troops out while keeping the vitally important US contractors and re-builders in Iraq will only help bring stability to a troubled region. And finally, Mr. President, it should be time to use a tool that you have faithfully tossed aside these past since your first-term inauguration. If there was ever a time to use diplomatic relations to gather troops support from other nations, now would be the time to do so. While it is true insurgents target all foreign occupiers, insurgents do not feel as great of a threat to troops from nations other than the United States. Not more than a year or 2 ago, Germany and France, not long ago, have voiced some support if we pulled back. We must be able to use our relationship with our friends abroad to gain troop support in this time of need. This could be followed by many of the EU nations given the importance of Germany and France. We could have the necessary means to create stability in Iraq with world-wide support for a stable Iraq.

It is time to set aside these injustices, Mr. President, and bring forth appropriate change.

[peacebird]

1. Bravo! Very well done! k&r!

:toast:

[northofdenali]

2. Wow.

Terrific! I sense an "A" in the offing....... K&R

And welcome to DU! :hi::kick::hi:

[Nezvanovich]

3. Hope your teacher isnt a conservative ;-)

Or your paper might get "lost" and youll have to do make up work ;)

[codebuster11]

4. thanks

thanks for all the promising comments!