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Edited on Sat Sep-16-06 09:26 PM by NanceGreggs
A Few Points of Clarification
An Open Letter to our Elected Representatives
From Nancy Greggs
I consider myself to be intelligent and well-read, and I keep up with current events and politics on a daily basis. But I have to admit that I am getting truly confused about what’s going on, and I’m hoping one or more of you can help me out.
Since the attacks on September 11, 2001, we have been told we are entrenched in a War on Terror. Now, that’s got a familiar ring to it, like when we had a War on Poverty and a War on Drugs. The thing is that when we waged war on the latter two concepts, it meant spending money on improving things like job training and education here at home. But it seems this War on Terror thing is costing way more money and, quite frankly, there’s not too much to show for it.
We’ve been told that the War in Iraq was necessary for a very good reason. The problem is that reason has changed so many times, I’m losing track of what the real reason is – or was, or will be next week. Can someone pin that down for me, please, because I can’t keep track of what it is I’m supposed to for or against here.
This administration has reminded us over and over that Saddam Hussein was an evil dictator, who had to be removed. I’m given to understand he held sham elections in his country, where people didn’t REALLY get to vote. Did they have Diebold machines in Iraq? Did they purge people’s names from the eligible voters’ list? Or was the whole voting process ‘phonied-up’ in some other way? I’m really curious about that.
We’ve been told about the torture, the rape rooms, people being arrested without any charges, held without access to legal representation. Were the torture techniques the same as the ones we’re using there now, or were they different? Was it called torture, or was it called ‘alternative interrogation techniques’? Just wonderin’.
And the arrests, being held without charge or trial for indefinite periods, with no legal recourse, did the Iraqis have a name for justifying that? Did they call it the ‘Patriot Act’, too?
We were also told that Saddam didn’t care about his citizens, and they were just left to fend for themselves, no matter what terrible disaster struck their lives. I guess they didn’t have to deal with whole cities being left to drown, Iraq’s terrain being what it is. But if a hurricane struck Baghdad, do you think that bastard would have gone off and partied instead of doing something? I guess we can only speculate on that one.
And there was that constant propaganda from people like Baghdad Bob, always lying about the true state of things, giving the citizenry misinformation. Were his press briefings carried on ABC, CBS, NBC, or CNN? Or did they have their own Iraqi stations that were exactly the same, but had different call letters? Did Baghdad Bob attend the same school of journalism as Scott McClellan and Tony Snow? I know that seems far-fetched, but you can’t ignore the similarities, so I thought I’d ask.
Yeah, there’s no doubt that Iraq was in a total mess before we went in, but that’s what happens when certain people – like the party members who are loyal to whoever is in power – get all the good stuff, like high-paying government contracts and cushy jobs, and the wealthy class don’t have to pay taxes while the poor get poorer still. Not to mention the corruption in government circles, with people taking bribes hand-over-fist.
Has all of that been stopped now? I only ask because it seems that billions of American taxpayers’ dollars have gone missing, and I’d hate to think people were still being allowed to play fast-and-loose with money like – well, like Duke Cunningham, or Tom DeLay.
I guess the thing that really hit home with we Americans was seeing the way Saddam lived like a king, spending money on palaces and expensive homes while the infrastructure of his own country was left to fall apart. Not for nothing, but some of the luxuries and amenities in his palaces almost rival that embassy we’re building there right now in full view of people who can’t even get clean water to drink. Man, some people just have no conscience, huh?
By the way, how is that infrastructure in Iraq coming along? Is the electricity up and running yet? Or do they still have those rolling blackouts and brownouts like we have here – you know, the ones the experts are predicting will get worse and worse, because our infrastructure is deteriorating?
To get to the point, I know we’re supposed to be waging this War on Terror, but I’m having some trouble distinguishing US from THEM – or, more to the point, distinguishing YOU from THEM.
You keep telling us that if we don’t fight them over there, we’re going to have to fight them over here. But no one has come up with any reason WHY they’d want to come over here in the first place – especially these days with air travel being so dangerous, what with all of that uninspected cargo on board and all.
Because they hate us for our freedoms? Well, you keep managing to take those freedoms away from us anyway, so what’s the point in them making the trip?
Because they want to destroy American democracy? Again, that’s a job that’s already been taken – and don’t be humble about it, you’re all doing a heck of a job in that area!
All of that being said, maybe you can understand my confusion. I’m just struggling with who’s the good guy and who’s the bad guy, because the way things are going these days, it seems to be a distinction without a difference.
Any clarification you can offer myself and my fellow Americans would be greatly appreciated.
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