the title has nothing to do with anything, its just a sound i've taken to making when something is frustrating. this'll be short because i've sat here looking at bank statements and various crap instead of writing diligently for your benefit. since i mentioned that the internet plan fell through because of someones lack of motivation, i've "spearheaded" a new plan to have us internet in 2 or 3 weeks depending on delivery times. i do have a sidekick and together we have "rallied" 25 or so people to commit themselves financially by 9 august. so with all luck and allah's help, in 2 weeks i will be able to blow hours of valuable time watching strongbad's email and stick figures that box each other.
i'd kinda like some feedback on this, but is this war considered a "quagmire" yet? dont take me the wrong way, we're not in "the shit" or anything like that and compared to vietnam, this is like an afternoon sampling pralines on market street. But just by virtue of the fact that i seem to be inexplicably stuck here for an indefinite period of time, (and i would say that "several or more" other service members have found themselves in a similar quandry) and also by virtue of the fact that there seems to be no consensus on whether we are actually winning over the people of iraq, it's hard to say exactly how well this thing is going. but i do have some input. for all the liberals reading this, i'm not selling out, just being pragmatic. ...fuck the man!!
Given, i am in an area of Iraq that is predominately shia muslim, which means that they've always been 'bout it when it comes to american occupation, but i have not talked to one iraqi, inside or outside camp, who say or imply that things are not better for them now than they were 3 years ago. yea i know thats really flimsy, but i ask that to almost everyone i meet, and it's nice to know that at least some section of the country doesnt want me dead. concrete examples though, they now have relatively steady electricity for the vast majority of nasiriyah, and the drinking water has finally stopped killing babies and old people. I was talking the other day and this guy made a couple good points, both arguments to stay in iraq because i told him i wanted the hell out of here. he said iraqis still dont understand freedom well enough. Some people here, local sheiks in particular had a grand epiphany, "ooh we have freedom now, now i can do whatever the hell i please". so they start exercising the local power they have to suit their needs, and as i wrote in a previous post, that includes extortion, intimidation and bribery. thats the jist of it. his second point was that the only thing holding the country together right now is us military power, exactly the same type of power that saddam used to hold the country together. The racial and ethnic divisions heere run deeper that you can guess. you probably know the sunnis and shias dont really get along, and the kurds dont really get along with anyone. but anyway thats the challenge i guess, but he's convinced that if the US left now, there would be civil war here (if there already isnt) and the country would be left worse than it was before. So i guess thats enough for me to justify finishing the job. However much good is being done here though, it never justifies us coming here in the first place. ESPECIALLY under false pretenses. If w had said, "hey america, saddam hussein has tortured and oppressed his people for too long. we want to go in and remove him for the good of the iraqi people and the stabiliy of the region. and guess what else? we'll proably get lots of cheaper oil too!" if he had said that rather than "ahh scarrry saddam wants to kill yoouuu! booo! and hes gonna do it soon too, so we better fuck him up now so YEAA GO AMERICAAA!#@$!" if he had said the former rather than the latter, we may not have been as quick to go to war, but ya know, maybe thats not such a bad thing... maybe we woulda had a little more time to PLAN and ANALYZE.... for a complete reconstruction of a frikin COUNTRY. or maybe some time to FINANCE A WAR and NOT GO BROKE. those are all key concepts here.
anyway, we're here and hindsight 2020 whatever im not complaining, but before we get all hellbent and rabble-roused, i assure you that there are good things going on here that even i, a most heinous? and verdant liberal, had no idea about...but i am happy to see that they are happening. We (I) might be all pissed off that if we have our way with these people, they will surely be poisoned by fastfood, wallmarts, processed foods, credit cards, cameraphones, tivos, paris hilton... I'll get over it though, because by that time I wont have to see so many people starving and begging on the roadsides or getting shot because they're the wrong denomination of the same religion, or drinking gross-ass water, or living in hard mud with no AC. there, bite me.
holy christ i just realized i wrote a little bit there. and it occured to me that i profane? quite a little bit here on thius blog here, so i'm really sorry if i offend anyone. (not really) anyway i think this is quite enough so i'll leave it at this..there, i miss my city!
-billy
