Hey, all... i've been too busy to post for a long time, but just so you know, I am alive
The subject of the repressed photos of flag-draped coffins came up on another site I participate in, and I thought I'd post this little essay here as well:
People on both sides of the political isle don't understand what this war is really about.
This is not a war for oil. If our prime interest was really to secure Iraq's oil fields, US Big Oil could have just visited Iraq with several dumptrucks full of cash and said "you play nice, 'k?" Win-win situation all around.
This is not a war to protect the American people from terrorism. In a world in which our true threat is from Islamist extremists, a secular dictator is the least of our worries. If anything, it keeps us
more safe, since Saddam was very good as tearing out all religious extremism at the root. Furthermore, Saddam was smart enough not to try anything stupid, as the world was watching him like a hawk. He was no immediate threat to us.
What this is really about is the neo-conservative ideology that American military might is the solution to the world's ills. The philosophy goes something along the lines of "Hey, we have the most powerful and advanced military in the history of mankind. Why aren't we f-ing using it?" The neo-cons honestly believe that we can make the world a Better Place through force. They have a grand vision that we can democratize and stabilize the world's trouble spots with a few F-14s and Bradley fighting vehicles. That decades- and centruies-old conflicts will be dropped once everyone has freedom and democracy. The intentions are good, but somewhere along line they have forgotten the consequences of invading an occupying a foriegn land, and that war, even with the best of intentions, is hell.
This is why our friends and loved ones are dying.
Now, to cover their asses, because they've gotten themselves tangled up in something they never really thoroughly thought through, they are trying to do as much PR damage control as they possibly can. They think that they are always one or two successful offensives away from ending the conflict, and if they can just candy-coat the war, they'll keep the American public on their side just long enough to finish operations. THAT is why the Bush administration is adamant about keeping these pictures from the public.
Maybe my analysis is incorrect, but things sure look that way with each passing month.
