[thechat] Opinion on War

Roger Austin raustin3 at nc.rr.com
Mon Jan 27 19:39:01 CST 2003


Madhu Menon wrote:
> So if the US people are mostly against a war on Iraq (as they seem to be),
> is the press advocating this PoV?
>
> And if there's such overwhelming opposition, why is Bush so determined to
> go ahead with war anyway? Surely he's smart enough to realise that his
> approval ratings can only fall further?

  I think the reason that such a large part of the American people are
for another war (yes, I think 40-50% of the population is large when you
are talking about attacking another country and killing people) is that
the last one did not result in a large "American" body count. The
sacrifice on our side was low so they must think that "Desert Storm: The
Sequel" will be the same. Another reason is that many people feel like
Iraq probably helped the 9/11 attacks and they want some revenge.
  "W" and his henchmen are not stupid, they understand these feelings
and are taking advantage of them. As long as a long line of body bags
don't come back this time and the economy picks up some, he will
probably get reelected, but I can hope that the Dems can offer someone
to run against him. "W" reminds me too much of Nixon for my taste.
  I don't see how a war will help the economy. It more likely will cause
people to think less about the economy and reduce the air time on the
news about the sorry state of it. Here in North Carolina, the local
economies around all the military bases goes in the toilet during these
excursions. The military towns are deserted mostly. A lot of reservists
are called up all over the state and businesses have to limp along on
reduced staff.
  I was truly embarrassed for our country by the patriotic "foaming at
the mouth" after Desert Storm I. It is one thing to feel pride for those
brave solders in the line of fire, but quite another to have such a
giddy celebration when thousands of people died in the war. Of course,
this is not a very popular view here in North Carolina so I'll shut up now.




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