A Nation That Goes To War
Imagine fighting a war that you didn’t believe in. Imagine being misled by your President about fighting for something that didn’t even exist. Iraq was a country that supposedly held nuclear weapons. They still haven’t found nuclear weapons and yet the U.S. is still fighting a war. What about the Vietnam War? Why did the U.S. have to intervene in Vietnam? Did the U.S. overreact to the threat of communist expansion? How many soldiers believed that fighting for communist expansion was necessary? Does the U.S. mislead its citizens and soldiers to only increase its global hegemony? I ask these questions because I feel it is necessary to explore the events and reasoning that lead up to war.
After reading some different war related literary pieces such as The Things They Carried by Tim O’Brien and Fallen Angles by Walter Dean Myers I envision how hard it would be to fight a war that you didn’t believe in. O’Brien told stories about dealing with the impact of guilt and realities of war. He also talked about his personal beliefs of fighting in the Vietnam War. O’Brien tells his audience that he didn’t believe in the war. He writes,
“I was drafted to fight in a war I hated. Young, yes, and politically naïve, but even so the American war in Vietnam seemed to me wrong. Certain blood was being shed for uncertain reasons. I saw no unity of purpose, no consensus on matters of philosophy or history or law. The very facts were shrouded in uncertainty: Was it a civil war? A war of national liberation or simple aggression? Who started it, and when, and why?”
O’Brien doesn’t believe in the war and doesn’t know what lead up to it. He struggles on deciding whether or not to flee to Canada. O’Brien conscience tells him to run and although he does, he comes back and is eventually a soldier in Vietnam. But why did he decide to go? Was it just because he felt embarrassed about not going and then pressured for the sake of his reputation? The reasons are unclear, but O’Brien goes and fights in Vietnam even though he doesn’t believe in it and know why he his there.
As I searched for something interesting in my Google reader account I was fulfilled when I located an interesting article, website, and video that examines the what lead up to the Iraq War. The article, “Unique Film and Website Expose Bush’s Rush to War in Iraq as Conflict Enters 6th Year” was very interesting as it lead me to the website http://www.leadingtowar.com/. After exploring the website I located a video that chronologically looks at the path to the War in Iraq.
“LEADING TO WAR, praised by the Frankfurter Allgemeine Zeitung as “a staggering film,” highlights how Bush officials presented claims of imminent danger to rush the United States to war. This calculated strategy included warnings of nuclear peril and terrorists with biological weapons. Without narration or commentary, the film documents the rhetoric that roused the American people to support a military invasion, despite worldwide opposition. The film includes footage from press conferences, interviews and speeches.”
The video significantly changed my perceptions on how the U.S. got involved in the Iraq War and how the Bush Administration pushed the American public to believe that Iraq housed nuclear weapons. This makes me wonder why are we fighting this war in Iraq and how do the U.S. soldiers view the war. There are many soldiers that say that they are doing good things over in Iraq and Afghanistan. But are there strategies that the U.S. government is using to persuade soldiers and citizens? I think that after taking a look at the website and video you will have a different perception about what led the U.S. to the Iraq War.
Tim O’Brien: The Things They Carried
Leading To War 2008
April 14th, 2008 at 10:26 pm
[...] tubbsd wrote an interesting post today on A Nation That Goes To WarHere’s a quick excerptAs I searched for something interesting in my Google reader account I was fulfilled when I located an interesting article, website, and video that examines the what lead up to the Iraq War. The article, “Unique Film and Website Expose … [...]
April 15th, 2008 at 4:40 pm
Well, the first thing I would like to say is that you will find no news source to be unbiased. Most pieces of information on a political topic are going to try to persuade you to change your views from one side to another. But it’s good to hear it all, see it all and question it all.
I watched the beginning of the lengthy video and I was very impressed and I share your views about the government trying to fool everyone.
I think going to Afghanistan was right but with the information that I have, I don’t agree with the War in Iraq.
I personally believe that we’re in this war for the wrong reasons but it also makes me think of defense attorneys. I know it’s a stretch but they’re related with our views.
We don’t believe in this war but that doesn’t change the fact that our country is fighting in it. Defense attorneys that are provided by the government may not believe in what they are doing but they are doing it anyway. Someone has to.
I don’t like this war and I don’t like that we’re fighting in it but I do support our troops and old and cliché sounding as that is getting.
If you don’t stand behind them, feel free to stand in front of them.
April 16th, 2008 at 9:42 am
I believe it would be very hard fighting in a war that you didn’t believe in. But that is the sacrifice that you take when joining the military. You can’t chose your fighting when it comes to the military. I think we are in Iraq for the right reasons. I try to keep updated on the events and whats going on in Iraq. I believe many soldiers are trying to make a difference and many soldiers give there lives for that. I don’t believe soldiers are dying for nothing. They have their reasons for being there. It is just not about nuclear weapons. There is a lot more to why we are there.