War.. Conflict.. Action.. Labels Make A Difference

Labels are so important, you liberal!

Nice sentiments.

Unlike a couple of your commenters, I am able to see the value in what you suggest:

"Let's start with asking; What do ALL Iraqi's cherish in common? and work from there.

There has got to be something we can do to help foster an atmosphere of working together over there.

Lives depend on it; ours and theirs."

Excellent!

Nosty, you can call it whaever you wish, but when our soldiers and their soldiers are getting killed by enemy fire, most rational English-speakers refer to that as war.

Labels are important. Just ask the military.

Maybe things have changed since I was a serviceman, but whether something was labled a war, action or maneuver directly effected the pay, benefits and expectations the soldiers received.

It also proscribed what types of resources could be dedicated to the mission.

In the public psyche "war" is any protracted conflagaration; but in the technicalities of governments, lables carry meanings that define and dictate.

Governmental officials should be required to use the most accurate language, so that we (the people) can be clear on what they are doing with our men, women and money; and what position they are presenting for the country.

Are we at war with Iraq, or just joining in what is actually their war, that we started, by removing their leadership?

I just wish it was over with.

It drives me to tears when I hear the glazed-eyed, numbed-down flag wavers say "They're fighting for our freedom." NOBODY is (or was) taking our freedom AWAY. We invaded THEM. And now we are now merely suposedly doing damage control for the destruction that we have caused which, in the opinion of many, is actually causing more destruction.

I am in full agreement with Olga but I think the solution is in finding something the Iraqis want--that could be a solution to a terrible situation.

I'm with Vicky. I wish it were over and done with. i think the most ludricris label I've heard thusfar is the "peace initiative"....my rosy red arse.

You are correct Bill, the original war is over, and has been for some time. It has evolved into what it is now.
It is also not only the fundamentalist/militia Iraqi's (Sunni vs Shia? violence) that are a problem. Finding "something in common" as you say, would solve half the problem. I wish I had the answers. I do think the rest of the world should get over the original war, G. Bush, and help end the current violence, as it is in everyone's best interests, not just ours and Iraq's.
Thanks for your thoughts.

Randall - I would be in total support of your idea if it weren't for the fact that more thousands of innocent women and children would die in the conflagaration that plan would allow.

Which makes me wonder if we couldn't appeal to their love of their women and children. We Americans curb a lot of our behavior under the auspices of doing it "for" the children or our loved ones.

And "what Iraquis love and cherish the most" - same thing all people do. Children.
All of the people may not KNOW that all of the time, but in our one heart we do.

Interviewing the women, children, and elders and publishing these interviews worldwide is a start. If I were doing such a thing I'd show a movie first, one which shows women, children and elders from all races, cultures, religious systems, national boundary systems, etc.
Perhaps this movie would be in cartoon form.
The language spoken? Non-verbal. Maybe a combination of musics, sighs/cries/laughs etc, sounds of nature.......
Perhaps there would also be a photo montage including faces like Princess Diana, Nelso Mandela, MLK, Mother Teresa, etc.......

I'd show that to a group and then invite them to sit in tallking-circle form, and pass the talking stick, and record the gathering.

In reference to the first question in your article, B, I'd say we need to label this encounter of militaries and guerillas a "HOLDING ACTION". It feels as if the whole world is wondering whether the Mideast will flare up in genocide the way parts of Africa and Europe and in smaller doses S.America have done..........
So the Lightworkers are "HOLDING SPACE" that a higher way of being enters the mass heartmind; and the militaries and guerillas are HOLDING EACH OTHER AT BAY; and the corporatocrats are HOLDING THE MAJOR FINANCIAL AND POLITICAL CARDS; and the Women, Children, and Elders are HOLDING ON FOR DEAR LIFE; the Mothers/Daughters/Granddaughters who are being gang-raped are HOLDING ONTO THEIR LIVES as best they can; and the prayer circles of all the peace religions are HOLDING VIGILS, as are the Peacemakers, planet-wide.

It's a HOLDING ACTION, for sure.

By the way, there are so many vibrational levels of Warfare, from the highest form of "Spiritual Warfare" all the way down to the lowest level of "Mass Genocidal Warmongering." As long as there is still destructive weapons-use, and as long as the earth and the children of earth (humans as well as all other beings) are being destroyed by such weapons, the action falls into the category of "Lower-Vibrational Warfare," or "Warmongering."

Lest we get too discouraged about the corporatocracy, remember that it's the Simple Things, the Little Things, the Quiet Things, that are most important. Focusing on Beauty increases Beauty. That is the particular Truth that sets us Free.

"Let's start with asking; What do ALL Iraqi's cherish in common? and work from there."

That would only work if the is something all Iraqi's cherish in common, and I doubt that thing really exists there anymore that it exists in this country. For example, while we might all claim to cherish freedom, too often the freedom that we cherish as individuals is our own and not the freedom of those who disagree with us. Labels unfortunately mean different things to different people.