4,000: A Grim Milestone in Iraq

I attempted to comment on the phone, but time ran short. I wanted to say that this is a war of choice, not neccesity so then Quo Bono? (pardon my bad Latin) Who benefits from this? If we examine previous American wars of choice, ie. the Mexican War and the Spanish American War; we find that both were wars of territorial expansion. We took land by force and raised the flag over it, both were excused by trumped up outrages and we went in with troops inadequately equipped for the environment or the enemy at hand. The similarities are plain to see, except that we have taken no land. Even if the war was "for oil" we the people are on the short end of the stick, what with the highest recorded oil prices ever. No wonder, the support of the American people is lacking, so the burden is on a disproportionate few, unlike the popular previous wars of choice. Our war, we find was launched for reasons that have been widely disproven, by corporate factions in the government that have acted in the interests of private corporations that have reaped fantastic profits from the conflict, funded out of the pockets of taxpayers. Humongous deficits have resulted , exacerbated by the same corporate cliques push to maximize their pillaging by demanding tax cuts to relieve themselves of the burdens incurred by the war. Attempting to do it on the cheap, (as wars instigated for profit always are) not enough men were sent to do the job and the men and women who did go often had to purchase their own body armour as well as drive inadequately armoured vehicles pressed into roles they were not designed to encounter in the face of a hostile populace. To top this off, volunteers who joined the services in response to a devastating attack find their terms of service extended involuntarily, fine reward for their patriotism. As a veteran I am pissed. The honor and courage of our finest men and women wasted to enrich the military industrial complex. The blood of soldiers and civilians spilt for the flag is sacred. The Neocons have profaned this with their greed inspired war. This veteran wants to see heads on pikes!
When civilian profiteers waste the lives and resources of America on disastrous overseas adventurism, they should pay for their self centered stupidity, not stick the rest of us with the bill, to be paid by our grandkids.

This war of choice has cost lives (both to death and to injury) on both sides, reputation, influence, and money. It has, according to some accounts, taken the faith or soul of some of the military personnel who have done what was required of them ... something that should not have to happen to those who serve with honour. It has, I fear, shaken the proported "moral foundation" of the US ... if not that, at least removed the expectation that the US acts with a moral compass.

Blessings on the individuals and families clearly impacted, and blessings on the rest, who also feel the pain for generations to come.

I was a bit surprised by Tom's mistake on what a specialist is -- i.e., "what we used to call a private" or words to that effect.

Here's a quick rundown:

Private is an E-1 or E-2 (lowest 2 pay grades)

Private First Class is an E-3

Specialist is an E-4 (same as a Corporal, but a Corporal leads troops)

Sergeant is an E-5

Basically, most E-4s in the Army are specialists, meaning they have a specialized job that doesn't put them in the direct chain of command. There used to be more specialist ranks: Specialist 4, Specialist 5, Specialist 6 and Specialist 7, but the top ranks were merged into the sergeant ranks and left only the Specialist 4, which became "Specialist" since there weren't any others to distinguish it from.

I'm a little surprised you missed this one.

Captain, US Army, 1983-1990

Let's also mark the number of Iraqi's that have died unneccessarily. I have heard upwards of 40,000. Isn't this our respinsibility as well

Tom,
I listened to portions of your "4000" broadcast last night. It was a familiar lament. We are, rightly, upset that 4000 Americans have lost their live in the middle-east and we all want to do two things 1) Stop it and 2) convince ourselves that it isn't our fault. We are not able to do either one because 1) We don't have the will to stop it and 2) It certainly is our fault. Every time we press down the accelerator we ensure that our presence in the middle-east remains necessary. People are willing to call in and complain, but give up their cars? Walk to work? Take the bus? I don't think so. When I left for war in 1991 members of my own family called and asked, "Why are they doing this? This is horrible! What can we do to help prevent it?" I told them, "Don't by gas. Walk to work. Take the bus." They didn't. They perhaps thought about it for a minute or two, then decided that a sacrifice of that magnitude was simply too much to ask. Your callers are no different. They talk a good game, but they are too cowardly to act. They want to use the oil that makes this type of conflict necessary, but they are too weak make any sacrifices at home and too scared to fight. They are pathetic.

Mark you are correct in some of your assumptions but a little off base in others. relatively little of the gas in our cars comes from the mideast, far more comes from Canada and Venezuala. The war was instigated by corporate greedheads to line their own pockets. How else could it be, that when everyone else is getting hit, Exxon mobile posts the highest corporate profits ever recorded. How predictable this was, when Neocon oilmen weasled their way into power on lies and bribery.
As far as pathetic types whose whining disturbs us both, most of 'em are whipsawed by cercumstances, they don't have a choice. If you are depending on public transport it's been wiped out most places, you just can't get there from here. Remember the rents inside the 495 belt (where there is public transport, sometimes) have skyrocketed. Yes the pathos is indeed noticable.
Some of us are doing what they can, My own household is working towards goals of sustainability, but we can't afford no Prius. I am a veteran too. I make sacrifices. There have been crimes committed by the instigators of this stupid war and I want the perps to pay, not profit. None of our guys deserved to die for Exxon, but that's what it adds up to. Besides, the war hasn't secured the oil, it has only wasted millions of gallons of it.