Why Do So Many Feel Bombing in Syria Is Wrong? It's Not That Hard To Understand, Actually

The now already infamous flag of the Islamic Republic



So, here we go again!

The US started bombing another country. And the worst part is that this is all so predictable. Invading Iraq was a bad idea, but at the time, if you dared criticize the President or his plans for the war, you were considered anti-patriotic, and a terrorist sympathizer, remember?

But war is unpredictable, and it produces destabilization, something that should be obvious by now, but is all too conveniently forgotten by those who advocate war.

And, of course, those of us who were against the invasion warned that Iraq would be tough to occupy, and that our presence there would serve to destabilize. And never mind about the Weapons of Mass Destruction that weren't, which was the entire stated raison d'être for our presence there to begin with, and what was supposed to justify the war itself.

After declaring a premature victory in Iraq, George Bush and his supporters were hard pressed to find suitable reasons why the war really escalated after our supposed victory, and why more American troops - far more - came home in a coffin after this declaration of victory, then before.

Instabiity is what the war produced, and instability is what has continued in Iraq and, indeed, the region.

Now, more than a decade after that invasion, and almost five years since President Bush left office, we find ourselves, once again, going to war in the region.

This time, the stated enemy is ISIL, also known as ISIS, which essentially means (and is also known as) the Islamic Republic.

60 Minutes had a report on this past Sunday about it, and I think what they suggested about it was spot on, that it is a 7th century vision with 21st century reach.

And yes, we know that these guys are really, really bad guys. They believe in a particular strand of Islam, and will execute non-believers, including fellow Muslims who do not believe exactly as they believe. They release videos of the atrocities that they commit, which would seem to imply that (1) they are trying to intimidate any possible opposition, and (2) they are almost proud of how brutal and ruthless they are.

In short, they seem to be bad guys, the epitome of evil, even.

Everyone seems to dislike them, and want them gone.

Here's the thing, though. No one seems to agree on how to go about it, how to get rid of them. Iran, which is also opposed to the Islamic Republic, does not want to join a US led coalition because it does not trust the US, which is not surprising. in fact, many in Iran believe that ISIL is an American plot for further control of the region. I know some people here who believe the same thing here.

Indeed, when you fabricate reasons for going to war, as the US did to justify an unjustifiable invasion in the first place, then anything that you say or do afterward really is scrutinized much more closely. And let's be honest, for that, we should be thankful!

But conspiracy theories aside, you do have to wonder about the wisdom of engaging in yet another war in this region. All of America's actions and intentions are questioned and not trusted, it seems.

And, frankly, why should they be? Remember, We thought the Soviets were the worst guys in the world, and we supported the rebels in Afghanistan, who were known as freedom fighters. A little more on that in a second. We also supported a very unpopular Shah in Iran, and there was a revolution against him. Iranians hated Americans, and there were tensions for many years. They were such bad guys, that we supported Iraq during their war against Iran. But Iraq proved to be worse, with Saddam Hussein being called by some the next Hitler or the next Stalin. So, we went to war there. Not long after that, Afghanistan was ruled by the Taliban, and these were truly bad guys! They forced women to cover from head to toe, and took away all of their rights. Men had to wear beards of a certain length, people were stoned, and non-Muslims were forced to wear yellow identifying markers. They blew up the Bamiyan Buddhas, large statues that had existed for thousands of years! And eventually, the terrorist cells that were sheltered there launched an attack on America. More war, and before long, the Taliban were gone for good in Afghanistan, or so we were told. On to Iraq, once again, for reasons I already stated, and that war became messier the more we insisted we were winning. And guess what? Turns out the Taliban were not fully gone from Afghanistan after all! How about that? They began to make gains, precisely as we wanted out. We also wanted out of Iraq, too. And we got out, but things remained unstable. And not surprisingly, we have another extremist movement, more extreme than what came before.

Off to war again!

Can you really question why some people are not so hot on the idea? I mean, the last couple of years, especially earlier this year, we were talking about Assad in Syria as the rally bad guy, the new guy we needed to force a regime change upon. But suddenly, the Islamic Republic is there, and Assad no longer looks so bad. In fact, some people were talking about a possible alliance with Assad's Syria to get rid of ISIL!

Sigh.

So, yes, I can certainly see the viewpoint of those who are extremely skeptical that another war is the way to go here.

The real question is, how can you not?

And since I have been going back in history, here's another thing that really irks me about this whole situation: we had a real chance to avoid this whole thing in the Middle East. Yes, President Carter, who was actually legitimately concerned about the state of the country beyond the next election cycle, urged Americans to take energy independence seriously. For that, he was laughed at, mocked.

People are still mocking him to this day. But he was a visionary, and we really need to stop laughing about and mocking things that could make us a better country and a better people.

No matter what happens, we Americans seem just too damn stubborn to actually learn our lessons, and so we keep repeating the same mistakes. And underneath the surface, to me, it seems obvious that the biggest mistake we are making is not doing what Jimmy Carter had the foresight to tell us we needed to do decades ago! We should be leading the world in alternative energy technology today, but we are far from being leaders. No, we're the ones dragging our feet all of the time, and it makes me feel ashamed!

But don't worry. Some are still laughing. laughing all the way to the bank!

And that is why, I suspect, we're going to war yet again.





Here are some articles that helped me to write this blog entry, as well as to understand the situation better overall. They might prove to be useful in this capacity for you, as well. Here they are:



Why Iran Believes the Militant Group ISIS Is an American Plot by Aryn Baker of Time / Tehran  July 19, 2014:

http://time.com/2992269/isis-is-an-american-plot-says-iran/



The ISIS leader was NOT trained by the CIA or Mossad, and Snowden didn’t say it by Sunny Hundal, August 14, 2014:

http://liberalconspiracy.org/2014/08/14/the-isis-leader-was-not-trained-by-the-cia-or-mossad-and-snowden-didnt-say-it/



French Report ISIL Leader Mossad AgentHundal  Monday, August 4th, 2014 | Posted by Veterans Today

http://www.veteranstoday.com/2014/08/04/french-report-isil-leader-mossad/