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i'm an academic and know a lot of folks who've been over there since the invasion, including several iraqis and other middle easterners. the situation is, and has been for some time, utterly fubar.
your friend is a bit of a rarity, from what i understand, in that he can actually speak the languages needed to get the local perspective. i really feel sorry for our troops, most of them have no idea why they are so hated, and the BS the military constantly shoves down their throats doesn't help that at all. constant lies from officers to enlisted folks only hurts morale more, and the cognitive dissonance must be overwhelming at times.
i just posted on another thread that we've got to stop thinking that the neocons are so smart and all powerful. your friend's report only confirms that most of them live in a fantasy world. if i stopped living in reality in favor of my fantasy world, i don't doubt it would be long before my world came crashing down, and that i'd be forced to face reality in a really harsh way.
power is like a drug- it deludes and clouds clear thinking, even for the strong minded. the neocons have been drunk on power for almost four years, and given the forces at work here, i expect an ugly moment of sobriety any day now.
and let's not ever forget all the iraqis and others who have died in this useless conflict. even more than the families of our american dead, they will NEVER forget what we have done. we will pay, and pay again, for the neocon hubris, and i for one pray that kerry has the ability to at least partially repair our reputation in the region. but don't doubt for a minute that the neocons have f*cked us, in terms of safety and stability, for a very long time.
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