Why isn't is patriotic to question the war in Iraq?
85500
Of course it is patriotic to question this war. But Benji Man is right. This is about the message and how to spin it. The republicans have become masters at this and that's why they've been controlling the media (and the halls of power in Washington, of course) for the better part of a decade now. \n\nThe Democrats need to wake up and get on message, themselves. Their indecisiveness and apparent inability to commit to anything or come up with ideas and convictions of their own is absolutely killing them in national elections. \n\nMore importantly, Americans need to stop being manipulated and start thinking for themselves. Judas Priest, am I the only one offended every time the GOP wraps some new initiative in the flag and calls it "good for America"?! \n\nHere's some good advice: Wake up! Get informed! Start thinking for yourself! And VOTE!
838219
You have a great point.  The attacks on 9/11 were definitely a statement, and NOT a question, so the argument of "war is not the answer" is an invalid one.  \n\nAnd I wonder if vic felt that way the day we sat and watched our countrymen fall out of a burning skyscraper in NYC, and know that thousands were crushed when the buildings crumbled to the ground.
877093
I never called CNN "UN-American," but they do have a liberal bias. I haven't seen them call the troops "heroes" but I don't think that merely calling the troops "heroes" would automatically make you a patriot either. Further, although you are not one of them, there are many liberals, and many liberal Democrats who DO dislike (hate is a very strong word) American and think that this country is fundamentally wrong and is the perpetrator of evil throughout the world. So, I think using generalizations tends to disprove a point almost every time.
315874
it can't. despite how bush supporters will respond to this question and say "Germany took years" or "Korea didn't happen overnight", these are simply talking points from the GOP and not part of any serious discussion.\n\njust ask yourself one question:  has ANY invasion or war been about philanthropy?  it will take some reading, and you will have to read from centrists and historians who have no bias towards America nor particularly the nationalists or the right, but you can find a plethora of evidence that shows NO COUNTRY GOES TO WAR TO HELP ANOTHER COUNTRY.  it is always about economics.  always always always.  \n\nforget the details, forget what Saddam did or how bad bush hated Saddam or did we know there were WMD. don't get confused by any of these details you'll never understand nor get the straight story on.  just understand the overall picture. the US is as selfish a nation as any,  and everything we do is for selfish economic reasons, period.  have you ever heard "follow the money"  gee, why does that formula work?  because everything is about money! duh. \n\nit may be about oil and Halliburton, it may be because AIPAC bought off our government to protect Israel, it may be about stocks, it may be about any of these things, but one thing is for damn sure: it was not to free ANYONE.
193946
Thank You.  Some one had to say that.  There are to many people that take their freedoms for granted.  They don't understand that in other countries if we were to bash our country we could be tortured or worse.  Where has the Pride in America gone?  Does Amercias youth need a wake up call?  Do we need to take them to Iraq and Afghanistan for a week or two to see how bad it could be?  I am just as fed up as you are.\nGod Bless America and The Soldiers That Defend Our Homeland and Freedom
1186689
It's because people believe the liberal media's antiwar message that they have been putting out since 911 to sway public oppinion against the war.  Add in a dose of several well put together, but poorly researched conspiracy theories and you get a reciepe that makes bleeding hearts and peaceniks think that the US Government is conspiring against them.  \n\nThanks for doing your part in helping to spread the truth.  You are a true American.  \n\nAnd if you have not seen this yet check it out\nhttp://www.iraqitruthproject.com/
643074
The war is wrong no matter who supported it. Besides, you can get yourself into a half-baked idea and later realize it was foolish. That's the real problem with what's going on; we refuse to pull out and spare American lives and resources.
828743
There never really was a war in Iraq. There is only American intervention. The idea of an Iraqi war was a marketing campaign executed by Bush to stir up feelings of patriotism, really. Patriotism gets Presidents re-elected. So does xenophobia. So does war in the name of Jesus....
680027
We are not all so tolerant. It makes some of us very ill to think about.  The war was suppose to be about 9/11 and terrorism.  There are other countries with dictators as bad or even worse then Saddam.  He had nothing to do with Iraq and yet Osama has his job still.  Some Americans here say that "they hate us for our freedom" but I guess they don't realize we are not the only free country in the world.  There are other counries that have more freedom then we hve here.  Our country is a mess and many of us pray for this time to pass.
1059558
There are people who believe that not only believe that their opinion is better or more accurate than yours; they also believe that they are capable of making better decisions for you than are.I support this war. We owed this to the Iraqi people. In 1991, Iraqi citizens were waiting for the US and allies to come into Iraq after Sadam. We failed them then. We will not fail them now.Luckily, GWB has learned from his father's mistakes.\nOops I guess I explained....oh well!
991926
Because that is what cowards do. A shame that so many brave american men & women have died in a war that advances an ideological and financial agenda. Blood is on Bush & Co.'s hands.
627675
I wholeheartedly agree with your skepticism.  There is no purpose to the war that we are fighting.  It is a quagmire, and the one who got us there in the first place is too proud to admit that.  \n\nSadly, in George Bush Sr's Memiors, he specificially said that it was a bad idea to invade Iraq because something like this would happen.
495123
The problem, as I've noticed, is that most Americans (I'm American; this does not apply to me) are VASTLY uneducated in how to determine things for themselves. Someone tells them how things are and they believe it word-for-word. The thing is that wars themselves have never touched America (unless in events like Pearl Harbor and 9/11, which both got us INTO wars), therefore Americans nowadays have no real perception of what war is. To them, the "enemy" is whomever President Bush says it is, and that "enemy" is not a human just like them. Of course, in reality, all humans are alike, but Americans refuse to see that because of single examples of foreign people with which they come into contact, like Saddam Hussein. I bet most of them don't even know that Bush's father is the one who gave them the "weapons of mass destruction" for which we allegedly went looking in the first place, because those people are uneducated and intent on waging a holy war when half the country (those who voted for Al Gore in '00 and Kerry in '04--MY family) didn't even want our President to be OUR President.\n\nThe people who have half a brain, are educated in what's happening, have studied history and are looking toward the future are the people who AREN'T in power right now. I honestly didn't think much of Kerry in '04, but I have always hated President Bush and I always will. There is no one around willing to possibly sacrifice their political career by using the pull they have in politics and government to stand up, show this nation of idiots the truth, MAKE them wake up and mature, and go against what the government is currently doing. Actually, many Democrats in the Senate have been talking of impeaching Bush. I'm not sure if he would be convicted if such action was taken against him but I truly, honestly hope so.\n\nAnd if anyone wants to call me a Democrat, I am not; I'm liberal. And my views are not as they are because of this. I have conservative friends who study American History with me and they are also against the war. My kind of people simply aren't in power.
1156101
I think you have a grasp on the situation in Iraq, we do have no business there in the first place and in all wars innocents are killed. Americans for the most part have no idea what war does to a country and its people because we have had none here since 1860. The death, the destruction that we have caused Iraq in the name of democracy is just wrong. I know that Saddam was not a  cool dude but we cannot and should not try to right every wrong through out the world. It just isn't possible.
857507
Short Answer: That's part of the reason.\n\nLong Answer: There are several factors that contribute to the general misinformation of the populace, both liberal and conservative.\n\nThe biggest one being that not many people use critical thinking. It takes effort, and effort is not something people want to put into figuring out the newsbites they're spoon fed over mass media.\n\nApathy is another big factor. People don't want to be bothered. In general, people feel they can't make a difference which is one of the reasons why our voter turnout is so miserable.\n\nThe average American watches American TV, with American news. The average American is told what to buy and who to support. The Average American does so without questioning why. The Average American, for the most part, doesn't really care what's going on in the rest of the world.\n\nFor example, a good portion of the country believes that we went to Iraq to fight terrorists. Certain news shows back that premise. Certain politicians spin that premise. The people believe that premise.\n\nAnd therin lies the problem. Belief. Belief is what keeps people blind to facts. Belief is what keeps people thinking that Iraq had something to do with 9/11, even though now there are two government reports (with another on the way) that say Iraq had no connections to terrorism.\n\nWhen you have belief you have emotion. When you have emotion, logic and reasoning gets pushed aside. It doesn't matter what if that belief is true or not, according to the believer it is "right". Many a deplorable act throughout human history have been performed by those who believed they were "right".\n\nSo why do people favor belief and emotion? Because it is easy. It is easier to get angry than it is to analyze someone's arguments for flaws. It's much easier to just declare "YOU'RE WRONG!" than it is to listen.\n\nWhich brings us back to the current situation. Instead of hoping on the interenet and doing some research, instead of examining other country's perspective of events, instead of looking at the data an evidence and coming to their own conclusions, the American populace in general is just happy having someone paint their "picture" of what reality is.\n\nWhat is most sad to watch are the elections. The only way to know what each candidate really stood for you would have to go and examine their voting records. All the political ads were nothing more than adults acting like a bunch of kids pushing each other on a playground.\n\nI'm hoping that someday soon people will wake up, but what is happening today is really no different from what happened during the Roman times. To distract the populace, they made sure they were generally happy and well entertained. Content people are less likely to resist and question.\n\n~X~
1006641
I would hate to even think about it. But revenge is the answer. Isn't that the first reason Afghanistan, then Iraq were invaded to revenge 9/11. It's human nature, only there has been no concrete proof approved by the UN to prove they were responsible - only media coverage that had the effect of mass brain washing and that has confessed that Iraq had nothing to with 9/11 or had WMD.\n\nIraqi and other people are being punished and labeled as terrorists simply because they are defending their country; a country that was invaded for no reason, lately being bringing them democracy! Democracy on the other hand would not accept that people are jailed, sent off to be tortured for years without a trial then maybe finally released without being convicted of anything.\n\nThese people (Iraqis etc.) have nothing to defend themselves with against heavy military weapons, napalm bombs bombarding on them and their loved ones, destroying their homes and the infrastructure of their country and yet they fight back, they are terrorists!\n\nOther nations, can shoot children and women on the beach because they have a "right to defend themselves" while other nations are being fought on their own soil by invaders and they do not have this same right. I cannot understand the discrimination and double standards applied.
678899
As "patriotism is the last refuge of a scoundrel" (thank you, Dr. Johnson), I am uncomfortable with the premise of this question. I would willingly defend this country and its immortal Constitution with my very life but I would never call myself a patriot as I detest its obvious negative connotations ("my country right or wrong," etc.).\n\nThat said, the answer to your question is of course that there is nothing "patriotic" about supporting this master criminal and his corrupt administration of war profiteers, liars and thieves. He warrants no support; only censure, impeachment, removal from office, criminal trial and imprisonment.