Pink Elephant Theory

From the first day we set foot in Iraq the second time, we have did nothing to improve Iraq's position in their region. I would argue our part in the Iraqi problem eludes debate or recognition.

We invaded Iraq for something they did not have: WMDs.

We have tore the country apart, and the Iraqis should be so thankful for that. From above, we have dropped death in untold numbers. The exact figure is being debated in cold third party terms. Almost as if we were referring to something less then human. Certainly less then our troops, who we call "our boys."

So what makes insurgency? Could the term "collateral damage" illicit a clue? No mention of this dynamic in the study group, or at lease, I have yet to hear any mention of the loss of innocent life.

Republicans and Democrats seem to accept the vagary around the collateral damage issue. Somehow, in a child like way, grown adults play a "out of sight out of mind" game that places the ugliness of what collateral damage has done out of their consciousness.

The Study Group needs to address the collateral damage factor with just as much intensity as whether we should pull our troops out of Iraq. Until we have, our collateral damage will enlist mama, daddy, brother, sister and dog as insurgents against the US. What would you do if someone kill your child for no good reason or any reason for that matter.

Joseph