I have tried....Sorry about the length......
I have tried to ignor all the comments regarding the personal opinions of individuals re the USA and it's stance with Iraq but I can not stay silent for ever. I do not want to point fingers at any one in particular because we are all entitled to our own opinions but I do want to comment on some statements that in my opinion are not based on facts.
A statement was made that the dropping of the second atomic bomb on Japan was criminal and there was no need for this. This statement was used to show that the USA is a terrible country and has a history of this kind of thing yadda yadda yadda. While it is true that Japan was a defeated country even before the first bomb was dropped, they still refused to surrender unconditionally. The military was intent on fighting to the last man in order to save face. They felt the allies would think this too high a price to pay and therefore they could negotiate a ceasefire and thus save themselves. This meant that the country was going to have to be invaded in order to capture those responsible for the war and to disarm Japan. The fight for Okinawa showed just how high a price would have to be paid to do this. The Japanese lost approx 110,000 soldiers killed and only approx 11,000 taken prisoner. The allies lost roughly 12,000 killed and 39,000 wounded. Based on this, and the roughly 26,000 casualties suffered by the allies at Iwo Jima, estimates of allied losses to invade mainland Japan ran as high as 1.5 million killed or wounded. Needless to say the estimates of Japanese losses were substantually higher. The decision was made to drop the bomb to encourage Japan to surrender ultimately to save lives on both sides. When Japan did not surrender after the first bomb a second was dropped which finally convinced them.
You can argue that this is all propoganda but after 4+ years of brutal warfare which included continuous Kamikaze attacks near the end, I think the propoganda is coming from those who use revisionist thinking to rewrite history by trying to say it was not necessary. Virtually all of this comes from those who were not even born when the war was taking place and who do not bother to take the time to study history. Instead they take a politically correct stance to say that war is bad and therefore those countries who fight wars today are bad. I agree, wars are bad. Wars are truely ugly reminders of man's inhumanity to man. What people conveniently forget though, is that sometimes wars are necessary to protect the innocent. Short term pain for long term gain.
The point about the USA being the only country to actually drop the bomb is also made as a knock against the USA. We will never know for sure but in my opinion had Germany, Japan or Russia developed the bomb first they would undoubtedly have used it as well. Again in my opinion, anyone who thinks otherwise hasn't got a clue as to the reality of the situation nearing the end of WWII.
Some comments have been made regarding whether or not the people of Iraq will dance in the streets after Saddam's overthrow. I don't know that anyone can say one way or the other whether or not this will happen. What I do believe is that any information that is coming out of Iraq is suspect. In a controlled society like that of Iraq's, statements attributed to citizens, rallies in the streets, etc., supporting the government have to be looked at with suspicion. Since Saddam is not above killing anyone who opposes him, or gassing large numbers of his own people, I think it highly unlikely anyone would publicly disobey him. Therefore to say that the people of Iraq do not want "liberation" based on offically sanctioned public rallies shown to the world through news releases is unfounded. Iraqi's who have escaped from that country for the most part all seem to say Saddam must go. Of course their view is rather one sided too because they are anti Saddam. My view is that judging from Saddam's history it is more likely that the people of Iraq would welcome a change in government. Whether or not they would welcome a Western style government is another question. Only time will tell.
Regarding the constant comments about Bush taking money out of my pocket, in my opinion he has not taken a cent. It wasn't Bush who destroyed the World Trade Center. Yes my financial net worth today is less than it was 1 1/2 years ago. But I still own the shares that this is based on and in another couple of years my financial net worth will be worth more I'm sure. So, this temporary blip only affects me if I sell. The companies I invest in have core value which the market will under and over value at various times. Hopefully when the time comes for me to start cashing in as I get nearer retirement it will be one of those times the market is over valuing my stocks. Time will tell.
As I have said in the past, I for one would prefer if we kept the rhetoric, personal attacks, and soap boxes off this board and stuck with what it was intended for, discussions regarding BBD. It's my guess the silent majority would agree.