10 Year Anniversary Of The War In Iraq Is Coming Up Soon. PJ Reflects On His Memory Of The Events Leading To The War And Determines If This Was An Ethical Invasion.

Was the US invasion of Iraq ethical? This question often plagues my mind as I watch my Father-in-law’s hands shake as he sips his morning cup of coffee. You see he was in the front lines of the Iraq war and he was what you could call a “door buster.” He would kick in the doors of Iraqi homes suspected of housing terrorist. 99% of the time it was a false tip, and the other 1% of the time the door was booby trapped and the guy kicking in the door got his head blown off…. literally. He told me the story of the time they had two houses to check that sat across from each other. He first set up at the house facing north, and right before he kicked in the door his commanding officer told him he wanted him at the other house facing south. Therefore, his best friend positioned himself in front of the north house. On the count of three, they both kicked in the doors of their respected houses and then it happened. His buddy got blown to bits. “That is just war,” he muttered to me as his eyes glazed over and both his hands shook uncontrollably. He has several other stories about exploded comrades dying in his arms as well as 9 bullet hole scars he wears with shame because no matter how hard he tries he can never understand why we were in Iraq. He is now out of the military and on disability and suffers severe PTSD symptoms that are so bad he is often placed on suicide watch. He cannot have a real relationship with anyone and has lashed out at pretty much every family member who has tried to help and understand him.

So the question remains, was the invasion “Ethical” and worth ruining this man’s chance at a normal life. Let us look at the facts behind the situation. A terrorist group attacked us on U.S. soil and left thousands dead in their wake. All sources pointed to a bloke called Osama Bin Laden who had managed to duck some missiles sent over by Clinton during one of his many sex scandals. Every person with a kindergarten education when presented with these facts should have the same answer, “Let’s go kill that *bleeping SOB Osama Bin Laden and all 197 of his kids!” But nay, President Bush and his crack commando team targeted another person entirely, someone who may or may not have attempted to assassinate the senior member of the Bush family. While this certainly makes sense for G.W. who was obviously trying to avenge his father as well as complete the task of removing Hussein from his cruel reign, it makes no sense to a public that is thirsty for the blood of the man responsible for thousands of U.S. deaths. In the end though, the Bush administration did a bang up job of convincing us all that Hussein had devices that could cause massive amounts of destruction (Weapons of Mass Destruction), or what I like to call “really big boom boom.” You see unless we did something Hussein would take his “really big boom boom” and wipe out the entire Eastern Seaboard of the United States and no one in the States would be able to eat soft-shelled crab ever again! So after this great explanation nearly everyone voted yes and abracadabra we were at war with a country that had absolutely nothing to do with 9/11.

Yes, Hussein was a bad man that terrorized his people to no end. Yes, his reign of terror had to be ended because the first Bush did not have the gonads to do it. In addition, yes, he may or may not have put out a hit on G.W.’s daddy and “Homie don’t play dat!” (In Living Color reference for anyone under 27) So practically, yes it was right to have Hussein removed from rule mostly because it was doable in a short time frame, but when you consider the timing and lies to the American people and the rest of the known world to get it done it was extremely unethical. Had the real target, Bin Laden, been given #1 priority from the start Obama would not have had the chance to make Bush look like such an idiot and a liar. Also the methods used in Iraq did nothing but encourage terrorist to literally flock to the region for their shot at taking out some real Americans, just like the ones they loathe on TV.  Therefore, in the end, all this invasion really did was lend to more car bombings and exploding doors and PTSD victims like my father-in-law. Have they started work on that Bush library yet? Do you think this short essay will make it in?

On a side note, the exact moment 9/11 happened I just so happened to be roommates with two guys from Saudi Arabia who were both coincidently getting their pilots licenses. (This was Ohio and not San Diego where I currently live, as you know some of the 9/11 terrorists lived in San Diego for a time. I actually drive by their apartment almost daily.)  Needless to say, I have a very close connection with the Muslim perspective of the attacks and was often physically attacked for having Muslim best friends during such a controversial period in our Nation’s history. Both of my roommates had their cars keyed and windows smashed the same day the attacks happened. These were good guys that just wanted to be pilots, but it did not matter because blacks, whites, and even Latino ‘Merkans were instantly racist towards all Muslims and anyone with them. Oh yeah, and our phones were all totally tapped and would buzz and pop when we talked on them and my name is probably on a list somewhere, which really just makes me feel very special inside. THANK YOU PATRIOT ACT!

Finally, we cannot become a country with revenge as one of our main motivators especially if it is nearly a decade after the incident happened like in this case. If the Bushes are a family who operates on revenge then was George H.W. Bush's vomiting on the Japanese PM really an accident? Students of history will remember Bush and his whole flight team were shot down near some Japanese owned islands and everyone but Bush was literally BBQ'd and eaten by their Japanese captors! So the vomit job on the Japanese PM was payback for his eaten comrades, not bad. You have to give him props for creativity. 

Let us all pray that Jeb Bush never wins the Presidency or we might have to nuke Florida for that whole recount thing.

Fast forward to the 1:17 mark where Bush clearly says, on camera, "After all this is the guy that tried to kill my dad at one time..."