I tried going into the Iraq tag to see what everyone here was saying and I want to vomit.
I guess I take what’s going on in Iraq very personally because my dad fought there. In the Battle of Ramadi my dad won his Silver Star, but also watched friends die. He survived an IED ambush attack, but also watched friends die. My dad did a lot in that country, feed starving kids, helped plan infrastructure, ate with tribal leaders and received gifts from them, felt the graciousness from the local people. We go back and forth in my family about whether or not the US should’ve gotten involved at all, but my dad feels that real good was done for the people there. My dad is not a spiritual man, but he said there were buildings and villages you could walk into in Iraq and feel the overwhelming presence of evil. When he left, the presence was diminished, the good people of Iraq were praising his work. They were thankful.
My dad sacrificed years of his life for that country, some of his friends sacrificed their entire lives. There are buildings on our military base named after some of those fallen soldiers. To think that in a few short months all that work, blood, sweat, and sacrifice is almost for nothing, is heartbreaking. Regardless of whether or not the US should have gotten involved, we did. And I feel we still owe an obligation to the people of Iraq to keep them safe from those who would persecute them because of their religion, from those who would control them and destroy them with terror. I believe we should stand with Iraq to help them stay safe from outside invaders. There are incredible and good people in Iraq, there are incredible Americans who sacrificed everything for the good people of Iraq. We owe all those people what we can give them to keep them safe and preserve their freedom.
