When it comes to politics, I like to think that I carry a middle of the road, party-tease approach. I look at the world as a giant buffet line—I take what I like from each tray and customize my own dish. Sure, I’ll vote right but I can’t say I disagree with what the left fielder is throwing. Though it’s not our responsibility to police the world, standing on the sidelines while the shit pot churns isn’t exactly in the cards.
This past week marks the fifth anniversary of the Iraq War, a politically unavoidable subject that it seems most Americans would rather keep under the bed behind the dusty comic books and worn out sneakers. As the American death toll creeps closer to 4,000, media coverage appears to be at an all time low. A recent BBC news article reports the war taking up only three percent of news output. According to the article, less than a third of polled Americans could identify the number of U.S. troops killed so far. Although it would be convenient for news agencies to report on a growing sense of public unawareness, I don’t see how we could be more aware.
I must admit, five years later it certainly doesn’t feel like my country is engaged in a conflict. When the topic does manage to come up in a headline it dissolves from the page and my conscience, dropping below the comics in importance and personal relevance. Somehow every time the word “Iraq” takes up the front page of the New York Times or USA Today, I manage to replace it with the news of whatever Fischer-Price toy is being recalled for having too much paint. As the years passed and the news stayed the same, the fighting overseas turned into a habitual part of life, expected in the headlines and subsequently cast aside. On a regular basis, Americans are being killed overseas, something that five years later I tend to read over, but nonetheless something that I, nor undoubtedly others, ever forget.
Five years ago, if you had asked me whether or not I wanted the U.S. to extend their involvement overseas from just maintaining Afghanistan to a full out engagement against Sadam Hussein, I wouldn’t have been able to think of a reason not to. He killed thousands of civilian Kurds, the lucky ones dying immediately from poison gas while the majority of others fell victim to its long-term effects. Whether or not we would be able to find weapons of mass destruction was irrelevant, the bastard had already used them. After less than a month from the invasion we had taken Baghdad, and as time progressed more and more top wanted Iraqis were being taken down. We had found and captured Hussein that December; the war seemed to be a complete success.
Three years ago, if you had asked me whether or not I wanted the U.S. in Iraq, I would have paused for a few moments before issuing a resounding yes. If you had asked me two years ago, I would have hesitated to answer and probably attempt to change the topic. Ask me the same question today and I would exhale a heavy sigh before giving up on the conversation. Whether or not I’d prefer us overseas now seems to be a moot point. We’ve dug ourselves into a level of permanence where we can’t leave but we certainly can’t stay. Pull out now and run the risk of 4,000 Americans dying in vain as the house of cards falls, or stay and issue an indefinite death sentence to those still patrolling the streets. Americans haven’t forgotten that our men and women are fighting for a more secure world; we’ve become disillusioned from the war because of its condition.
This week’s issue brings two angles to a discussion that’s become increasingly difficult to add commentary towards. With media coverage of the war remaining fixated on our failures, getting the right information has grown to nothing short of problematic. Writers Sarah Delmonte and Nick Meyer talk to the men on the ground who witnessed the events unfold firsthand in order to gain a perspective of commentary too often left behind. Generation brings you contrasting viewpoints in an effort to let you decide on the events shaping the world around us.
