response 1 of 64:

Nov 11 09:26 UTC 2003

Wars are romanticized, subjects of  an  endless,  cross-temporal,
transcultural  spool  of  poems, songs, plays, paintings, novels,
films. The battlefield is mythologized as the  furnace  in  which
character  and nobility are forged; and, oh, what a thrill it can
be. "The rush of battle is a potent and often lethal  addiction,"
writes  Chris  Hedges,  a reporter for The New York Times who has
covered wars, in "War Is a Force That  Gives  Us  Meaning."  Even
with  its destruction and carnage, he adds, war "can give us what
we long for in life."

"It can give us purpose, meaning, a reason for living,"  he  con-
tinues.
  

response 3 of 64:

Nov 11 17:11 UTC 2003

thank you for being willing to die for my freedom back when you
were a hero in the war, bruse.

response 7 of 64:

Nov 12 11:23 UTC 2003

adrenalin rush .... 

response 9 of 64:

Nov 12 12:50 UTC 2003

The command is "enter", r6048.

response 11 of 64:

Nov 13 02:59 UTC 2003

I imagine that's true, Todd, but no one writes about their experiences 
while they're happening.  They write about them later.  Once you've 
gotten through a dangerous situation, and are looking back on it, it 
feels more adventurous.

War is a result of the combative, aggressive, competitive human 
spirit.  While there are people, there will always be war.

response 15 of 64:

Nov 14 14:27 UTC 2003

I think pulling out before there's a real, established government able
to provide law and order would be a huge mistake.  I'm actually a little
worried that Bush will succumb to election year pressure to rush things.
 If we pull out too early it will become a radical Islamist state and
things will be worse than when we started.

That's not to say we shouldn't ask for help.  Putting more of an
international face on things might help reduce some of the gut-level
hate reaction people have towards the U.S. running their country.

We also need to start phasing in some Iraqi involvement, too, of course.
 As one columnist put it, "in the history of the world no one has ever
washed a rented car."  Right now the Iraqis are "renting" their country
from us; they don't feel any sense of ownership or responsibility.

response 19 of 64:

Nov 16 22:33 UTC 2003

I don't know if there can be an end to war, but this one sure seemed far from
inevitable.

There's was a completely senseless leap taken from "September 11" to "War on
Terrorism".  The whole idea of a "war on terrorism" makes no sense.  Wars are
things that happen between states.  Terrorism can be backed by a state, but
functions perfectly well without a state.  If you succeed in a war, then you
tromp a state flat.  But terrorists don't need states, so you can't defeat
terrorism via war.  The only more senseless thing you could do is to declare
"War on Militarism".  Terrorism is a crime, in the casse of September 11, an
organized, international crime.  There are ways to deal with crime.  War isn't
one of them.

Then there was a second completely senseless leap from "War on Terrorism" to
"War on Iraq".

I guess there are two senses in which War might be inevitable.  First might
be because situations must necessarily arise in relationships between nations
which require war.  I'm far from convinced that that is true.  Second might
be because there are some udder-fudging idiots who actually like having wars,
and will do their blondy best to start one on the thinnest pretext.

response 21 of 64:

Nov 16 22:58 UTC 2003

'specially with the 'udder-fudging' and 'blondy' parts.  ;)

response 23 of 64:

Nov 17 00:54 UTC 2003

I guess that the government thinks that if we can have a "war on poverty" and
a "war on drugs," we can have a war on anything.

Stupid.