What was the main reason that Americans supported the Iraqi war?

[LunarRay]

Originally posted by: Moonbeam
Everybody was killed in childhood, destroyed by words and hate. That fear, the feeling of being worthless got buried deep deep deep. Every person is a raging psychotic when those memories threaten to surface. Because of them we can't afford to feel. Because we are terrified of our inner reality we seek release, a sense of aliveness in ways that take us close. We long to re-experience our terror because then we were alive, but we can't do it through memory so we do it proximately in life. We are like moths drawn to the flame of feeling, of terror hate and war. In life we are the walking wounded, the living dead. But in war and terror we come alive again. This is how we will go extinct. We need to die to know. But we would rather act it out than remember. It's why we create the bomb and germ. Humanity has the choice to wake up or to die.

What of those nurtured in childhood and who as they age emit love and truth. Surely, they did not die nor are they benefitted from the re-experience of childhood in that they evolved from the seed to the flower and fed not by hatred but, by love. I propound, it is in them is found the salvation, the escape from the horror of which you speak.
How can one be found you might wonder. Where are these to be emulated found? Look to the deeds! Words are just words but, deeds require doing and doing requires energy. If the deeds are pure the energy too must be pure. Look to the deeds and see life and not death, Salvation not extinction.
There exists another flavor as well. The unnurtured but healthy folks who have fought and won whatever inner war and turmoil that besieged them. They cannot be distinguished from among the population of the loving. Their deeds are no differen't. No less good, perhaps even better. Having been to hell makes one acutely aware of the pain of hate. So I say, Look to the deeds and if they are good let them flourish if they are bad ... pluck them like the weeds they are.

 

[BOBDN]

Originally posted by: HJD1

Originally posted by: Moonbeam
Everybody was killed in childhood, destroyed by words and hate. That fear, the feeling of being worthless got buried deep deep deep. Every person is a raging psychotic when those memories threaten to surface. Because of them we can't afford to feel. Because we are terrified of our inner reality we seek release, a sense of aliveness in ways that take us close. We long to re-experience our terror because then we were alive, but we can't do it through memory so we do it proximately in life. We are like moths drawn to the flame of feeling, of terror hate and war. In life we are the walking wounded, the living dead. But in war and terror we come alive again. This is how we will go extinct. We need to die to know. But we would rather act it out than remember. It's why we create the bomb and germ. Humanity has the choice to wake up or to die.

What of those nurtured in childhood and who as they age emit love and truth. Surely, they did not die nor are they benefitted from the re-experience of childhood in that they evolved from the seed to the flower and fed not by hatred but, by love. I propound, it is in them is found the salvation, the escape from the horror of which you speak.
How can one be found you might wonder. Where are these to be emulated found? Look to the deeds! Words are just words but, deeds require doing and doing requires energy. If the deeds are pure the energy too must be pure. Look to the deeds and see life and not death, Salvation not extinction.
There exists another flavor as well. The unnurtured but healthy folks who have fought and won whatever inner war and turmoil that besieged them. They cannot be distinguished from among the population of the loving. Their deeds are no differen't. No less good, perhaps even better. Having been to hell makes one acutely aware of the pain of hate. So I say, Look to the deeds and if they are good let them flourish if they are bad ... pluck them like the weeds they are.

Beware of false prophets who come to you in sheep?s clothing, but inwardly are ravenous wolves. You will know them by their fruits. Grapes are not gathered from thorn bushes, nor figs from thistles, are they? Even so, every good tree bears good fruit; but the bad tree bears bad fruit. A good tree cannot produce bad fruit, nor can a bad tree produce good fruit. So then, you will know them by their fruits.

 

[Moonbeam]

I'm sorry, kiddo, I really am. You have a good soul, and I hate giving good people bad news. Oh, don't worry about it. As soon as you step outside that door, you'll start feeling better. You'll remember you don't believe in any of this fate crap. You're in control of your own life, remember? Here, take a cookie. I promise, by the time you're done eating it, you'll feel right as rain.

 

[LunarRay]

Originally posted by: BOBDN

Originally posted by: HJD1

Originally posted by: Moonbeam
Everybody was killed in childhood, destroyed by words and hate. That fear, the feeling of being worthless got buried deep deep deep. Every person is a raging psychotic when those memories threaten to surface. Because of them we can't afford to feel. Because we are terrified of our inner reality we seek release, a sense of aliveness in ways that take us close. We long to re-experience our terror because then we were alive, but we can't do it through memory so we do it proximately in life. We are like moths drawn to the flame of feeling, of terror hate and war. In life we are the walking wounded, the living dead. But in war and terror we come alive again. This is how we will go extinct. We need to die to know. But we would rather act it out than remember. It's why we create the bomb and germ. Humanity has the choice to wake up or to die.

What of those nurtured in childhood and who as they age emit love and truth. Surely, they did not die nor are they benefitted from the re-experience of childhood in that they evolved from the seed to the flower and fed not by hatred but, by love. I propound, it is in them is found the salvation, the escape from the horror of which you speak.
How can one be found you might wonder. Where are these to be emulated found? Look to the deeds! Words are just words but, deeds require doing and doing requires energy. If the deeds are pure the energy too must be pure. Look to the deeds and see life and not death, Salvation not extinction.
There exists another flavor as well. The unnurtured but healthy folks who have fought and won whatever inner war and turmoil that besieged them. They cannot be distinguished from among the population of the loving. Their deeds are no differen't. No less good, perhaps even better. Having been to hell makes one acutely aware of the pain of hate. So I say, Look to the deeds and if they are good let them flourish if they are bad ... pluck them like the weeds they are.

Beware of false prophets who come to you in sheep?s clothing, but inwardly are ravenous wolves. You will know them by their fruits. Grapes are not gathered from thorn bushes, nor figs from thistles, are they? Even so, every good tree bears good fruit; but the bad tree bears bad fruit. A good tree cannot produce bad fruit, nor can a bad tree produce good fruit. So then, you will know them by their fruits.

Man bears not fruit but deeds. A house divided against itself cannot stand... not long, I'd say.

 

[LunarRay]

Originally posted by: Moonbeam
I'm sorry, kiddo, I really am. You have a good soul, and I hate giving good people bad news. Oh, don't worry about it. As soon as you step outside that door, you'll start feeling better. You'll remember you don't believe in any of this fate crap. You're in control of your own life, remember? Here, take a cookie. I promise, by the time you're done eating it, you'll feel right as rain.

While at swim I care not the rain. Although asea, I float upon the ocean of confidence. Confidence of good and of evil. I see evil ashore and I shun it. I see evil asea too and I shun it too. Evil weighs heavy on the heart and with this it will not float it will surely sink amongst the bottom feeders and sludge of its origin.

 

[alkemyst]

It wasn't just american's, the post 9/11 intelligence that there were WMD there ignited any nations to call for action.

Most were duped...I was all for going over there just to show our force but I doubted much weaponry would be found even if it existed.

When you knew your parents are going to check your room did you leave everything in plain sight?

Osama was hardly the threat we made him to be, there are many many more like him out there.

 

[MaxDepth]

While there will be many politcal and economical reasons for this war, I'd like to believe that somewhere on the list people will recognize that the past regime will no longer add to the 300,000 body count of ethnic and religious groups killed in the name of Saddam.

 

[JellyBaby]

I did not say "any" four, I said four of them.

There were polls taken before the war. Every one that I saw indicated that a majority did support the war. You don't protest what you support.

You'll have to educate me more on the resolution vs. Congress authorizing the actions taken. Didn't both houses of Congress pass a bill authorizing Pres. Bush to take action in Iraq? Why was that not sufficient?

No, you said "The cumulative effect of at least four of your choices was good enough.". I presented 4 choices that didn't meet your criteria, invalidating your claim. Point being, if those 4 were indeed the real reasons for the support, then they sure weren't "good enough" at all.

Polls are fluid and reflect a quick opinion during a snapshot in time. Instead of being polled, if a person actually had the power to decide whether or not to invade Iraq the result could be quite different. Which leads into...

Congress's Iraq resolution, in a sense, was akin to a polling of their opinion on war. A formal vote on a formal war declaration would have enabled a far richer debate and held them accountable for the war's result. It was have elevated and underscored the seriousness of the conquest.

Congress passed a bill but didn't formally declare war. The constitution grants only congress that power. Where's the confusion here? It's not a tedious thing to delcare war, WW2's declaration IIFC was only a page long. But I understand why a coward (or several hundred of them) might scurry away from that duty as it's a politically convenient way to deny responbilility for the outcome of war while keeping their precious positions and stature intact.

 

[gistech1978]

plain and simple
ignorance.

 

[Moonbeam]

We are more than ignorant; we are motivated not to see.

 

[LunarRay]

Originally posted by: Moonbeam
We are more than ignorant; we are motivated not to see.

How is it the camel can discern the oasis from the mirage and we cannot? Is it because we only see what we wish to see or that the camel sees reality.

 

[Vadatajs]

9/11 is the new term for ignorance, it is both.

 

[Moonbeam]

I don't know HJ, but I heard the camel is arrogant because he knows the 99th name of God.

 

[LunarRay]

Originally posted by: Moonbeam
I don't know HJ, but I heard the camel is arrogant because he knows the 99th name of God.

Patience is the camels virtue, I suppose.

 

[MowSow]

I think the biggest issue here is that the Bush administration tried very hard to make a link between 9/11 Al Qaida and and Saddam, because if they were successful, it would be a good pretext to go to war. When they failed to establish any connection, they said let's try the WMD, so they switched the brain washing to the new pretext, they once again could not convince anyone, so they said, how about if we say that we are going to war to save the Iraqi people from a brutal dictator, no one can disagree with that .. then they went ahead with the attack.
Removing Saddam was great for the arab world, so let's take advantage of this first and make it a good adventure, no matter how much they lied, no matter how much they tried to hide the real reasons, I can see something positive coming out of it...

 

[JellyBaby]

Removing Saddam was great for the arab world, so let's take advantage of this first and make it a good adventure, no matter how much they lied, no matter how much they tried to hide the real reasons

Do you work for Coca-Cola?

 

[syzygy]

While there will be many politcal and economical reasons for this war, I'd like to believe that somewhere on the list people will recognize that the past regime will no longer add to the 300,000 body count of ethnic and religious groups killed in the name of Saddam.

very true. saddam never genuinely complied and preferred to toy with the various inspection regimes, international agencies, fellow arab states, and
whoever else cared to show him a modicum of respect. those who he could kill, he did. he deserved no leniency, and zero trust. i am not sure why
george bush vacillated in his stance vis-a-vis iraq in late september 2001 (and immediately thereafter). the intelligence on saddam's desire for
somehow continuing a wmd program in one form or another would never have died, but his commitment to maintain control, perks, money, etc
was always preeminent and would not have been compromised in his weakened state with another cross-border misadventure.

saddam wanted to remain despot forever, passing the reins to his sons. this, combined with his non-compliance and the continuing existence
of a terroristic police state non-pareil, should always have been sufficient reason to assume the stricter approach earlier rather than later.

 

[MowSow]

No I work for a company called "The Arab Masses" for a free middle east from oppression and dictatorships, enough is enough, and it is time to start rebuilding the Arab world by its people and freely elected rulers.
Don't get me wrong the US administration don't give a damn about freeing the Arab world from dictatorship, and I am still skeptical about what will happen is Iraq, but if it?s successful, it will be a turning point in the modern history of the Arab world.

 

[Moonbeam]

should always have been sufficient reason to assume the stricter approach earlier rather than later.
----------------------------------
Why not bread your own children for this job. Your elite knowledge and invisible truth is not a reason for American soldiers to die without knowledge of the reason.

 

[LunarRay]

Originally posted by: Moonbeam
should always have been sufficient reason to assume the stricter approach earlier rather than later.
----------------------------------
Why not bread your own children for this job. Your elite knowledge and invisible truth is not a reason for American soldiers to die without knowledge of the reason.

On the one hand some demand respect for life, all life even the unborn and in the next breath send the very beneficiaries of those thoughts to die.. makes no sense.