We’re Fighting the Wrong War

Respected Mr. Fareed Zakria, with due respect , I happen to read one of your article"IN THE DARK HOURS". This was regarding a wave of unprecedented Terror in PAKISTAN. The answer to your innocent Qurry is very simple, PAKITANIS ARE AT WAR WITH U.S.A. It is an open war with closed eyes of entire Muslims.

The death toll for the Iraq war, which we did not need to fight, is grossly understated. Besides massive Iraqi deaths, it does not take into account the additional deaths of Americans who are being denied health care coverage because of the cost of the war in Iraq - expected to cost well over a trillion dollars before we are finished.

For example, with an estimated 45 million uninsured Americans and an estimated one trillion dollars, the money spent on the Iraq war would average $22,222 per person, enough to pay almost ten years of health coverage for every uninsured person.

The average mortality rate in the U.S. by 2007 estimates is 8.26 per 1,000 population, or 371,700 deaths per year for a population of 45 million. The Kaiser Commission report, published in 2006, estimates the death rate for uninsured could be reduced by 10-15%. (1)

???Research has consistently shown that the lack of insurance ultimately compromises persons??? health because they are less likely to receive preventive care, are more likely to be hospitalized for avoidable health problems, and are more likely to be diagnosed in the late stages of disease. Having insurance
improves health overall and could reduce mortality rates for the uninsured by 10 to 15%.???

That amounts to a reduction in premature deaths ranging from approximately 37,000 to 55,000 per year for the uninsured population. So, each year we are condemning to death, for lack of insurance, a population that approaches the deaths caused by the nuclear attacks on Nagasaki and Hiroshima that ended the war with Japan.

(1) http://www.illinoiscovered.com/assets/cover_7451.pdf

The occupation was illegal, unadvised, unfounded and just plain wrong. America has done more damage to Iraq than they could ever hope to undo, and the country has turned into a battleground. Even if the American Government did this on an altruistic impulse, which I think is a ludicrous claim, they had no right to trespass Iraq's sovereignty. I am not from Iraq, and I can't imagine what it's like having foreign troops enter your country to overthrow a dictator the American Government itself supported for so many years. What nationalist pride do the Iraqis have left now? All those martyred Iraqi civilians: what did they deserve to die like this while we all are safe and secure, and have nothing to fear from non-existant weapons of mass destruction? What is the world coming to? Why are we humans so deaf to the screams of those innocent Iraqis? We compromised our own humanity when we failed to stop this madness and loss of precious human lives. This is no Iraqi or American or Muslim or Christian or Jewish loss- it is a human loss, and I hope we are not too blind to see through our different appearances and understand the difficulties that humans face today.

This is a noble aim. I am entirely skeptical that other countries --the key ones anyway (The EU-NATO, Japan,Russia, China) will put their blood and treasure on the line in sufficient quantities to bail us out.

That may --indeed -- be shortsighted. However, a reluctance to pay the price for someone else's incompetence and folly is hardly unprecedented.

Give me a break. These two superstitious factions have been in conflict for over a 1000 years and now Bush and General Petreus have put the lid on it? Don't think so. We have no obligation to interfere with our military
in Iraq. Period. Pull out now and stop wasting lives and our tax dollars.

Mr. Zakaria, I love you, but you are dead wrong about Obama. Perhaps you need to have an interview with Smantha Power, Obama's Foreign Policy Advisor -- she has always indicated that Obama only wants his withdrawal combined with intensive and comprehensive international diplomacy. So that as President Obama pulls the troops out as quickly as safety will allow, regional and other countries will help with the sectarian and political mess our disaterous war will leave behind.

This column should have been aimed at John McCain, who just said it would be fine if we stayed in Iraq for 100 years! McCain is the one who needs to be smacked down, not Obama and the other Dems.

Fareed, I love you to death -- but Barrack Obama has always said that our withdrawal should coincide with intensive and comprehensive diplomacy to get the other countries in the region and around the world to come in and help deal with the sectarian problems that our disastrous war caused.

It is the Republican candidates -- and John McCaIn especially -- who are completely wrong about dealing with the reality of the current situation in Iraq.

THAT is what your column should have been about.

Talk with Smantha Power, Obama's Foreign Policy Adviser, Mr. Zakaria. She will let you know what Obama's plan is before you write a column like this.

After reading this article I have come to the conclusion (and the above photo confirms this) that Fareed Zakaria is on CRACK! I will concede that the so called "surge" is having a positive effect on the level of violence in Baghdad. But the main reason is not just because of the US and Iraqi forces. The main reason is because Muqtada Al Sadr's militia has honored his cease fire order and have essentially laid down their arms. Had they continuted their sectarian confrontation with the Sunnis, the bombs would still be detonating throughout the city. And in any case, the violence has spread elsewhere. If the war is effectively over, bring the troops home. Plain and simple. Why keep them there? Sounds like everything's peachy.

Let's remember the "surge" is achieving some success because the Sunnis switched sides, not because we surged. And when asked why they switched sides, the Sunni sheiks said it was because they finally became convinced we would withdraw, and therefore they stopped viewing us as occupiers....and why did they change their view? Because they saw the American people were pressing for withdrawal, saw the Democrats increasing their political power in the US. So the Democrats deserve credit for helping the surge succeed.

I also like how commentors are vetting the media accounts of Al Qeada atrocities. Too bad the American soldiers don't get the same respect (i.e. Murtha and Haiditha, all cleared but one, currently on trial). They support the troops though - just attend any anti war protest and read the signs for yourself.

The Democrats banked on America's failure. Now in the face of mounting prove they were wrong about the surge, the crowd who criticized Bush for not facing reality and not processing new info. is in full spin mode. How ironic - this same crowd is the one who cried, "Bush lief" for 6 years is now about to nominate Hillary Clinton. Talk about mentally challenged.

Wow. How did i know that the tinfoil hat briggade would come out with guns blazing after this one, where an honest assesment is being offered. You all should go back to ranting about the perpetual motion maching that GM is supressing. Or is this really what the readership of Newsweek looks like nowadays? P.S. don't look now, but Bhagdad is a much more safe place to hang than Chicago. But SSShhhhhhhh...

Wow! The war's over! I had no idea!

So these guys:
http://voanews.com/english/2008-01-23-voa34.cfm
...just didn't get the memo?

And if the war's over, then it's no big deal to bring the troops home, right? The "poor Democrats" shouldn't have to worry, because all that's left to do is break out the brooms and mops. Let there be celebrating! The war's over!

In what way is this "war" largely over? So did these guys just not get the memo or what?

http://voanews.com/english/2008-01-23-voa34.cfm

Another day, another 80 dead. But hey, Fareed Zakaria says the war's over, so it must be so. You'd think that if the war was over, then Democrats planning to pull the troops out immediately would be no big deal, right? Or even within a year. I mean, the war's over! Nothing left to do but break out mops and brooms and stuff.

"If we are to engage in peacekeeping, the operation needs to be internationally recognized, sanctioned and supported???as it was in Bosnia." - Unfortunately by making the whole affair a cavalier, unilateral effort with only token help from other countries to begin, we're only going to get "see, we told you so..." from the international community. Why shouldn't the U.S.? The entire invasion and occupation was ill-conceived, deceptively sold and a failure at Bush's stated objectives. "Winning" now means containing the neo-con caused virus from spreading.

We might as well call earth as Mars , the god of war.
And call Mars as earth,which is at the moment at peace!

Largely over? Look here, another McCain supporter has come unstuck in time and landed in 2003.