March 24th, 2008
A lot of hype is being made about the death toll in Iraq reaching the 4,000 mark. But that simple number doesn’t tell the whole story.
First, the death toll has slowed way down since the troop surge took full effect. Second, victory is not far off anymore. Third, even at 4,000 dead, as a five-year total, the loss of life in the Iraq war is miniscule; there were days in World War II when a single battle would take more American lives.
I’m not saying it’s safe and easy to be a solider serving in Iraq; in fact, it’s nearly impossible for troops to obtain even high risk life insurance. But I am repeating a familiar refrain for my regular readers: modern Americans have no concept of what “heavy casualties” really means in a time of war.
My dad does; he served in World War II.
But most people today? If they think 4,000 over five years is a lot… they’re simply not students of history.
By Craig Hansen • Posted in
Opinion •
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March 24th, 2008
Begging folks not to label him liberal, Democrat presidential candidate Barack Obama is hoping to avoid the “L” word by calling labels outdated. Obama hopes that by ascending to the office of president, he can set the terms of debate and thus wipe away the traditional definitions of partisanism and left-right politics. Muddying the waters of political definitions is apparents the new men’s fashion.
Unfortunately, Obama is missing the point; right and left are not defined by a small set of contemporary issues that you can make go away by “setting the terms of the debate” as president. They are long-standing differences of opinion on how government should function.
Any idea that expands federal power and bureaucracy is, by definition, liberal. It is of the camp that sees big government as the solution to social ills and problems. And any idea that reduces the size and scope of federal power is, by nature, conservative.
Those are definitions that won’t disappear no matter who is president, Senator Obama.
By Craig Hansen • Posted in
Democrats,
Election 2008 •
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