My fear is that this is a long dark hole, with so many ulterior motives, we’ll never find daylight. The only reason we are there, is to benefit the U.S. Not the the U.S. People, but the U.S. Corporations. The Iraq horror is a mirror of the devastation that is going on here, at home. I abhor platitudes like, ‘we broke it, we must fix it’, ‘we must finish what we started’ or the dozens of other silly one-liners and catch phrases our government has parroted at us.That is how we got into this mess. I am completely against continuing to to pay the price in money, blood and structure that this war costs. It is not just something happening in Iraq. Look at the damage to our own infrastructure. To the loss of our own rights, to the destruction of our Constitution, our Media, our Representation. As a country, we have become, something, we don’t even recognize. It is not just Iraq and it’s people our own Government is destroying It is America, herself, that is being ripped apart. My hope is that this will precipitate a profound change in our country. That we will demand true representation. That there will be a new era, with the voices of ‘Founding Mothers and Daughters’, voices of reason, rejecting the hysteria of testosterone-laden, chest-thumping narcissists, who equate manhood with domination and power with conquest. I would love to see the people of Iraq ‘stand up’ and take control of their own Country. My greatest hope is that, we would do the same here, in our Country.

I’m worried that what the Republicans say will happen if we leave Iraq the way Barack Obama wants to leave Iraq is what will happen: that Al Qaeda will come back in and build a stronghold for itself; that genocide will happen to the Sunnis, and that the country will descend into even more chaos than it already is. On the other hand, I look to the Viet Nam model as well, and my hunch is there’s chaos in the country because we’re there as occupiers and that once we leave, peace will come to the nation. I’m not sure which scenario will prevail and that’s what scares me.

I feel that Mr. Bush should get down on his knees and beg the Germans and French and others for help in Iraq in all ways. I cannot see the man as being that humble but one can hope.

Thoughts about Iraq right now: The state of Iraq is the result of a tragic miscalculation on the part of the U.S. government. Thousands of lives runed, lost, disrupted, billions of dollars gone. Biggest fears: Our exit there will leave that country a mass of smoltering hovels where life will be awful. The hate for the US will continue on and on. I fear nothing will been solved. The terriorist sleeper cells are in this country now . They are here hating us as they earn $ in our companies, on our soil among our people. Biggest Hopes: Really wise, good leadership for this country as the result of an honest election. Informed citizens. Reestablishment of the U.S. as respected and emulated. Peace - prosperity ———- the smartest minds in the world addressing the energy crisis and our need for efficient transportation. a s

Liz Smith—that was an irresponsible remark you made about Iran and Israel. You say “one hardly knows even what to wish for.” One should wish for peace. Israel is bristling with nuclear weapons; if you lived in the neighborhood, you’d be very nervous about that. More countries—including those we don’t get along with—will eventually get the bomb. The key to the survival of us all is more and more accurate knowledge of other countries and cultures, better diplomacy, and the realization that war as a means of settling differences is a barbaric and out-dated practice that must be stopped.

Having lived in the Middle East for 25 years, I have been horrified by how little our current administration understands the history and culture of the region. And, even more horrifying is that they are “slow learners.” Sunni, Shia’a, Kurd, Arab, Persian……….they just lump them all together under the arbitrary heading of “raghead terrorists.” I cannot forgive the ignorance and arrogance. For the long-suffering Iraqi people, I can only hope that there is a God, a just God. I weep…………..for both our countries (and Afghanistan as well).

I completely agree that we should not have gone to war, it is troubling to me that so many people in positions of power were “mislead” about the WMD’s. The inspectors reported that there were no WMD’s that is the reason that France chose not to join us. Isn’t it illegal to invade a country because we don’t like the leader or because they have something that we want? I worry about all the children that have lost mothers and fathers, so many lives have been changed forever. We have to support our troops because they believe that they ARE making a difference. A lot of money has been spent building bases in Iraq, I think we may occupy the country for many years, I’m not sure that a new president can bring home the troops, I am hopeful that a new administration can bring about positive changes. It will take someone with incredible wisdom.

I continue to want us to get out of Iraq now. I hope the Iraq people can solve their tribal differences but I know we can’t. We never should have begun this war even though as my brother believes, Libya would have dropped a nuclear bomb on us if we hadn’t. . This is his latest rationalization for the war. He believes that we are mainly killing Arabs in Iraq which seems to be okay with him. I can’t speak to him anymore which hurts deeply. I fear more and more Iraq citizens being murdered as well as our troops being killed and hope we can just leave Iraq as soon as we elect a democrat President. The polarization of US families making communication impossible and the negative feelings of other world countries toward us is deplorable.

I “feel” about Iraq, now, just as I did in 2001. I thought and still think politicians fed US, and the majority swallowed, what they wanted independent of truth, fact, reality, and without regard or acknowledgement of the history of the people, geography, and politics that created/sustained Iraq. Today, my fear and my hope are intertwined: I fear US will continue ignorantly yet arrogantly and I hope US will not continue ignorantly and arrogantly on. Additionally, I fear my son’s second tour into the mouth of such a globally unlawful act and hope he returns home to us, again, at least as healthy and as strong as he is today.

Gayle Turner, Sacramento CA 12:20pm 4/10/08 Well, after reading many of the above—I still confused, however, believe we are being used ( and weakened). If we don’t get real we will not have our country, as we would like to remember it. The only thing they have known for centuries is war on each other. We should ease out, let them do their thing, and start drilling of the coast of Alaska, as well as, telling Mexico we will be their only market for oil. Bit the bullet, and come home to clean up the mess we have here in the good old USA. Gayle Turner