End the War in Iraq!

What a wonderful gift to the planet that would be

Opinion
By Scott McLean

It's Christmas Eve and I just returned from shopping. I literally waited until the last minute to finish buying presents. Maybe I'll elaborate on that topic at Fast Food Yummy.

So anyway, I'm driving home with the radio on, not blasting but at a low volume, and a Marilyn Manson song or one imitating his style got me feeling pretty good.

I'm sure you didn't expect me to write about a rock star whose eyes rarely match due to some really bizarre contacts lenses, at least not on Christmas. Anyway, I'll just break in with something about music when I feel like it. Cool!

Lousy segue moment after the colon: This weird talk about celebs becoming president or senator is poppycock to some people (can you imagine M.M. as president? yikes), but I think it's a result of Americans not trusting their elected officials. Many politicians have proven themselves untrustworthy jerks.

By the way, I'm talking about American politicians, but there are many problems in other countries calling themselves democracies. For one, journalists are killed at alarming rates in some countries and the governments of those countries should in 2007 prove they are pursuing, prosecuting and punishing murderers of journalists.

In the U.S. the hot topic is something altogether different: apparently the Iraq War is going to get bigger in terms of troops before it gets smaller. Okay, I chose to capitalize "War", even though it is not a conventional war against a government but rather a war against terrorists in Iraq. The bottom line is people are getting killed. Those people are very important.

Before I continue, I want to point out that people like me who say the war should be ended now do support the troops. They want no more deaths of soldiers and Iraqi civilians. But what's going on in Iraq is getting hard to understand.

President Bush not long before Christmas said more troops would be sent to Iraq early next year. I think that was the worst decision he has made as president.

It's starting to look more and more like a Democrat will win the White House in 2008, though things could change. If the war-hawk presidential hopeful John McCain is the Republican nominee, I think the Democrat will be hard to beat.

McCain is an older version of Bush. McCain wants more troops in Iraq. Neither man seems to get it: Americans want an end to this war.

Bush, McCain and other politicians seem to think an increase in troops is the right way to bring the troops home later. Bush says we must win in Iraq. This certainly is a time of year when "winning" is talked about on TV with all the football games. War is no game. When people die, that's it. They're not coming back.

Enough of grim reality.

As I write these words, it's Christmas in less than one hour! So, let's not forget it's a celebration of the birth of Jesus. I wonder what Jesus would say about this war in Iraq. Maybe the leaders who call themselves Christians should really think about the peaceful life of Jesus.

Back to my brand of thinking. I'm opposed to war. Ending the war is the best gift many of us could imagine for the world. Sure it sounds like a fantasy. But there's always hope.

Democratic leaders in Congress can demand that the war be brought to an end. They have the power to make a difference on policy regarding Iraq. It's up to them. That's why Americans voted them in to take the reins of Congress. Now they just need to do what they promised.

Then I'll be able to turn up the radio and really celebrate to whatever rock songs fills the airwaves.