The Iraq War is over. Now, watch the retroactive mythmaking begin, just as happened after America’s similar defeat in Vietnam.
Iraq War Veterans, 2032
Ted Rall
Ted Rall is a syndicated political cartoonist for Andrews McMeel Syndication, WhoWhatWhy.org and Counterpoint. He is a frequent contributor to The Wall Street Journal, a graphic novelist and author of many books of art and prose, and an occasional war correspondent. He is, recently, the author of the graphic novel "The Stringer."
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Myth making doesn’t just happen after defeat.
Growing up, I remember a lot of World War II vets with the same complaints even though they had “won” the war. (you can forget about the Soviet Union, they played only a small part in the win)
Ted, the flag’s backwards; the Union should always be top left when on display.
I don’t see it. The American people treated us like little gods to the point where it was a little embarrassing. If anything, most of us will have an over-inflated ego. Not Ted’s best.
Sarcasm, dude!
A couple things to take into consideration – Most Americans don’t really have a clue as to the real reasons we went to war. Our young kids, our soldiers, simply followed what they were told and trusted, and did the best they could with the pile of shit they landed in. Guys – it’s not going to get better until the American people can understand where they are, and a smidgen of how they got there. Most of the people i know still think that voting republican or democrat is the strongest thing they can do. Most people have no clue, but i have one acquaintance, a definite 1%’r, that is laughing at all of us, and betting that we can never learn who is f&*k9ng them. They are banking on it.
The myth was actually started by the liberals though, because they wanted credit for ending the war, so it goes hand in hand that conservatives would then have the excuse to blame them. If you admit that liberals ended the war, then you give conservatives the right to say they lost it because of them. That said, anybody who believes there is a such thing as winning a war isn’t too bright anyway. Look at WWII, at the end you would have said Japan lost, but considering they quickly became the #2 economy behind the US suddenly they don’t look like the losers, and Hell, Germany is the #1 economy in Europe, so really Germany and Japan did win the war.
If one could believe that either side won the war, considering the number of dead, the idea that any side won is pretty morbid.
Retroactive mythmaking? I thought it was simultaneous these days.
Pat Tillman? Jessica Lynch?
Maybe PFC Bradley Manning will be the John Kerry of 2032!
(…too soon??)