Today I participated in a radio show called The Forum, on San Francisco radio station, KQED. The station is a public radio station that carries and broadcasts on NPR. The show was carried on NPR, to include on Sirius Satellite Radio. I must say it was a complete honor to be asked to be on the show and I am very glad I took part. The host, Michael Krasny had several guests from the milblogging community and one from a local veteran’s support agency. I was the only person on the show from Afghanistan, while the other three guests had all been to Iraq.
I was a little skeptical doing a show on a radio station in a city as liberal as San Fran and on one that carries NPR. Both of those entities are known to be ultra-left, President Bush hating types. However, I figured that they asked me to be there so they must be interested in what I had to say. Besides, I respect everyone’s opinion…regardless of how foolish I think it is. For the most part the show went really well. We talked about the veteran’s homeless situation, the high rate of suicides amongst vets, the Pat Tillman family notification fiasco, and several other topics specific to blogging, why we started blogging and things related to that.
I could not believe however that there are those people who still think that the war in Iraq is somehow related to oil. I was listening on the phone and I heard one guest mention things like the war is a criminal act and unjust and we were all misled. I was blown away that there are still “intelligent” people out there that believe that. I could not believe that there are those whom have forgotten about all those Iraqi missiles shot at our fellow Americans enforcing the northern and southern no-fly zones. I mean, did these people forget the previous administration and the countries around the world who all agreed that Sadaam had WMDs, because that is what he led us all to believe? But clearly to think about the war in Iraq being related to oil is beyond what I can conceive. I mean, it the war in Iraq is about oil when I am going to see the benefits? If I am not mistaken, I think the pump said something link $3.15 a gallon today. If the war in Iraq has been totally focused on supplying our country oil for free, then why the heck am I paying over $3 a gallon. I should be paying like $1.00 a gallon (if this war which has cost our country thousands of lost lives and tens of thousands of maimed lives) rather than over $3.00 a gallon.
Not that I would complain about paying $1 a gallon, but I doubt our country (government or people) would support or allow us to enact war on another country just to pillage their natural resources. I surely would not support that, even for cheap gas. I have lost soldiers, friends and co-workers to the war in Iraq, and I consider it a disgrace to them and their memory to even imply our country is there for a cheap purchase at the local Exxon station.
Get a life…
Troy, glad to hear you could at least provide some sanity to the Bay Area. One of the things that bugs me about media outlets like NPR (and pretty much every other one as well) is what you outlined here. Not sure if you noticed right off, but just take a look at what the topics were: “veteran’s homeless situation, the high rate of suicides amongst vets, the Pat Tillman family notification fiasco.” Seems quite obvious that it was business as usual at the station – highlighting ever possible negative aspect of our fight and ignoring the pluses and benefits. Not one mention of either of the TWO Medal of Honor recipients. No mention of the fact that fewer Soldiers and Iraqi civilians are dying. No discussion on the fact that Iraqis are turning against insurgency and terrorism.
We just need to keep beating the drum, brother. One day, the truth will give them headaches. Well, the GOOD truth and not the UGLY truth (or the 1%). I just love hearing the oil argument almost as much as the “9/11 was an inside job” argument. I’ll admit that in a way, all wars are about energy of some sort. Without stable supplies of energy, our nation would grind to a halt and true security and progress will halt. By having a stable middle east, at the cost of war, we secure a way of life for all; including the left!!
That was a silly question from the caller and it caught me a little off guard when he asked me for the answer to it. Thankfully, not many people in the military actually believe the war was for oil. It’s an asinine, baseless argument.
Glad to have you on the program despite our different opinions. I enjoyed your segment in particular. Take care!
Thanks Alex, it was a good experience. Even though I seemed to talk a lot on there, I held my opinion on a few things and bit my tongue. I told the producers ahead of time not to ask my my opinion on Iraq as I would defer to you guys. I was in Iraq a long time ago and don’t feel I am qualified to comment on the current situation. Do I have an opinion, HECK YEAH, because I am a soldier, it does effect me and has effected my of my friends and my own soldiers. I have done some other interviews in the past and they always want to ask me about Iraq, or something to do with there and I always brush it aside. I have no problem talking about Afghanistan and have plenty of opinion about that place but don’t get asked about it as much.
We may differ on opinion, but we are soldiers and more importantly we are Americans and that is what is great about living in our country. We can agree to disagree. I have been reading your blog, and am glad I found it. Some really great stuff there. Keep it up.
T