Post #150

My cousin Anthony leaves for Iraq tomorrow morning. I don't know if I'll ever see him again. He's going to southern Baghdad to fight the insurgents. I am so scared for him. I have said before (as early as 2002) and I will continue to say that I think that this war is a terrible mistake. That doesn't mean that I don't support the troops; I do. I don't support the war, the reasons under which we engaged in this offensive offensive in the first place, the administration's blatant mishandling of affairs in the aftermath of "Mission Accomplished." Over 3,000 men and women have died as a result of these actions. And for what? Cheaper gas? I love this country: the freedoms it allows, the rights we have guaranteed to us as citizens, the wonders (and bureaucracy) of democracy and self-governance.

I hate this war. I hate that the man who arrogantly calls himself "the Decider" with regards to this war is a man who never bothered to show up in the National Guard. I hate that my cousin is going to Baghdad, to the heart of this insurgency. I hate that I am scared. I hate this.

Please, send your good thoughts (and if you pray, your prayers) to all of the men and women over there in Iraq fighting this senseless war, and keep my little cousin who is now all grown up in your thoughts.

That is all.