UNC War Protest

I think it would be very dangerous to pull US troops out of Iraq immediately. The US needs to win in Iraq, and we can't win and make sure Iraq is stable unless we are there. The surge is working. Violence is decreasing. But the drive-by mainstream media does not report on the positive things going on there.

And as for the comments in the video, I would just ask that people be a little more careful when discussing the war. Saying that "millions of people have lost their lives" and it has cost us "trillions" of dollars is just not accurate. I am not diminishing those 4,000 that have given their life for this country. I have a lot of respect for them and their families and I am forever grateful to them for their service. We could not ask for more from the men and women who have served. But to just spout off numbers without realizing the facts is not helping anything.

Obviously, I'm probably in the minority on this site, but I told Ashley-Maria that I would make a comment. So that's what I believe. Stay in Iraq until the job is done.

--Derek Belcher
Chairman, UNC College Republicans

Chairman Belcher, you have to consider all factors, not just "our" deaths.

Your comfort number of 4000, was the total amount of "our" deaths, by the time Bush declared "Mission Accomplished" back in 2003.

"OUR" deaths have reached just shy of 30,000 troops as of 2008. The millions of lives lost is a figure based on people killed since the invasion...

Some 1.3 million Iraqis have been killed. Think about that... How many of those do you think were innocent women and children? Do you share the same respect for all people as you do for the 4000 you cared about who lost their life before our Mission was accomplished?

What about the families of those 1.3 million who lost their lives? Do they amount to less of a people because they don't wrap themselves up in an American flag? This is far from spouting off numbers without realizing facts.

I would assume, that as Chairman of the college republicans you support McCain?

McCain, argued that we should stay in Iraq for 100 more years if that is what it takes. He also said, in several debates, that our troops want to be there.

What is your opinion of your GOP front runner?

and

Why do you think it would be dangerous to pull out?

and

Do you actually think that the troops would rather be there instead of home with their families?


Lastly, I would recommend the book "Blowback" by Chalmers Johnson.

Where's the anger? The fury? The disgust?
I mean, a protest with cheerleaders?
"Go, War Stoppers! Whoo-Hoooooo!!"
Where's "Howard Beale" when we need him most?

I liked it. I think it should be longer.

I'm glad these students are marching, but from what I can tell, the anti-war effort is lazy. Yesterday's turnout in Seattle was unremarkable.

SamCowen, i completely agree with you!!! This war is getting absolutely ridiculous and with the absurd amount of lives lost (especially those of innocent iraqi civilians) I don't understand why we are still there. It is pointless to say that we need to rebuild Iraq and make it safe so terrorists don't use it as a safehaven because we cannot even rebuild our own country. If you go to New York today, ground zero is still there - there has been no reconstruction. If you go to New Orleans, there are still people living in formaldahyde trailers -there has been no reconstruction. How can we expect to rebuild another country entirely when we cannot even rebuild our own.
Iraq used to be Mesopotamia, the cradle of civilization. We are not dealing with neanderthal people here; they are capable of building their own country. Iraq has the right to self determination!

As for "huntre"s comment, the Rainbow ReSisters, the radical cheerleaders are meant to draw people in and send a message out. I was at that rally and they were amazing. They invited crowd participation and got everybody fired up to be there. They also inform people of what is really going on. I would suggest that you look into what is really going on before you generalize about a certain group, look where that has taken us before!

The protest held at UNC was great, it brought together about 15 student organizations in a coalition against the war and sent a message to the university students, professors, administration, and staff that people do care about what is going on in Iraq and people want it to end NOW!

Read "Blowback", but if your too lazy then watch "Why we Fight". Chalmers Johnson is in the documentary and lays out the facts. Each fact seamlessly leads to another one, until we see the architecture of our foreign policy in all it's complicated wiring and structure. And from there we can asses the reasons for our insurgence and occupation.

I am not perturbed or frustrated when people protest wars for humanitarian reasons. The death toll of Iraqi civilians is an abomination and our 4,000 dead troops--not to mention 30,000 injured--reverberates and can be felt at home, proving for the first time that six degrees of separation is a reality. But it does bother me when protesters for or against the war spew inflated facts, bold conjectures, or unsubstantiated insults at one another. If you take a stance on this war, then do some research. Go to Wikipedia and learn about the Iranian Revolutionary Guard. Learn about Al Queda. Type in Iraq war. If that's not enough information, if you want to know the reason behind the rhyme of the dates and facts, then read "Blowback."

great pod.

ps: i love how some people are criticizing another groups movements and events. at least they are doing something. not every war protest has to start a riot you know.

I think it is great people exercise their right to protest. A right that Iraq's people would've been slaughtered for by the dictator Saddam. He actually was slaughtering people if they weren't the exact same religion as him, not just a branch of it. But we were unaware of how bad it was at the time because the media was too scared and unable to broadcast from there. Bush had 98% approval when we started this war, so people were backing him, and now it is our duty to finish it. The U.S. is so focused on what's 'in' at the time, and when we are sick of it, we turn on it, just like the love/hate relationship we have with reality TV.
I graduated in 2000 and many of my friends, in college with me, left post 9/11 to enlist. I don't agree with the war but protests, at this point, only hurt soldiers' morale. I know this because I am in actual contact with them and have lost friends to this war. For those of you that rattle off the death toll, like sports stats, as a platform, do you actually know those you are standing on? Does those numbers have any meaning to you?
It is ironic that protesters refer this to the Vietnam War but fail to do their homework. If they did, they would know those protests shattered the U.S. troops psychologically and many went into hiding or took their own lives.

I like WoodyWoodBeck's comment. Stay until the job is done. Nice school of thought. Here are a couple of job well done's
1. De-throne an "Evil Do'er"- Mission accomplished

2 Seek out WMD- Not there, so I guess we can chock that up to a job well done.

3. Install a democarcy- Job well done

While we were " accomplishing" all of these goals, we should have tried to accomplish these goals
Establishing a viable goverment infastructure, allowing the people of Iraq basic utilities. Allowing the people of Iraq the use of their own oil(instead in an oil rich country, there is a lack of gas)
How many other " Job well done's" need to be accomplished? I say we add these, and I think all republicans will agree with me.
1 End centuries of confilct between rival factions

2 Convert all Iraqi muslims to Christianity.

3 Kill all who do not convert.

4 Build pools in everyones back yard in the metropolitan Bagdad area.

5 Make sure there is no trash in the streets.

Now I can see why you say we cannot exit Iraq in a rapid manner, however, there was a mass exodous of US troops from a little remember conflict in South East Asia. That country turned out to be A-OK.

I have said it before, and I will say it again. Anyone who supports this war, needs to go to their nearest recruiter, and enlist in the Army or Marines. That way you can take your ideas to the battlefront. Otherwise, you are known as a Chickenhawk. And if you are a Chickenhawk, then you will wake up each morning, look into your mirror, and see a coward staring right back at you. Bottom line, change your tune, or enlist.

As far as walski's comment, I was 11 Bravo, I don't expect you to know what that means, but yes, those number's do mean something to me. It means I have lost another brother who died for what? WMD, Democracy? Oil? If we are there fighting for those reasons, why haven't we entered North Korea? Was it for all the people who were slaughtered? Doubt it, becuase we would have sorted out the conflicts in Africa a long time ago. Once again, another war supporter who wakes up a Chicken Hawk.

As far as the " We are there so they do not come here," What are they? Lassie?

To the people who protest, all I can say is, " Keep it on the sidewalk, and keep it peaceful. I don't need my time impeaded by a well off do gooder. I think that peoples time protesting can be better off calling their elected officials.

United States Senate
For correspondence to U.S. Senators:

Office of Senator (Name)
United States Senate
Washington, D.C. 20510

For correspondence to Senate Committees:

(Name of Committee)
United States Senate
Washington, D.C. 20510
202) 224-3121


United States House of Representatives
Washington, DC 20515 | (202) 224-3121

Tell them you will stop sending them to D.C. if they will not represent what you want. Then follow through, and VOTE!

Im not going to lie. I was a staunch conservative, unwavering in my patriotism, and support for all that our politicians choose to do for years. But, things have changed, except for the unwavering patriotism, and I went to this protest. Partly because my good friends Clint and Hannah had a lot to do with the organizing of the event, but also out of curiosity. Im an army brat, and am going into the army. Im glad to say I didnt feel that the march was against the troops in any overt way, only against the war. This kind of mobilization of students, Americans, is great to see. We dont have enough of it on either side of politics or views. Even if I dont agree with everything that is being supported, I can respect the fact that our generation is banding together on some level, and fighting for their views, not letting the media or popular views tell them what to believe.