Meagan Dixon’s position….
Meagan begin’s….At the beginning of Grand Jury trials, the prosecutor reminds the Jury of their duty to be impartial, it is a reminder I feel many Americans need:
Please remember that you must decide the case based solely on the evidence thats presented and the applicable law, without regard to prejudice or sympathy. In other words, your politics, and any personal feelings you have toward the defendants positive or negative should have no bearing on your deliberations.
I know that politics evokes emotion for many of us, but sometimes we need to step back and look at the facts, as opposed to the truth. Many times we blindly follow our leaders because of their political persuasion, instead of basing our opinions on factual evidence.
That is why I love the law, and I love looking at things from a legal standpoint, because, the law requires, that people hear all the evidence before deciding thereby avoiding the rapid volley of sound bites that so regularly masquerades for debate on television.
Fact 1: We have waged war on a country 8,000 miles away. We (America) is bombing people whose only crime was that they were oppressed by a violent and cruel dictator. Because of this decision we have over 155,000 troops deployed in Iraq, there have been over 3,500 US troop causalities (51% of those were under the age of 25), and over 25,000 US troops have been physically wounded with 30% of US troops developing serious mental health problems within 3-4 months of returning home.
Fact 2: Polls taken in Iraq in August 2005 by the British Ministry of Defense showed that 82% of Iraqis strongly opposed the presence of coalition troops; less than 1% of Iraqis believed the Coalition forces were responsible for any improvement in security; 67% of Iraqis feel that things are worse now then they were when Saddam Hussein was in power.
Fact 3: On December 6, 2006 the Iraq War Study Group (IWSG) issued its 142-page final report, The Way Forward: A New Approach. IWSG urged the Bush administration to change course, in particular to begin the phased withdrawal of coalition troops and draw Iraqs neighbors, including Iran and Syria, into international consensus on the way forward. It also reported that Iraq is now on the verge of civil war. President Bushs promulgation that the U.S. will eventually win if it just sticks with the Bush plan will accelerate the descent into civil war and heighten sectarian differences.
Fact 4: According to a recent study of the Iraq effect by terrorism specialists Peter Bergen and Paul Cruickshank, using government and Rand Corporation data, the Iraq invasion has already led to a seven-fold increase in terror.
Fact 5: Terrorism is the systematic use of terror, especially as a means of coercion. Terror is violent or destructive acts (as bombing) committed by groups in order to intimidate a population or government into granting their demands. A Reign of Terror is a state or a period of time marked by violence often committed by those in power that produces wide spread terror.
My Opinion: These are not facts, these are my truths. Americas actions in Iraq flirt dangerously with the definition of terrorism. Our actions in Iraq are facilitating a backlash that we never could have imagined from the terrorist community. Instead of waging war on terrorism, we have instigated a drastic response. And become more like the terrorists we condemn then the world saviors we view ourselves as. Continued military force in Iraq is only going to continue this trend. We are fighting an un-win-able war. I do not feel that troops should be completely pulled out of Iraq, because we have created such a tumultuous situation – we would be condemning those people to more hurt and death. But their focus should be changed from the aggressor to the supporter, and we should begin to enable the Iraqi people to take care of themselves. America invaded their country under false pretenses, and many innocent civilians have been killed in a war they had nothing to do with. I ask myself, how would Americans respond in this situation? And how can we justify our actions?
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