Between Iraq and a Hard Place

EVEN AFTER THE U.S. ELECTION, IRAQ MAY FOREVER REMAIN a battleground state. U.S. forces on Iraq's front lines fear little will change there in the near future.
     "Unfortunately I see this place as a constant battleground," says Russ Langland, Marine Corporal. "There are too many radical thinkers in the Islamic faith with too much easy access to Iraq. Christians or westerners make easy targets here. They [insurgents] want to protect their strict ways of life."
     Staff Sergeant Rick Taylor, stationed in the same province, also sees little promise but expresses optimism in the new government.
     "Twenty years from now there will probably be a prime minister in place, and the government will resemble something like Egypt's, I hope," Taylor said. The government will still be based on religion, but hopefully it will lean more toward democracy."
     Langland, stationed in Falluja, has doubts about Iraq's sovereignty.
     "Falluja might as well be its own country. Even when Saddam was in power, he could not control that city. They refused to be ruled or taxed by any nation. They have been a freestanding city for over 2,000 years. Falluja just refuses to conform. They have anti-aircraft guns and plenty of ammo for everything. In Falluja everyone hates you. When we roll into Falluja, we bring as much heat as we can. All of our trucks are loaded with as much ammo, grenades and rockets that we can find room for," Langland said. "Don't ever go there. Ever."
     An indication of the future may lie today in the hands that will eventually hold total responsibility for Iraq's security.
     "They [Iraqi security forces] have pretty low level training and ability," Taylor said. "They are not trustworthy because of everything they've been through. There is a big communications gap."
     Langland had a similar experience with the Iraqi security forces on the beginning.
     "We had a lot of problems with corruption at first, but now we have weeded a lot of the bad guys out. We do a lot of joint training and we have even done a few joint missions. They are not as tactically sound as us, but they do all right. They are friendly toward us and eager to learn for the most part," Langland said. "Soon they should be able to assume all responsibility for security over here."
     Nearly 10,000 Iraqi National Guardsman in the last six months have left service, many because they did a disservice to their country by not doing their job or not supporting the interim government. Iraqi security forces today only total around 45 percent of the desired number of trained Iraqis the U.S. hoped to have at this time.
     Progress made in the next month will determine the outcome of a self-governing Iraq, as the country holds elections in January. As for the progress made in the last year, U.S. forces say things have improved.
     Helen Gerhardt, National Guard Reservist, came across on her second day in Iraq "abandoned helmets, spent shells and Arabic training manuals for gas mask use. In one room I found twisted hooks hanging from the ceiling next to an electronic control board, and I shuddered at what my inner Hollywood pieced out of the scene."
     Though violence still haunts the land, Langland said "the most prominent improvements have taken place in the hospitals and schools. There are now full staffs of doctors and teachers at these institutions, They also have more equipment to work with than they did in February when we arrived. Also, more girls and women are attending school than ever before. Aside from that, the other improvements have been mostly with local governments. When we arrived, local governments were non-existent or in disarray. Now they are able to provide things for the communities like a police and fire department. Sanitation and garbage departments are now serving many areas. Getting these people to act for their own benefit has been a big improvement."
     Although the thoughts of the soldiers are a valuable insight, only time can tell the outcome of Iraq. But Langland knows, "this country [Iraq] is used to war. They have been fighting for hundreds of years off and on. It will take more than a little war to shake them up." If history truly repeats itself, America might end up fighting into the years to come.

Liberal vs Conservative: Battle for Turf of the Terms

IN THESE DAYS OF POLITICAL CAMPAIGNING, POLITICIANS throw around labels and broad generalizations to try and win over votes through making good sound bytes. The definitions of the terms "liberal" and "conservative" have been disputed for as long as they have existed. Accepted meanings of these labels have changed throughout time because of the changing in the values of American society. When it was proposed, Social Security was seen as a extremely liberal concept and was attacked by conservatives who saw it as socialistic trash. Today, the values of Americans are different, and Social Security is widely accepted. Perhaps privatizing the Social Security system will be seen as a moderate move in retrospect as well, although today there are those who see it as conservative gambling. As the culture of America changes, the ideological middle point will sway left and right relative to where it stands today, but there will always be liberals and conservatives. Comparing the two terms to what beliefs they represent today will help those who are trying to decide what side of the fence to fall on. But be warned, once one is firm on where they stand, the grass is almost never greener on the other side.

One thing that needs to be established is that both Democrats and Republicans want what is best for the country, but just have different ideas to go about it. There are heated battles in politics, but what could be better for the country than people vigorously fighting for what they believe is best for it?

Here is a look at the differing in belief systems. Keep in mind these are generalizations and may not all hold true for every person who would fit under these labels. The following analysis should be taken with a grain of salt.

Topic	Liberal View	Conservative View
Governmental preference	Communism: Decrease income disparity by curving taxes up on rich, therefore limiting individuals' incentive to work harder. Obsessed with getting government involved in people's lives and controlling big business.	Feudalism: Tax policy resembles the Magna Carta. (Contract between the king/president and the nobility/rich people) Nobility sit back in throne/lawn chair and let their serfs/Mexican immigrants harvest grapes off their land. Wish to permanently implement this feudal social structure based on class and have no compassion toward peasants/minorities.
Economy	Controlled	Uncontrolled
People's Morals/Values	Uncontrolled	Strictly and Hipocritcally Controlled
World View	Value and respect the global community while pretending everything is okay	Value and respect America or fellow conservatives will label you unpatriotic. You get angry and no longer go to church with them, but they find you by utilizing the Patriot Act and call you a heretic instead. Unlike liberals, conservatives pretend everything is not okay in the global community, particularly in random middle eastern countries.
Fiscal Policy	Raise taxes on wealthy people and spend like there's no tomorrow	Cut taxes for wealthy people and spend like there's a war tomorrow*

* = Historically, conservatives cut taxes and spend less, but in recent history they appear to have cut taxes and have spent record amounts resulting in historical budget deficits.--->Click here to learn more about these recent controversial fiscal polices