Zen Traveler wrote a piece that bears looking at, no matter where you stand on the war.

Read it.

Everyone has come or is trying to come to their own conclusions where Iraq and Afghanistan are concerned these days. As of last week we begin our sixth year in Iraq. If you haven't come to your own conclusions or formed an opinion yet, there's no time like the present.


I exhort all who are engaged in this endeavor to look for your information from those who have lived and seen the situation and not from mainstream media types who obviously must astrally project themselves from Baghdad hotels to the front lines and then have massive hallucinations just prior to filing a story.

Go to the mil blogs.

Read what folks with boots on the ground are saying.

Read the blogs on their blog rolls.

Ask them questions.

If you aren't familiar with mil blogs ,Thunder Run makes it a point to gather dispatches. It's a great place to start.

Trust me, these perspectives won't be homogeneous or collective in thought.

Think critically for yourself.

Look at Michael Yon and Michael Totten.
Have a look at folks like Obsidian Wings and Lt. Nixon Rants.

Read Matt Sanchez and news sources like Pajama Media.

Like any source, there will be frames of reference, case in point--the first two are from imbedded INDEPENDENT journalists in Iraq. The last two I mention are more conservative in view. Ob Wings and Nixon are moderate. This is the great thing about cyberspace and a Google button, all you need is a desire to know, your very own search words and you'll find more sources than you could ever read.

Most important is to just do your reading then form an opinion for yourself by yourself.

Don't belly up to the MSM bar and grill and allow yourself to be force fed prepackaged commercial fare from the latest PC menu. It's a disservice to our troops in country and to you.

A while back a video floated around, poignant in picture and word. I am putting it up here because it, coincidentally, re landed in my inbox this morning just after I went to visit Zen Traveler. Given the serendipity, I couldn't NOT post it. It dovetails well with what my own position is. (Isn't it cool how when you blog you get to have one of those?) Heck I guess you don't have to blog have a position, but I like the platform and visiting other blogs and reviewing other writer's positions, helps clarify my own.

This musician named Dustin makes it very clear with his work how our troops there ARE invested in their mission and that we should be equally invested in knowing what is going on ourselves.

After all, these men and women are there by our government's missive and our government is doing what it is doing by ours.

From the procreates...
Quit touching me!
Quit looking at me!
Quit breathing on me!
She started it !
He started it!
I didn't do it...
Heeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeey! (said in a very paint peeling, eardrum bleeding way)Heeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeey!!!
Do I HAVE to?
Why can't I?
Whencani--yes, as a matter of fact that one IS one word.
You never let me do anything.
You make me do everything.
It's too hard.
What's for dinner? (usually said in ten second intervals between the hours of 3:30 and whenever we actually begin to put food in our mouths...)
THAT is NOT mine.
That's gonna take forever.
But we just got here...(ala whine)
You never make:::insert name of any other sibling here:::do that.
I'm bored.
:::Insert name of sibling:::hit, pushed, pinched, sat on,peed on,yelled at me!
BUTIDONWANNU.......(yes, another one word statement)

From the two idiots deadset on procreating...at the time.
Flush the toilet.
Pick up your clothes.
Don't eat THAT.
DON'T_DO_THAT!
I can't believe you did that.
Turn that off! (THAT generally has some sort of plug, rating and or title)

Are you serious?
Are you kidding me?
Alright! WHO wiped that there?
Eww. I can't believe you ate that...
No. Lesbians are not from Lebanon--minor curiousity at present still trying to suss out WHERE they picked up that new word. It's time we covered the whole sexuality thing looks like.
go to bed...
Go to bed.
GO TO BED!
FOR THE LOVE OF GOD AND EVERYTHING HOLY! WHY AREN'T YOU IN BED?!!?!
Don't hit, push, pinch, sit on,pee on,yell at your brother and or sister.
Are you serious? You call that clean/done/finished?
Stop it.
Stop it now!
Stop it or I'll have to take you out. (I mean for ice cream what did you people think I meant?)
Pull up your pants.
Well pack you trash and get out then.
See ya! don't forget to write (intermittently effective when trying to leave a park)
Give me 10.
Give me 20.
That's it, squat thrusts for ever!
Let's go! We're burning daylight.
Are you on fire? Bleeding from a sucking chest wound? Then this isn't an emergency.
What_are_you_doing?
Yes, you have to.
Because I said so.
Why did you do that?
Don't hang your brother off the slide/bunk bed/ceiling fan.

There's more, but it's such a blur.

I have a college degree-- you know? I mean I could make a good living. What am I doing? I'm a stay at home mom with 4 kids under eleven whos' sole aim in life --and I'm beginning to suspect primary pleasure--is to pound me into blithering idiot dust.

Jihad my ass.

This is MOMMIHAD man!

Counterinsurgency Operations must begin forthwith....the enemy is formidable...