Growing up in the heart of Second Amendment country, a lot of my childhood revolved around guns. Most of my friends hunted; to the point during deer season, students would skip school to hunt. Before the popular appeal of paintball, a group of us would go into the woods, split up into teams, and have a BB gun war. Yes, it’s exactly what you’re thinking. We would wear tons of clothing, no helmets, and shoot each other with small projectiles. Of course we had the rule that you couldn’t shoot above the chest but there’s a reason why they don’t let 12-year-olds serve in the military.
Anyway, all of this contributed to my love of the TBS classic: Red Dawn. Starring the immortal Patrick Swayze, this film takes us to a place where the Communist tag team of the Soviet Union and Cuba decide to invade the US. The story is told from the perspective of a group of high school students, calling themselves the Wolverines, who fight back Rambo style, and take the fight back to the bad guys in the Rocky Mountains. (Side note: Here’s a way to always win the Michigan-Ohio State argument. Just say the kids from Red Dawn would have never called themselves the Buckeyes. Simple as that.) Needless to say, this was my kind of movie.
In the past week, the situation in Iraq has made me think of this movie. Maybe that means I’m an idiot, but here are some random thoughts.
The BBC reports this about the makeup of the insurgents in Iraq:
Anyway, all of this contributed to my love of the TBS classic: Red Dawn. Starring the immortal Patrick Swayze, this film takes us to a place where the Communist tag team of the Soviet Union and Cuba decide to invade the US. The story is told from the perspective of a group of high school students, calling themselves the Wolverines, who fight back Rambo style, and take the fight back to the bad guys in the Rocky Mountains. (Side note: Here’s a way to always win the Michigan-Ohio State argument. Just say the kids from Red Dawn would have never called themselves the Buckeyes. Simple as that.) Needless to say, this was my kind of movie.
In the past week, the situation in Iraq has made me think of this movie. Maybe that means I’m an idiot, but here are some random thoughts.
The BBC reports this about the makeup of the insurgents in Iraq:
“Fighters range from former figures in Saddam Hussein's Baath party to Sunni nationalists fearing Shia domination and foreign Islamist fighters who see Iraq as an arena for a global struggle against the West”
So we’re facing two separate enemies. One is a group who is losing their power/control and the other is a radical element of a religious group, who doesn’t want the “Zionists” to control their country. They see this as a struggle that they are willing to give their lives for. The US is allowing protests, holding elections, but none of this addresses how to control the set of the population that doesn’t want our troops or the new government in place.
There are an estimated 17,000 people in the group actively rebelling against the US army in Iraq. This is a group of people that have banned together in an effort to “save their country”. With some politicians and a growing segment of the public demanding a troop withdrawal, I feel that this group will only grow once we “invaders” leave. If the US leaves without a plan for the new Iraqi government to end the insurgency, they will be headed for civil war.
Sorry for the non-conclusive ending. I just wanted to share some thoughts. To put you in a better mood, here is a link to the famous Swayze snot bubble from Red Dawn.
There are an estimated 17,000 people in the group actively rebelling against the US army in Iraq. This is a group of people that have banned together in an effort to “save their country”. With some politicians and a growing segment of the public demanding a troop withdrawal, I feel that this group will only grow once we “invaders” leave. If the US leaves without a plan for the new Iraqi government to end the insurgency, they will be headed for civil war.
Sorry for the non-conclusive ending. I just wanted to share some thoughts. To put you in a better mood, here is a link to the famous Swayze snot bubble from Red Dawn.
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