Has the Iraq War just become background noise?

[Armstead]

I realized something awful about myself.

I have not given hardly any thought to the Iraq War in a while.

There's a sense of deja vu about it, having grown up during the Vietnam War and sweating out a period of being Grade A Draft Meat. That war was a fact of life all during my adolescence and early adulthood. Despite the protests, the national "debate," the anti-war candidates, Vietnam was a basic part of reality. I couldn't really remember when we weren't at war, and it didn't seem like it would ever end. So -- despite the personal worry about being sent over there at some point -- it was something like Death and Taxes, an unpleasant but unchangeable reality.

That's what the Iraq War seems to have become. During the pre-war Iraq War debate and after the invasion, I was among those protesting, sending e-mails to Congress, getting personally angry and telling anyone who would listen what an awful, terrible mistake we were about to commit. In the years immediately after, I was among the millions who retained the anger as the corruption and mistakes and bodies continued to pile up.

But at some point -- I think frankly in the aftermath of the 2006 election -- it started to become irrelevant to me. I got overloaded with all of the crap in the so-called debate over how long we should remain, which of the bad options was preferable and all of the other bloodless bickering over how we might micromanage some kind of withdrawal, maybe at some point.

My gaskets have blown, and I have no passion or interest in it anymore, except in a detached "Why don't we just get the hell out?" kind of way. I'm not proud of that. But it's one of those survival mechanisms you have to adopt. Like building up a layer of scar tissue to cover a wound.

Now, it's just there. This thing in the background. I've psychologically tuned it out. I don't think about it, I don't stew about it, I feel like protesting or doing anything about it is a waste of time. Just another "issue" that everyone talks about, but that everyone seems powerless to do anything about...We'll get out of Iraq about the same time we actually have universal healthcare.

It's a topic in the campaigns, but it was a topic in the campaigns in 06. The voters spoke, but we're still there and no closer to any kind of withdrawal. Now we're told to wait until Bush leaves office and a democrat takes over...But when push comes to shove, it's looking like that'll be as much of a non-change as 2006, based on what the nomination process looks like. The democrats are merely arguing over who would be "smarter" in handling a possible withdrawal at some point.

This is not good

I'm wondering if anyone else is feeling the same way. And if, in a larger sense, this is happening to the general public.

[rodeodance]

1. MSM has put the Iraq war on Cruise

[ixion]

2. To the MSM, perhaps... to the people of Iraq, not a chance

they're living day-to-day with the bombs and bullets with little US flags on them, paid for by you and me.

[Armstead]

4. I'm well aware of that....and of the impact on American military families

I'm not saying the war is irrelevant. But since nothing seems to be done to end it, it seems useless to think about it, since I'm neither there or have someone in my life over there.

[ixion]

8. true, we're not there, but we're paying for the slaughter

that's hard for me to forget.

[Armstead]

10. All you say is true

I'm not defending my burn out. Just explaining it.

[chelsea0011]

3. And the only mention now is that it is starting to go well

[Tesha]

5. NPR reported this morning that the latest presidential polling agrees with you.

For Democrats, the issues are health care and the economy
in general.

For Republicans, the issues are Illegal Immigration and
the economy in general.

The war has dropped off the RADAR of the people being
polled. Permawar is the new normal and Oceania has
*ALWAYS* been at war with Eurasia and Eastasia has
*ALWAYS* been our banker.

Tesha

[Armstead]

6. Permawar seems like an apt description

The US has always been at war with Iraq....I guess in a few years, the US will have always been at war with Iran.

[bonito]

7. Check out the latest tomgram

For some insight http://www.tomdispatch.com/post/174861/robert_dreyfuss_fighting_whom_in_iraq_

[Armstead]

9. Interesting article

But frankly part of my burn out is the constant state of being at a "turning point" since the first invasion.

Even if Iraq were to become peaceful, the warmongers would still be finding reasons that we couldn;t pull out "just yet."