War Reports

   Reading about reports on the Afghan War in the New York Times, I feel like the art of war is a futile, pointless thing. The savage element is kind of funny, in a sick way; it doesn't matter how well an army can dress, how nice their weapons are, how clean their commercials look, or how fierce their fighting words may be -- ultimately, people end up killing each other brutally and dying in the same manner. War is a dogfight, no matter how well it's planned.
  I was watching some of Restrepo a few weeks ago, and I do have respect for people who willingly enter military service. I do not want to sound like I hate soldiers, or that I'd be willing to do their jobs, because I know myself and I know that I'm not. I think they wind up battered, though, and no one should have to see the things that soldiers in every country are faced with. It's tragic. So, I don't wear yellow ribbons. I don't know anyone who is currently at war. I know veterans, but no one who likes to talk. I read reports in the New York Times and get inflamed and just want it all to be over, but that's as close as I get.
   One report is on Afghanistan, and one is on Pakistan. They are called the National Intelligence Estimates, and they state that, although the US and NATO have had some success n this war, Pakistan won't shut down "militant sanctuaries in its lawless tribal region," and apparently this is a problem because insurgents are free to cross the border between the two countries. This is a border which can't be sealed.
   I can't control anyone's actions. I can't comment on another country's government with any kind of authority; I can barely comment on my government without sounding like an idiot. I don't know. I don't want to make a point today. One war is supposedly over; there are still 100,000 troops in Afghanistan, however. I saw Fair Game on Sunday, about Valerie Plame and the CIA leaking her name, and it seemed pretty obvious that the CIA knew there were no weapons of mass destruction in Iraq; they knew there was no uranium in Niger. But war commenced anyhow, and once it did, no questioning of the motives was tolerated, since that would "compromise security" and whatever. I know it was a movie, but it was based strongly in reality. That twists with my head, that people are willing to further their own reputations at the sake of their nation's people's intelligence and safety. But, I'm not really surprised.