Iraq and Roll

I just heard over the Christmas holiday that a relative of my wife is being dragged off to Iraq. By all accounts, this young man is not happy. He was one of those tweeners who could have either, a) ended up in jail or b) entered the military to "get his act together." I'm not sure his act is any better, but he did join the Army and served two tours in Afghanistan, a long ways away from the combat zones. And, he's not in jail.

Now, however, this gung-ho 20-something isn't calling his own shots any more. All the misty talk about education and postings in Hawaii are long gone. Now, he's heading to hell and he has no choice.

As we wait with hope for a New Year, it's depressing to imagine just what POTUS is thinking, but I tend to believe it will involve the lives of many other young men and women just like my wife's relative, who will be put in harms way to protect nothing more than a failed political strategy.

For those of us old enough to remember Viet Nam, there is a good deal of head-shaking going on. We've seen this before, and it ended badly. If I close my eyes, I can see Huey's hovering over the Green Zone....as it quickly turns red.