I have to finally admit that I have been a bit naive. In my heart of hearts I will continue to hope for an end to war. In my mind, I have come to the conclusion that the US has been engaged in a program of perpetual war since the end of WWII. As Goerge Orwell said in his book "Nineteen-Eighty Four" "continuous warfare is the key to social control."

There are several reasons why. First perpetual war keeps the public frightened and dependent. The three pillars of authoritarian control are poverty, ignorance, and fear. The "war on terror" has become the current boogie man used to justify war. It has taken the place of Russia in the cold war and the old fear of the spread of communism. This fear was used most recently by President Bush to justify the invasion of Afghanistan to stop the spread of terror and to squash Osama Bin Laden and Al-Qaeda, and the invasion of Iraq to remove weapons of mass destruction and remove Saddam Hussein from power.

You only have to look at all the hoopla raised over the building of a Muslim Temple near ground zero to see how this fear has spread throughout the nation. Many have told me of their fear of Muslim terrorists who are out building mosques all over the US waiting to rise up and take over the country and instill sharia'ah law. I say BULLSHIT!!! It is nothing more than fear spread by those in power to keep the general population in fear.

Which brings us to reason number two. The US war machine has to continue to be fed. Some 50% of our tax dollar goes to funding the military. We have troops in over 100 countries. We spend more on our military than the rest of the world combined. Many of the richest people in this country make their living off of the military budget.

I voted for President Obama because I thought he would bring an end to the Iraq and Afghanistan wars. It was a main stay in his presidential campaign. I'm disappointed in him because he has failed to bring this about. Oh he brought a bunch of troops out of Iraq only to move them to Afghanistan. But there are still troops in Iraq, and all troops are "combat troops." I think that is why so many voters turned against him and his fellow Democrats. He didn't deliver as promised. I would imagine those in power have whispered in his ear and told him how things are and he backed down on his promises.

So those who are saying "I told you so," I guess I have that coming. There are those who would call be a bleeding heart liberal. Well someone has to morn the lose of all those lives, both in the military and civilian, on our side and theirs. I refuse to just look at the numbers without reminding myself that there is a human being just like you and me behind each of those numbers. People with hopes and dreams just like you and me.