Wed 9 Mar 2005
After reading America’s Secret War by George Friedman, I’m not as sore about America being in Iraq as I originally was. If George Friedman is right, George W. was more than a bit disingenuous in his public statement of America’s need to invade Iraq. He didn’t really believe there were WMD’s, he just needed a way to erode Al Qaeda’s support base with a show of US power in the region. Global diplomacy and American sentiments being what they are, you just can’t go around stating this plainly, though. I suppose a superpower has to do what a superpower has to do…
But this year I don’t have to pay for it!
I just finished my second night of calculating my U.S. taxes. YUCK!! This used to be easy, but moving overseas made it a mess. I started using tax software, too, for an extra dose of annoyment. At least there is one good thing about the mess; less taxes.
In fact, as a bona fide resident of another country I can exclude up to $160,000 of earned income. We slid quite easily under that high bar which means we don’t pay any U.S. federal income tax.
Which should theoretically mean the Hertzlers aren’t funding the war in Iraq this year.
However we still pay our fare share of American operating expenses via Social Security so don’t think we have a completely free ride.
March 13th, 2005 at 4:06 pm
Cathy hates when I write about politics, and I hesitate as well.
Maybe in the end Iraq was an effective strategy; time will tell.
April 18th, 2005 at 11:03 am
I cringe every time I read this post.
Many of my friends are in the military, and I respect them greatly. But I don’t view the US decision to invade Iraq as a decision of our military but rather of the current administration. The U.S. military executed the plan flawlessly.
The issue of Iraq is one where I suppose the US is taking a big risk. If the situation goes our way and fundamentally changes the world, everyone will retrospectively consider George Bush and Co., including the military, geniuses.
If the situation goes badly for the US (which at this point could still happen but doesn’t appear to be happening), I’m sure everyone who oppossed the move will quickly remind us how they were right all along.
At this point I just don’t know how to judge the situation. If I wasn’t a US citizen, I wouldn’t need to judge the situation, but since I vote I need to form a position.
As far as my job as a Christian goes, the changes in the Middle East that resulted from the US-led invasions has greatly improved our ability to communicate the love of Jesus Christ there. While some might consider that an ironic situation, in God’s plan, this may have been the entire purpose. But I’m not sure how one could know that. Moral grounds alone didn’t motivate the U.S., as our inaction in Rwanda clearly illustrate. But that doesn’t mean they weren’t a valid part of the equation.
My brother in law had some good thoughts on the matter I might try to post later if he doesn’t mind.
Please add your thoughts if the U.S. moves in the Middle East are comfortable for you.