12.03.15
Bombs Away
Doesn't it seem as if the world's going mad? That's not an original thought. I've heard it expressed on TV and have heard the same from friends and family after each of the latest mass killings and/or terrorist attack. But the other day I spotted a story in
USA Today that helped provide a bit of perspective...for me, anyway. I try to be well-informed - we watch several news shows daily, read 2 printed newspapers, listen to some talk-radio & NPR. But the
USA Today article said our military was actually running out of bombs. Yep. We've been dropping so many in the various Middle East conflicts we have come close to depleting our stash.
"The Air Force has fired more than 20,000 missiles and bombs in the air war against the Islamic State, depleting its stocks of munitions and prompting the service to scour depots around the world for more weapons and to find money to buy them, according to records obtained by
USA Today."
Ouch. 20,000 bombs since August 2014. That's roughly 41 bombs daily over the past 480 days. A bomb every 35 minutes...every day. BAM! BAM, BAM, BAM. Can you imagine what it must be like to have that sort of assault raining down in your neighborhood? It's no wonder people in Syria, Iraq, Afghanistan, Pakistan, and neighboring countries hate America. I'm not advocating we stop going after ISIS - but I doubt the average American realizes the havoc we're inflicting on these countries. I also doubt the average Fox News fan or radical right-wing extremist is aware we've dropped 20-freaking-thousand bombs over there in past 16-months. As the clown-car of GOP candidates attack Mr. Obama for not uttering three words: "radical Islamic extremists" I am beginning to view Republicans as our own brand of domestic terrorists. (And yes, I used to consider myself a Republican.)