Day 291

While at home and while at Ft. Lewis I asked and heard asked the same question asked, "Why are the Iraqi's placing roadside bombs and firing rockets at us?" I never had a clear answer until recently.
Think back to the 1980's and attempt to remember the movie "Red Dawn". The Russians invaded and the local kids fought back. One of their own turned on them and Patrick Swasse ended up shooting his friend. When the others of the group tried to talk him out of it, his final statement was, "...because we live here." Tying in our situation to that movie, we are the Russians and the Iraq's are the kids.
Or to think of it another way; if China decided that the American government was a threat to the rest of the world and invaded the US. If they killed the President and Vice President and everybody in the chain of succession. If they arrested and put on trial every governor. If they disbanded the Army, Navy, Air Force, Marines, Guard and Reserve. If they fired the CIA, NSA, FBI and Highway Patrol. If they fired every County and City cop in the country. If they fired every mayor of every town in America. If they redrafted the lesson plans for every school in America. And then when the Chinese said they'd be out of our country in 10 years, would you then believe them? If, as the Iraqi's did here, you knew the Chinese were going to win, you opened all of the prisons in the country and let all of the criminals out and suggested they make trouble for the invaders, would you now feel emphathy for the common citizen?
What would you do? Would you sit by, try to make the best of it, going along with them, to try to keep your car and your house? Or would you load up the RV, collect as many guns and as much ammo as you could, and head for the hills? These Iraqi insurgents are doing what many of us would do in the same situation.
I'm not trying to defend them, and I wish they'd just pack up their dangerous toys and get on with their life. I'm just trying to put a little bit of perspective on this.