Mainstream media loves to observe anniversaries, but you’ll be hard pressed to find too many reports about the fact that tonight marks the 11th anniversary of the U.S. invasion of Iraq, which began with an unsuccessful assassination attempt on Saddam Hussein.Iraq is worth remembering today, though, because we don’t think about it at all these days. While Russia’s annexation of Crimea is one of the biggest issues in the world, the worst problem isn’t there but in Syria, where a horrific civil war has been ongoing for three years.
A reported 140,000 Syrians have been killed in the conflict, and let’s face it – for the time being, there’s no end in sight.
That was actually the title of a 2007 documentary on U.S. involvement in Iraq. But as we all know, we did get out, on December 31, 2011, due to an agreement that the Bush administration made with the Iraqi government in 2008.
Iraq matters, though, because it has definitely affected the way Americans feel about foreign intervention. Although David Jolly might have wanted the U.S. to attack Syria’s government after President Bashar al-Assad allegedly employed chemical weapons late last summer, virtually no one else did.
Concerns about who are the “good guys” in Syria’s opposition have stifled any serious attempts at our arming those groups, and meanwhile, that war continues.
So, no, it’s not the 10th anniversary, and maybe there won’t be further examination of Iraq until the 15th anniversary – but it’s worth thinking about how the decision to invade a sovereign nation because of faulty intelligence is something that has absolutely affected the viewpoint of our foreign policy, and is worth considering this morning.
Remember when state Senator Matt Gaetz proclaimed last year he didn't support "changing one damn comma" in the Stand Your Ground law? Well, he may not believe so, but two of his GOP colleagues did in a committee in Tallahassee yesterday. Could we see some changes in the controversial law? Stay tuned.
When you talk fast food in America, there's McDonald's, and then there's everyone else. Picking up where they left off last year, activists in Tampa demonstrated in front of a franchise in North Tampa yesterday, boosted by reports that the corporation has been ripping off its employees in different parts of the country.
That proposal in the Leigislature for the children of undocumented immigrants to be eligible for in-state tuition rates looks to be on shaky ground at the moment. Although House Speaker Will Weatherford is bent on doing whatever he can to get it through the House, the bill may get stalled in committee in the Senate.
And Tim Tebow will be coming to Tampa in June. No, not to play backup to new Buc QB Josh McCown, but to be the headliner (along with one of the dudes from Duck Dynasty) at the Men's Impact Weekend.