Here are a few blogging websites run by soldiers and civilians in Iraq and Afghanistan. After exploring them, answer the following questions:
1. Is there a general consensus on how the war is going in Iraq or Afghanistan?
2. What are common themes that seem to be in every blog?
3. Is there anything new that you learned from reading the postings?
http://riverbendblog.blogspot.com/
Girl blog from Iraq, talking about war, politics, and occupation.
http://afamilyinbaghdad.blogspot.com/
One family's dairy of life in post-war Baghdad.
http://www.michaelyon-online.com/
Author and freelance journalist Michael Yon sends dispatches from the war in Iraq and Afghanistan.
http://www.bucksargent.net/
A soldier on his third tour
http://desertflier.blogspot.com/
Life and death in the Anbar Province through the eyes of a flight/trauma nurse
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1. According to these websites, it is not a general consensus on how the war is going. For instance, while some say the fighting could diminish in the near future, others are convinced that the conflict is far too complex to resolve.
2. A common theme that is mentioned in every blog is former President Bush's foreign policies toward Iraq and his actions when dealing with the war. Another common theme is how American's perceive and react to the war, whether supporting the US's actions or opposing them.
3. From reading the postings, I learned that people have many different opinions of the war. These people each conveyed their feelings in their own unique way, such as when the "American Citizen Soldier" expressed thoughts of the war in Iraq through examples of sarcastic humor.
1. There is a general consensus on how the war is going in Iraq and Afghanistan. The general consensus being that many would like to the war to end. For example, in A Family in Baghdad blog, the writer explains how the American people are being deluded and deceived of what is really going in the war. In the Baghdad Burning blog, the writer fears of never getting to the border. A fear, that Americans could not understand. Americans could not understand the terror and fear that these people feel every day. In Michael Yon's online magazine, General Petraeus explains that he believes that by the end of this year, there is a very high chance that a reasonable observer will be able to say, "The Iraq war has ended." He explains that "this does not mean that we will not take a small number of casualties each month, but that the war will end and we can switch to helping Iraq stand, and truly start to bring more of our folks home." Everyone wants the war to end soon and while some believe it will not, others believe that there is a good chance that it will.
2. The common themes that seem to be in every blog are President Bush, his foreign policies, the war in general, and President elect Borack Obama. The blog, A Family in Baghdad, seems hopeful about new President elect Borack Obama. Unlike other Presidents, like Bush, Obama is a man of a different kind. The writer explains, "his (Obama's) speech was full of balanced logical talk that was not affected by the ecstasy of victory and success, so he didn't appear to us boasting and threatening to use force on the left and the right like Bush used to do in his fiery speeches that come directly after his victory in the voting boxes." However, the blog, American Citizen Soldier, talks about the war in a unique and sarcastic way. As they poke fun at the war they also explain the trueness of it.
3. Yes, there is something new that I learned from reading the postings. What I learned is that every one is affected by this war. As Americans suffer, so do the people of Iraq and Afghanistan . In the United States we are sheltered from what is really going on in the war. The media categorizes Middle Eastern people as terrorists, making Americans afraid and judgmental of any colored Middle Eastern person that they see. We are lied to and deceived by the media everyday. We are not shown the other side. The vast majority of Middle Eastern people are suffering, if not more, then Americans. The people in the Middle East have the same feelings, emotions, and thoughts as Americans do. The people of the Middle East are a lot closer to us then some Americans would like to believe. If only some Americans would try to look at things with an open mind, maybe then, they would begin to understand that Americans and Middle Easterners are closely linked together in so many ways.
1. There is a general consensus in these blogs because they all talk about the war even if it is a good point of view or a bad one. For example, the Baghdad Burning blog talked about how this one guy is so used to doing things that he doesn't even know that he is doing them. He says that "avoiding peoples eyes when walking down the street or murmuring prays when he is stuck in traffic" just happens because they are now his habbits that he picked up during the war. In the blog by Michael Yon, he talks about how the americans are safe in warm at home while the troops are out in the cold at night killing inoccent people while they are trying to kill terrorists. One blog that caught my attention was the blog A Family in Baghdad. It talked about how Obama was elected to be president and how Obama said that it wasn't his victory but that it was the peoples victory.
2. The common themes throughout the blogs are Obama being elected, President Bush; his foreing polices and how the people are reacting to the war. In the blog A Family in Baghdad, they were happy to find out that Obama was elected. They believe that he is "a man of different kind" and that his speech was "was full of balanced logical talk that was not affected by the ecstasy of victory and success." For how the people are reacting to the war is different, some people are so used to it that they have grown some habbits that they still keep doing and they don't even notice anymore. In the last blog Desert Flier, it talks about the war but kind of in a joking way.
3. A thing that I have learned from these blogs are that not everyone in the middle east were part of what happened. They happen to be people that are now stuck in the middle of it and they can't do anything about it. Some/most are trying to stay alive and not be shot. The people weren't happy about what President Bush did and are now glad that Obama is going to step in and take a different route in what to do about the whole thing.
1. According to all of these websites, there is not a general consensus on how the war seems to begoing. According to some people they say that the way that the war seems to be going that there might be some hope in the future of the war ending, but to many others they seem to belive that this is to intense of a conflict to be resolved so soon and they belive that their is a lot more blood shaded to come.
2. A common theme that is seen throught out all of these blogs are all coming back to president bush and how his foreign policies dealing with the iraqwar and his actions towards it pop's up in all of theses blogs. Another one that seems to keep coming up is that of america prespecitve on the warand how they plan to deal with it and how some of there actions that they have been making havent been the right ones.
3. From reading all of the posted blogs from others i have learned some stuff. I have seen what others in different places or people that have been in iraq what there view points with this whole conflict going on. Also i have learned what the average American soldier or citizen thinks are completely different from each others.
1. In all of these websites, they never talk about how the war is actualy going. Mostly they are talking about what their experiences are with the war. Nobody seems to have a good grasp about what is going on right now with the war, and what might happen in the future.
2. One of the common themes mentioned in all of the blogs, is president bush's foreign policies in Iraq. Also the other really common theme is the war and personal experiences with the war.
3. From reading the posts, i learned about the experiences that people have had over in Iraq and how that has affected them. I also found it interesting that Buck wrote poetry about the war.
The view points of a solider and a citizen are the same but vary in their tone/attitude towards the war in Iraq. A citizen sounds more concerened and scared because the war is killing their neighbors and family. The Baghdad woman has a more agitated and frustration in her voice because the armies are destroying the lives of the people and all she can do is stay and watch this happen to the many people. While on the blogs pretaining to soliders sound as though that the war is horrific and it is up to them and try to change what is happening. All in all I think that soliders and civilians alike would love to have the war end and get back to their lives, but politics are ever keeping that dream from being reaches.
The best word to describe all the blogs would be Longing. No matter who the person is writing the blog he or she is longing for peace, democracy, home, or something that seems impossible to acheive, but yet they dream for it to happen.
I learned a lot of things. Primarily I learned that what the civilians and soliders are going through are far from m realm of belief because I could never imagine how people live after seeing and experiencing the war on a first hand basis. I would like to believe that the world is a perfect place but it isn't and some of these people have to face that reality at too young of an age.
1. According to these websites, i don't think it is a general consensus on how the war is going. For some people, the war is a never-ending fight and they feel very pessimistic about it, like the American Citizen Soldier blog. On the other hand, some bloggers feel optimistic about the war and how things are going in their daily lives, and they're not exactly sure how the fighting is actually going in Afghanistan or Iraq.
2. Some of the common themes that seem to be in every blog are the conditions of every-day living for the blogger's. Their positive views of Obama, and how they feel he will help change things for the better, and of course, their own personal views on the war and how it has effected each and every one of them.
3. From reading these postings, I've learned how actual people's lives are being effected because of the war, like in the family in baghdad's life, which is changing for the worse because of the war. I've also learned about how soldier's feel about the war, like the American citizen soldier, who is very sarcastic about the conditions, and tries to bring humor to the whole situation. These blogs gave me a real insight on how people's daily lives are being effected because of this war.
1. According to these websites I do not think there is a general consensus on how the war is going. Some people say the war seems to be like might be hope in the war ending, but others seem to believe that this it is never ending because it is impossible.
2. One common theme in the blogs is President Bush and hes foreign policy and the steps he has taken relating to the war. Also some blogs talked about President elect Obama and the actions he will take relating to the war.
3. In these blogs I learned that people in the middle east have high hopes for Obama and believe he is gong to change the path this war will take.
1. With these documents, there is a general consensus that the war is not going well. One soldier who is back in the states describes this views on the war as, "The best thing about Iraq is that I'm not there." Mostly everyone who writes these blogs describes the horrors they have been exposed to as a result of the war, such as not being able to cross a border, or being away from their home, Baghdad. Soldiers have been over there for three tours, and are feeling the weight of what is happening over there. These people have different views on the war, but I don’t think there is anyone who is actually advocating for the war to continue on.
2. The common themes that seem to be in every blog are America’s politics. People are displeased with the Bush administration, and are excited for what Obama’s presidential power will do to this war. Iraqi people wonder if Obama will bring about peaceful change in Iraq, for unlike Bush, Obama “gave me the impression he is a man of a different kind; a kind not similar to Bush, or Macain or Clinton, or the others we saw… for his speech was full of balanced logical talk that was not affected by the ecstasy of victory and success”.
3. The thing that I learned that I found the most interesting was the viewpoint of the Iraqi people who have been affected by the war. I think as Americans, we sometimes forget that we aren’t the only ones who are over there fighting, and that for ever soldier that we send over, they have an American family, and so do the people fighting in Iraq. We think that all of the people living there want to kill Americans and are all gun-wielding terrorists, but in reality, there are people over there who are losing much more than we are.
1. There is no general consensus about the war. There are people that say the war is going to end soon and others that say there's many years to come before we see much of a difference.
2. I think a common theme in the websites is that the people talk about their experiences so far and express their yearning for either help of and end to war.
3. I didn't learn much of what I didn't already hear about but I did gain a bigger perspective on the views of the other people involved with the war, whether they wanted to be or not.
1. The general consensus on how the war in Iraq and Afghanistan is going seems to be that it is not going anywhere. i mean sure they complete certain smaller missions but from what ive seen elsewhere its like there is no plan, and if there is, it is a big secret(cough cough OIL). it seems as thought the end to this war is far out of reach.
2. Every blog has a negative feeling towards the war. if its a blog form the Iraqi's point of view... its longing for the small bit of normalcy that they once had. its wanting peace in their own country. its wanting their country to feel like its THEIRS. In the american soldiers blogs it is longing to be home with their loved ones, and if they are home, they can't forget about the women and men that are not home.
3. Even though we have been hearing this in class- it still shocks me how little some of the soldiers actually know about the war. In one of the blogs... the last one about the flight/trauma nurse... he talks about coming home to a ton of the same questions. one of them being "Should we be over there?" and even though he has ben over there... he still says "dunno." i would think that -especially once someone has been there and seen first hand what is going on- they would at least form oppinions.
1. The general consensus on how the war is going in Iraq or Afghanistan is negative. The war seems to be in a stalemate. The refugees keep fleeing and we keep on killing innocent people so by chance we might kill a terrorist. The citizens are tired of the dangerous conditions that never seem to end. There is no place for them to seek refuge to with out have to go through tough requirements that take lots of time. The soldiers believe they are digging a hole that’s never going to go away. They are bringing the countries back to how they felt with the British occupation and they’ll have to start to rebuild for ground zero. The soldiers believe them fighting isn’t going to help the countries rebuild, that is going to take time without bombs.
2. The common themes of the blog are the condition of the war now and the hope with the new President-Elect Obama. All the blogs seem to talk about how the press and president have hidden the truth of the current terrible conditions of Iraq and Afghanistan. Also everyone is hoping the new president will bring safety, freedom, and possibly a new home for them with his new “balanced logical talk.”
3. I learned how we’re cause the Iraqis to revive the memories of the British occupation; we’re not helping them to get closer to their independence and freedom. Also that when “there is an occasional overuse of force, it gets blamed on Americans.” The Americans are so looked down upon that they get blamed for everything.
1. I think that the main consensus on how the war is going is that they are still going. I think that all of these people want whattever war is affecting them to end, but it won't anytime soon. The soldiers mention a little on how the fighting is but the civilians focus more on their lives and what the wars are doing to them.
2. One main common theme that is in every blog is the person's daily struggles while living in this war. The soldiers mention how they try to live normal lives like back at home and how in many ways it is still different. The other people and the family talk about what their lives are like every day within the regrowing nations, and life as refugees. Another common theme is that they write their oppinions about the war and recent politics. The family especially wrote about how they feel about the recent election.
3. From reading these posts I have gotten glimpses of the life of a soldier and anyone else living in that region. I also got to understand how hard it is to be a refugee in another country, and what it is like to have to say goodbye to people you may never see again. I also got to see how people feel about how they are treated just because they are from the middle east. I got to read about how they feel discriminated from everyone else.
1. Generally people do not want the war to continue, everyone is apologizing for what has happened. There seems to be alot of sympathy on both sides.
2. Our presidents are mentioned in each blog, one said that Obama is different. He did not boast over the victory, it was for the people.
3.I learned that the people over there want it to stop just as much as we do. Most of the support is and has been for the soliders rather then for the war itself.
1.1.5 million Iraqis in Syria, means there is something to fear or flee " home" frome. Rapes and lynchings seem to be out of the ordinary for us in the United States but is an everyday 'thing' for people in the middle east.600,000 iraqis have been killed since the war. I agree with the girl " The americans hands are tied...Washington was big guns and planes...but Iran has 150,000 american hostiages."
2. a common theme you could always find is a longing for the "right" thing. Family's being torn apart (no pun intended) by bombings, just seperation from family's, and soldier leaving wives,mothers and daughters. its awful.
3. I haven't really learned anything. think of it this way...have you ever read a book and knew exactly how the ending was gonna be? its like that. foreshadowed. Pre-meditated if you will.
1. There is a general consensus on how the war in Iraq and Afghanistan is going and it is that they want it to end. Many hate what President Bush has done over the past years alot. Many are either scared or they are frustrated with what has happend with the war and what has happen in there own country.
2.There are a few common themes. Some common themes are President Bush's foreign policies, President elect Barack Obama and his plans for the future, and the war and how its going in general.
3.I learned that there are different opinions on the war whether they are good, bad, or not taken seriously. I also learned that everyone is suffering from this war whether it is our fellow americans or the suffering people in Iraq and Afghanistan. Lastly i learned that the Iraq and Afghanistan people are alot closer and more similiar to us then we might think they are.
1. It seems like the people writing are home sick and worry that they wont be allowed back into Iraq.Others want the americans to leave because there is no freedom when your being occupied and your occupiers are parading tanks through Baghdad every day. there are some who are concerned that when Iraq becomes safe they will lose their jobs to returning refugees
2. A common theme found in every blog is dissatisfaction with George W. Bush's foreign policies and that the people are hopeful for a change in these policies when Obama takes office.
3. I learned that the people actually like living in a sandbox and on a more serious note i learned that people feel differently about the course that this war and occupation is taking and also that this affected everyone over there which i have a hard time with truly understanding the concept of having your country be occupied seeings as how i cant recall the US being occupied in my lifetime.
1. I do believe there is a general consensus about how the war is going in Iraq or Afghanistan. Most of the people don’t talk directly about how they feel about the war, but give an account of their experiences. The general consensus is that no one wants the war to continue. In the AMERICAN CITIZEN SOLDIER site, the poems express how there are so many deaths of American soldiers, how the war will never end, and corrupt politics. Some of the bloggers have a more positive attitude than others, but they seem to agree that the war needs to end.
2. Some Common themes that are in these blogs are experiences, politics, propaganda, foreign policies, and American politics/policies(Bush,Obama). Example: Michael Yon talks about how there is false information about the war in Afghanistan. Most bloggers seem most concerned with getting, what they believe to be the truth, known.
3. I learned a lot of new things from these blogs. I learned that more people than I thought want the war to be over. The news does not show most of what these people are talking about which leads most of us to be one sided and ignorant. I learned that the people in the Middle East are more directly affected by the war and have experienced things I could never really imagine before. I realize there is struggle on both sides. The people in the Middle East suffer in their daily lives seeing death, losing their homes and family, and having an unstable economy. They just want the war to end. This is the same for the soldiers that have to go there, kill people, and live in harsh conditions when they just want to be home. These bloggers also seem to have very strong political opinions from their personal experiences from this war. I have learned that no one REALLY wants this war.
1. it seems like there really isn't a general consensus on how the war is going in Iraq or Afghanista. the oppinions on each side vary. but they all do agree that the fighting needs to be put to an end, so i guess that could be a general consensus.
2. the common themes in every blog are the way that President Bush is dealing with the war, his foreign policy and President Obama. another theme is American support, and how the war is percieved by different people, like the family from Baghdad.
3. i learned a lot of new things from the postings. i really didn't realize that some people don't want the war, or really think it is necessary. i also thought it was really sad how people didn't even want to talk about things that made them happy, like shopping or getting their hair done because it was such a thing of the past. from reading these, i'm really grateful to be an American and glad i'm not in their situation.
1. Most of the websites talked about the problems that many of the people face during the war, such as crossing the boarder to a safe territory or getting away from habbits that they had had. Others talk about the hate towards the wall the Americans had pushed to be built," The Great Wall of Segregation". I think alot of people do not like Americas involvment. Most people hate the goverenment for its deceptions.
2. Most of the blogs show the difficulties of living where they do. For instance the woman whos says she was raped by an official. The bloggers said that they had a hard time believing in their government and that people who weren't from the ME couldn't really understand there situation. Also the dislike towards Bush's administration.
3. I learned or I found interesting that alot of the people dealing with the wars sound almost as if it's normal.They may be afraid but when they're talking about the stories you can't tell if they're scared. Also that soldiers who come back from a war tend to have a sense of irony. Lastly alot of people don't like the Bush administration.
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