Hmmm, thumbs up to Persians is the same as our middle finger. Could it be those kids aren't ALL that happy to see the photographer?

Hopefully, they've just been around the soldiers long enough to pick up their mannerisms. :)

http://www.ooze.com/finger/html/foriegn.html

I always thought that while patriotism was the last refuge of right-wing scoundrels, one could at least be thankful they wouldn't stoop to the warm-and-fuzzy "do it for the children" sermonizing exclusive to the bleeding heart left.

Now that the two tactics have now converged in the modern GOP, we have the worst of both worlds.

These kids aren't Persians, they're Iraqi Arabs and speak Arabic.

The people who live in Iran aren't Arabs, they're Persians (Aryans ) and speak Farsi.

Steve,
How does a great site like yours pick up loser commenters like the first two posters? Anti-war types are so intent on being miserable that even innocent pictures of happy school kids generates only cynical responses. That's just sad and pathetic.

Anyway, Congrats on your new addition Steve and keep up the great work.

Mark in South Texas

I'm accused of being miserable and having a cold, cold heart. Again, lovely stuff, another page ripped from the fringe left playbook.

Careful guys, this strategy can be like quicksand. Pretty soon you'll start feeling bad for the kids in Africa and want to do something for them too.

What a loser Nate is. Yeesh!

So, seeing happy kids and knowing that something good has happened in their lives is now a bad thing?

Man, miss one VRWC meeting and find yourself voted permanent chapter secretary, and all the changes...

Hopefully, we will be remembered in Iraq for what we intended to do and not what we ended up doing. Those children will NOT grow up in a democratic Iraq. Anybody who thinks they will still believes WMD's will be found if we just keep looking.

The killings will go on whether we stay, beef-up, or just leave. We are building an army that will one day control and oppress those that had oppressed them, or the Sunnis -- with help from other Muslim factions in the whole of the Middle East -- will once again take control of the country and opress the Shittes. We have altered the balance of power among the Islamic factions and will be watching the results for years to come.

If nothing else for our time in Iraq, for one brief period, free elections in an Arab nation occurred. Those free elections and the feelings of self-actualization they incurred may be our lasting legacy and our greatest gift to those children.

I'd like to do something about the starvation in Africa, but the UN is in charge and they'd rather rake in the bakeesh than oust Mogabe and his fellow famine-makers and moonbats back that position.

I won't believe it until I see kids flying kites again!

"We have altered the balance of power among the Islamic factions and will be watching the results for years to come."

Wow Scott29c, just when I'd given up hope that you'd have one single actual thing to say you sum it all up in one sentence.

Yes, you're right. Not just for years, but for generations all of humanity will be reaping the benefits of the freedom and democracy we are now spreading.

Rats, scout29c

Stephen,
Regardless of the source of your link to Yon's photo essay, I find it absolutely unbelievable the number of commenters who take it as some sort of propoganda ploy.
Michael Yon is a front line embedded reporter, and truly gives his readership the straight line. And, yes, I have contributed to his continuing ability to report facts from Iraq.
It's intellectually incomprehensible to me how persons who would be applauding were it Clinton/Gore/kerry (non cap on purpose)engaging in this freedom/democracy creating endeavour, denigrate it based on the, obviously incurable, BDS.
Mike

Mark H.: My only problem with the war is that it was about 10 years later than I wanted.

tefta: I forgot that most Iraqis are Arabic. Come to think of it, it was an Iranian that told me about the thumbs-up gesture.

Nate: As someone who is a conservative Republican (but who values principle above partisanship), your comment (2nd in this thread) is actually what was on my mind, upon coming to this entry. But VodkaPundit has had a longtime tendency to use liberal arguments and 'emotional mush' in order to justify government action (actually, one particular government action).

I was discussing this tactic recently in regard to Sudan.... but it's been awhile since I've had to do so with regard to Iraq. I used to do this frequently, though.

I guess when all else fails, liberalism is the last refuge of a...
war bird.

Iraqi's aren't Arabic, they're Arabs who speak Arabic.

Arab is not a bad word. It's a factual description of their racial heritage. The expletive deleted media have turned our language and perfectly good words on their head.

Careful guys, this strategy can be like quicksand. Pretty soon you'll start feeling bad for the kids in Africa and want to do something for them too.

Oh, we already do. We're trying to bring back DDT, which would keep millions of them alive.

Didn't any read the captions? These are Kurdish kids...they have the best chance of any of the kids in Iraq to grow up in a democracy, whether it remains part of Iraq or splits off into its own country.