The past couple weeks have seen some interesting developments in information about the War on Terror. The Pew Research Center's report for the 22nd of October indicates that Americans are feeling positive about the ability of the government to protect them against further terrorist attacks. In the past year, however, they still feel that the ability of terrorists to attacks the US (compared with 9/11) is about the same.
On the war front, I predict a shift is going to take place in public opinion relating to the now "ended" war in Iraq. The recent release of the wikileaks Iraq war logs, a collection of sensitive government documents detailing the realities of ground operations during the occupation, will certainly not help efforts to make it look like a US victory. A further 15,000 unknown deaths of civilians are now uncovered, including details of where, when, and how these people were killed. A much clearer picture of the chaos surrounding counterinsurgency operations conducted by the US and our Iraqi allies is finally available. This includes cover ups of ROE (rules of engagement) violations, and indications that US soldiers were ordered to ignore Iraqi Army and Police torturing suspected insurgents.
While I would like to tell you all that I think this is a pack of lies, that isn't the case. I have seen and heard enough to know that most of this is firmly grounded in reality. Hopefully the public will absorb some of this and show the proper outrage at our government's failings.
