This is it exactly. I think the gulf war was the first time I truly experienced and internalized how problematic American warfare can be. Like, I knew about Vietnam, etc., but that was history-book knowledge instead of experienced knowledge. Seeing it play out then was bad, and this is horrifying.
I am struggling with what might be a generational experience. The gulf war was pretty politically formative for me. It’s not history so much as memory this time.
It is destabilizing to see almost the exact same gameplan but this time without the guardrails that at the time I took for granted.
Jan 3, 2026 23:28
