What is this world coming to?

By now I am sure everyone has heard of the decapitation of the American civilian in Iraq. Watching the footage of his last moments and the footage of his family being interviewed was very emotional even though I didn't know the family. It is a shame that someone so young had to die in such a horrible way.
Yesterday during lunch we talked about the prisoner abuse in Iraq and I have come to the conclusion that I should not discuss the war in Iraq with people at work. My beliefs are usually different but I didn't realize how conservative the people I work with are.

What amazed me about the news coverage was the reports of the "outrage" by the American people. Did we not see something like this coming after all the pictures of how the prisoners were being mistreated and abused in the news these last few days? The American people have the right to be outraged, outraged by the fact we have a president that invaded a country, outraged by the fact of number of soldiers that die every day, and outraged by the fact that an innocent man had to die in such a grewsome way. For those who are truly outraged I hope they make their way to the polls this coming election and show exactly how outraged they are.
How can a country (USA) trample the sovereignty of another (Iraq) and expect the people of that country to bow down and take over. Sure, Sadam was not the best leader in the world. I am quite aware of the human right violations, but have we really improved their lives that much? I don't really think that is something anyone on US soil can answer since we only see and hear what the government wants us to see. Has anyone heard of how many Iraqi people have died since the beginning of the war? I haven't but I have heard of how many US soldier die every day and it makes me wonder why those numbers are not released? Is it because our government wants us to feel sympathetic towards an unjust war?
Life is truly a precious commodity and I don't believe anyone has the right to place a value or take it away.

Having said that, I believe our president has pegged the life of a human being at a barrel of oil.