I was surprised and angered last week to tune into MSNBC and find the "official" Iraqi Deadline Countdown Clock. Naturally, my first reaction was that MSNBC had gone overboard with their extensive war coverage. I'm not exactly sure why an innocuous little timer has irked me this much, but it just seems wrong.

While it has been clear from the beginning that this conflict would be broadcasted like no other, did we really need a countdown clock to keep us posted?

Furthermore, what did MSNBC expect to happen when the clock hit zero? It's not like this was Y2K: The Sequel; there were no fears of bank computers deleting funds and nuclear power plants exploding at the speed of light. Clock or no clock, we understood that war was looming, and we didn't need second-by-second commentary to remind us.

It's sad to say, but for a second I actually wondered if the network wanted us to go to war for one rating or another; I know it's not true, but why put it on the screen? I'm sure the network meant well, but still...

The bottom line is that war is not something (in my opinion) you count down to, especially on national television. I can understand if this was "New Years Rockin' Eve" with Dick Clark, but this was a far different song with a much gloomier overtone.

Our servicemen are now fighting a ruthless dictator in a faraway place and will most definitely suffer casualties. As the cause is just, and the intentions true, I think we can all agree that our thoughts should be with our troops and not on novelty news coverage.