“Stay the course is not a policy. Part of the problem … is we have no measurement for progress, for success.
And so I think by any standard when you analyze two and a half years in Iraq where we have put in over a third of a trillion dollars, where we have lost over 1,900 Americans, over 14,000 wounded. Electricity production down, oil production down. Any measurement, any standard you apply to this, we’re not winning.
…
The reason that I don’t think more troops is the answer now is we’re past that stage now because now we are locked into a bogged down problem, not unsimilar, dissimilar to where we were in Vietnam.The longer we stay, the more problems we’re going to have, the more occupying force dynamics flow into this, the more influence of the outside people, as well as the inside people are going to hurt this country.”
So… which hate-America-first, lefty, lunatic-fringe wacko gave this devastating critique of the war in Iraq? Um… Republican Sen. Chuck Hagel of Nebraska, who received two Purple Hearts and other military honors for his service in Vietnam, and who sits on both the Foreign Relations Committee and the Select Committee on Intelligence. He continues:
“We should start figuring out how we get out of there … I think our involvement there has destabilized the Middle East. And the longer we stay there, I think the further destabilization will occur.”
Hmmm. So why are influential Republicans suddenly finding their cojones, and speaking their minds about President Bush’s failed war in Iraq? Could it have anything to do with the fact that Bush’s approval rating is now below that of Richard Nixon during the depths of Watergate? I dunno. Maybe.
Yeah, get out of Iraq, that’s a great idea. Leave it and create a destabilizing terrorist state and completely waste the lives of the brave Americans and our allies that died for the vision of creating a democracy there. Yeah, great idea. Leave it and watch millions of people get massacred like what happened in Vietnam after we left there. Yeah, great idea. Good thing you weren’t around in World War II or we’d be speaking German now, or come to think of it we probably wouldn’t be bloggin because there would be no free speech.
Let’s win the war in Iraq. Let’s quit demoralizing the troups and the Iraqi citizens and helping the terrorists by talking about getting out. What about that?
First off, lets all congratulate the Iraqis for completed the draft of their constitution.
I don’t know if that meets the standard for a messurement of progress. And lets not kid ourselves, Chuck Hagel, John McCain, Rick Santorum, Rudy, Pataki, Frist, etc… all want to be President in 2008. Everything any of them say needs to be put in that context (Where are they trying to move themselves politically?) The same applies to Hillary, JFK, Joe Biden, Evan Bayh, John Edwards, Bill Richardson and the list goes on.
Pop Quiz for all of the HA faithful;
(1) How long did occupation in Japan last?
(2) How long did occupation of Germany last?
(3) How many soldiers died at the first Battle of Manasass?
Now we get tougher
(4) In the beginning how did Lincoln escalate the Civil War?
(5) What major error did Churchill make which extended WWII?
(6) What tory, lawyer, war-protester was so inspired by watching the Battle of Fort McHenry from a British Warship, and was so inspired by the bravey and valor of his country men, he wrote what became the Star Spangled Banner?
Answers will be posted in about 20 hours.
Make this day in History, Tuesday, August 23, 2005, 12:02 am; Lame Duck Season has been declared in the White House. I repeat, Lame Duck Season has been declared in the White House.
The race for ’08 began about 5 years ago. What a sad state of affairs. Check out http://www.walken2008.com. This is our last hope!!!
TJ – WTF? Who is that creep? Never heard of him. Geez, he looks like “Data” from Star Trek Next Gen. And he builds houses without knowing how? Huh?
He’d make a great lib candidate. Or Her Highness. Either one. GOP will continue to win and dominate the landscape.
PAT ROBERTSON CALLS FOR MURDER OF VENEZUELA’S LEADER
From AOL News:
“VIRGINIA BEACH, Va. (Aug. 22) – Religious broadcaster Pat Robertson called on Monday for the assassination of Venezuelan President Hugo Chavez, calling him a ‘terrific danger’ to the United States.
“‘You know, I don’t know about this doctrine of assassination, but if he thinks we’re trying to assassinate him, I think that we really ought to go ahead and do it,’ Robertson said. ‘It’s a whole lot cheaper than starting a war … and I don’t think any oil shipments will stop. … We have the ability to take him out, and I think the time has come that we exercise that ability,’ Robertson said. ‘We don’t need another $200 billion war to get rid of one, you know, strong-arm dictator,’ he continued. ‘It’s a whole lot easier to have some of the covert operatives do the job and then get it over with.'”
Now, I call upon any and all Republicans posting on this board to publicly repudiate and disavow this nut.
So the march of the Raving Fuckwads begins. This “war” was begun by a bunch of cowards who ran as fast as they could from service to this country when this country called. They CLAIMED to support the Vietnam War but could not be bothered to serve. This DOES include our dear chickenshit in chief. OK…so they guys who REALLY DID serve…John McCain (a POW no less), Chuck Hagel, John Kerry, Max Cleland…are somehow unqualified to input on policy here, I guess because they are actual combat vets??? Who knew. Gee, Colin Powell and General Shinseki were wrong too. I guess because Shinseki sounds “Asian”, and Powell was more of the “uppity” than the “house” variety…so you can’t listen to him either.
And oh, the harpies WILL HARP. Why…because they do not have the courage or the nerve to look at the situation through anything other than the rose colored glasses bought and paid for by the bushies. This one is going bad, and FAST. I don’t care how many lame-ass quizes some dumbshit winger puts up.
@2
(1) The U.S. occupation of Japan officially ended on April 28, 1952.
(2) This one’s a bit tricky as Germany was partitioned into halves during the Cold war. The Four-Power occupation effectively ended in 1948 when the Soviets ceased cooperating with the Western Allies; but the occupation didn’t officially end until September 12, 1990.
(3) 847 (460 Federals, 387 Confederates)
(4) Calling for volunteers to suppress the rebellion
(5) Churchill’s insistence on invading Europe through the Mediterranean instead of mounting a cross-channel invasion in 1943 as urged by U.S. generals.
(6) Most Americans know that Francis Scott Key wrote the lyrics; but few know the tune was composed by John Stafford Smith.
PAT ROBERTSON CALLS FOR MURDER OF VENEZUELA LEADER
Televangelist Pat Robertson, in his “700 Club” broadcast on Monday, August 22, 2005, told his TV audience the U.S. government should kill Venezuela’s leader, Hugo Chavez.
And this guy thinks he’s a Christian?
Roger Rabbit @ 7
“PAT ROBERTSON CALLS FOR MURDER OF VENEZUELA LEADER”
Yep. . . another fine showing from the “culture of life” crowd.
“Republican Sen. Chuck Hagel of Nebraska, who received two Purple Hearts and other military honors for his service in Vietnam”
By tomorrow the Swifties will be saying Hagel awarded himself the Purple Hearts and, hell, he wasn’t even there.
Needless to say, the Venezuelans are pissed, and are threatening to cut off oil exports to the U.S.
Are you ready for $5 gas?
TJ @ 2
The quiz is a lovely civics/political science lesson that is completely irrelevent to the issues at hand.
My guesses –
q.1 (glib answer) Japan was occupied from 1945 to now, because we still have troops there. Same with Germany.
q.1 (educated guess), I’m sure the official occupations ended by the early 1950’s or so – but you may recall that both powers unconditionally surrendered after a full-blown and Congressionally declared war – so the analogy is false from the get go – there was no active resistance to our occupation.
q.2 I couldn’t give a specific number for the first battle of Manassas off the top of my head (I could google but that would be cheating). I know the South won that one, my guess is 5000-10,000 casulties, but it’s a guess (the Civil War is not my forte’, but I know there were later battles where casulties were in the tens of thousands, and overall toll was in the millions)
Winger bonus counter question – how many French guys died at Dien Bien Phu (no looking!) Double bonus question, how many French died defending Indochina. Extra credit essay – was it worth it?
q.3 I don’t know what our Rethug’s notion of Lincoln’s “expansion” of the Civil War is, but I’d say the Emancipation Proclamation. Still completely irrelevent to the question at hand.
Rethug bonus question #3, when did Johnson significanly expand the US presence in Vietnam? Double bonus question, by how many people?
q.4 “…major Churchill error that extended WWII…” Hmm, sounds like the sort of question armchair warriors ponder hypothetically on A&E, but I’d guess you’re talking about the decision to hit North Africa instead of opening a second front like Stalin wanted.
Winger bonus counter question – what were Don Rumsfeld’s top three mistakes that lengthened the Iraq occupation?
Q 6. Francis Scott Key (or whoever actually wrote the melody of the original English drinking song it’s based on in ye olde dayz).
This is all still a non sequiter with regard to Iraq – unless you think Toby Keith and his “we’ll put a boot in their ass” ditty will resonate through the ages better than Shrub’s reputation – which is hovering somewhere between Herbert Hoover and Richard Nixon about now…
Roger Rabbit your $5 might not be too far out of line. When will the ‘world’ wake up and see we are being bankrupted by the OPC? Why dosn’t the G7 or the EC and APEC, etc just get off their collective butts and start charging a 200% ‘surtax’ on absolutely everything that is shipped to OPEC countries. F’em!!! Let them start paying $300,000 for their $100,000 Mercedes, let them pay tripple to fly out of their countries on vacation…..absolutely F’EM
@6 – The last I checked we still have troops in both Germany and Japan, not to mention Korea and pretty much everywhere else we have been in the last century with the exception of Vietnam.
Bush’s approval rating is now below that of Richard Nixon during the depths of Watergate?
What Goldie doesn’t tell you is that the polls indicate that Americans actually support a more agressive stance against Iraq, not less.
Wow! Hegel sure is KOOKY!!!!
re 4: You call this pathetic mess “domination.” If Barney shooting himself in the foot is domination, then you dominate. But for now, I’m afraid, you’ll have to surrender your bullet.
13-
Where, in your delusional little universe do you get that stat?
Only dimbulbs like you read freep or lgf and those are the ONLY places chimpy’s Iraq approval is above 39%.
Well, it looks like Cindy Sheehan can finally go home because she finally has the answer to her question: “For what Noble cause did my son die for?”
To create an Islamic state in Iraq.
@ 6
That’s the shortest 20 hours I’ve ever heard of. Great job Roger Rabbit.
One difference between the left and the right – if you read around the web, you’ll see the right is calling Pat Robertson a nutcase, and irresponsible. The left, on the other hand, hears a grieving mother say that this country isn’t worth dying for, and makes her their mascot.
The final Iraqi constitution hasn’t been written. Stay tuned – the delay will probably mean less power to the Shiites, who are the ones who want the Islamic state.
PAT ROBERTSON CALLS FOR MURDER OF VENEZUELA LEADER
Sorry for continuing the off-topic discussion, but you made an error of omission here. That should read “RADICAL CLERIC PAT ROBERTSON CALLS FOR MURDER OF VENEZUELA LEADER.”
Yeah, get out of Iraq, that’s a great idea. Leave it and create a destabilizing terrorist state and completely waste the lives of the brave Americans and our allies that died for the vision of creating a democracy there.
So, now the mission in Iraq is to bring meaning to the mission in Iraq?
All I can say about the Walken 2008 campaign is: MORE COWBELL!!!!!
Perhaps we can leave Iraq when their own security has some balance against the insurgents. It is at that point, in my opinion, that our swift exit is in order. Any continued insurgency will be seen as an attack on the Iraqi people and less of one on the US forces. I know if the bastards were blowing my friends and neighbors up at the local market in there would be some angry (and well armed)residents they would have to reckon with.
As to the fair weather republicans, I am not so sure that is the case. Hagel is probably just as fed up as the rest of us. Bush has no real policy and has lost all purpose. He has failed everyone and now his only strategy is to parrot the same old shit like “stay the course”. Not all republicans are numbnuts like say…Frist. There are some smart ones out there and like the true and very real patriots they are, will be speaking up.
@ 18
Pat Robertson has been a known a nut case for a long time. Glad to see you’re coming around though, Janet S.
Oh yea, will somebody please get the cowbell joke?
Michael @ 13
–more aggressive? I think not. Gallup, Aug 5-7:
Which comes closest to your view about what the U.S. should now do about the number of U.S. troops in Iraq? The U.S. should send more troops to Iraq. The U.S. should keep the number of troops as it is now. The U.S. should withdraw some troops from Iraq. OR, The U.S. should withdraw all of its troops from Iraq.” Options rotated. N=1,004, MoE ± 3.
Send More 13%
Same as Now 28%
Withdraw Some 23%
Withdraw All 33%
Unsure 3%
So that would be 56% for pullout, 28% for stasis, and a whopping ONE IN TEN Americans who believes we should get “more aggressive” by sending more troops.
@ 26
SNL
Don’t fear the reaper, Jimmynap, fear Bush’s failed policy.
@ 21
The constitutional draft declares that Islam is “a main source” of legislation.
Yeah, that’s the Noble Cause. Iran must think they’re having a wet dream! Imagine, the Americans building another Islamic state that shares their radical Islamic Shiite “values” right next door.
Progress report on the War on Terror:
Osama Bin Laden destroys the Twin Towers, hits the Pentagon, kills nearly 3,000 Americans all for the mere cost of 19 airline tickets, gets the US to withdraw from the Prince Sultan Air Base in Saudi Arabia, has another radical Islamic state built courtesy of US blood and dollars and he’s still running free.
Yep, stay the course, seems like sound policy making to me — only if you happen to be a Bush supporter!
Just finished watching CSPAN2… Here’s what I took away from it:
1. Iraqis STILL do not have adequate water
2. Iraqis STILL do not have adequate electricity
3. 18 months ago, reporters would customarily drive from Bagdad to Najaf, now they dare not. They will only hitch a ride in a military convoy or a military helicopter. The insurgents are only part of the problem, the main problem is BANDITRY.
4. Most murders in Iraq are not even INVESTIGATED
5. Kidnapping and murder are rampant
WTF? Where have our half a trillion dollars gone? WTF is our POLICY? I have never said, and don’t believe that Bush is a BAD man, only that he is not smart enough to be president. He is probably smart at some things, like clearing brush, riding bicycles, and riding horses… What is our solution to this problem? First: Withdrawal Date. Let the Iraqis know “it’s all yours” after Dec 2006. Second: Get Halliburton the hell out of there. Third: Ask for international help.
Makes you wonder if Osama has his “Mission Accomplished” banner ready.
@14
You don’t know what the F’ you’re talking about! This has NOTHING to do with OPEC, which pumps about 40% of the world’s oil, and is pumping at full capacity. The run up in oil prices resulted from a dramatic increae in consumption.
22
My bad! Robertson should grow a scruffy beard. He sounds like those nutty Islamic clerics; it’s time he looked like them, too.
27
Let those who believe we should send more troops to Iraq be the first to go.
31
This goddam mess won’t get cleaned up until the American people withdraw Republicans from Congress and the White House. Period, end of story.
Oh sure thing Roger! I for one would be happy to listen and evaluate ANY Democratic solution, proposal, plan or just their HOPE for the best. Problem is, and you know it, is that the DEMS DON”T HAVE ANY! and if they do..It apparently is a secret. The one thing that is not a secret is that hatred of Bush is not going to get even one of your candidates elected. Too bad to, I prefer a balance of both parties viewpoints and compromise. Problem is, I can’t even identify any viewpoints of Democratic leaders other than “we hate Bush. It’s sad how irrelevent the Democratic party is becoming
Yeah, and the Democrats are all about vote fraud! Like in Wisconsin!
Oh wait…
http://www.wispolitics.com/100.....voting.pdf
Stay The Course = “Now that we know we’ve fucked up, let’s keep fucking up. It’s a matter of principle.”
37
When the people in charge are total fuckups, any solution necessarily begins with firing the people who created the mess in the first place. Then you go from there. It makes no damn sense to reward the Republicans for fucking up by re-electing them so they can fuck up even more stuff!
So, the answer to solving Iraq is to fire the Republicans? Yeah, that’s the ticket.
Okay, let’s assume you are magical and can fire all the Republicans. Now what? Yes? I’m waiting. What?
I’m still waiting for a few of our brave chickenhawks (and armchair military historians who consistently miss the lessons of history)to answer my counterquestions.
Nice response, BTW, Mr. Rabbit. I was still busy penning my guesses when you posted your answers…
@ 42
Speaking of Chickenhawks, has anyone seen Ms Chickenhawek “CAPS LOCK” Cynical, lately?
He still won’t answer for killing our soldiers a second time with his comments about mothers of the fallen.
I guess the heat got too hot in the kitchen of truth!
PacMan!!
Where ya at?
We got righties disrespecting our fallen soldiers and their families and nary a word from you!!
With your past positions on “liberals” disrespecting the military from the bygone era of Viet Nam, surely I thought you’d have something to say about Larry Northerens, Rush, O’Reilly, et al with their venomous attacks on the parents of the fallen.
Your silence is deafening. And, I’ll be quite disappointed in you if you don’t answer the bell.
Goldy, the Nixon approval figure of 39% cited in your link was from the summer of 1973. By the time Nixon resigned in August 1974, his approval rating was down to about 24%:
http://www.ncpa.org/oped/bartlett/jan2898.html
Bush’s approval rating is still at 38% …
Maybe he will resign next year????!!!!!!
Jimmynap @ 46
He would have to do more than handle a war poorly for that. Lyndon Johnson was probably less popular and a lot more Americans were being killed in Vietnam, and all that happened to him was to not run for re-election.
Just wishful thinking……
Pat Robertson’s remarks are quite the looking glass into the mindset and “values” of the radical Christian Right. Pat Robertson isn’t just one person talking off the cuff, he is an icon and a prominent leader of the religious right, a political operative and former candidate for the Republican party presidential primaries. He represents, influences and motivates millions for the conservative cause.
When you take away the cloak of his supposed patriotism and evaluate his core value ideologies, they are strikingly similar to Osama Bin Laden’s.
Both want to assassinate heads of state.
Both want to regulate women to a subordinate role in society.
Both want to have prayer in school.
Both want to outlaw gays and/or gay rights.
Both want to a non-secular government.
Both will advocate the use of violence as a means to an end.
Both will preach inflammatory and false statements to their base.
Neither follow the peaceful teachings of Jesus Christ.
Mr X @ 13;
As far as a “lovely civics/poli sci quiz” that is irrelevent, the fact you don’t see the relevence speaks volumes.
The point I am making, is that mistakes are made in every military effort, always have, always will be. Even during what we now all consider “Great Military Victories” blunders occured. Does anyone think America would be better had Lincoln cut and run after Manassas I? Does anyone think over 50K dead Americans was two high of a price to pay in Gettysburg? Was the Marshall Plan to expensive? Should we have just left Europe to handle the reconstruction of post-WWII Germany?
Believe it or not, many people supported all of these ideas at the time. 50 or 100 years from now, The cut and run in Iraq crowd may very well be amongst the before mentioned pundits.
The really question is, at any point and time, will anyone (for or against the war) ever admit they were wrong. One of the common knocks I hear on Bush/Cheney is they won’t admit they were wrong. It is amazing that the people who cry that the loudest are the same people who told Reagan that winning an arms race against the USSR was impossible. (and before you say anything, not a single one of them said that the USSR would collapes and the weapons would be available for terrorist). The Teddy K’s and John Kerry’s of the world all claimed the Soviets were financially, politically and socially sound and would not crumble.
THOSE WHO DO NOT KNOW HISTORY TRULY ARE DOOMED TO REPEAT IT.
R. Rabbit @ 7;
I am impressed, I will assume you did not use google either. Well done.
However:
On 1 and 2 I should have asked about drafting a constitution. You are right, the dates are vague and you get into terms like “officially ended”. Constitutions have clear cut dates (i.e. July 4, 1776, May 3, 1947, and May 23, 1949)
3) A bit off, over 4600 on the battle field is the official number (not counting those that die from complications days/months/years later). Over 2400 of which were Union troops. More in the first day of the Civil War than the entire effort in Iraq. (Which goes to show, the loaded “Is it worth it” question is truely impossible to answer).
4 and 5: A case could be made for so many blunders (that is the point). I would agree with you on 4. On 5, I would say not going into Rome 1943, thus freeing the Pope to speak out against Hitler. We could have a cup of joe and argue about that for hours and both be right and/or wrong at the sametime. Isn’t history great.
6) Was a free-be. But isn’t it amazing that Francis Scott Key is remembered as a Patriot and not as a disenter, who in 1814 (30 years after the revolution, folks) felt we should return to English colonzialization.
How will history treat today’s leaders?
Would past “Great Victories” had stood up in the face of the current information age with blogs, 24-hour news, and more spin then a spool of thread?
All great food for thought!!!
GBS @49:
“Neither follow the peaceful teachings of Jesus Christ.”
No, but both line up pretty good with the uglier statements attributed to the same source…
Goldy;
I will start posting under a new name since you said the magic word:
(PLEASE)
That’s all it takes sometime, just say (PLEASE)
I think it would be amazing if the weB LOGS let the effort in restoring civility to public debate.
Our politicos smell the herd turning. Nothing more, nothing less. You could put all the integity in Congress in a thimble and still fit your finger…
Roger, you’re wrong! Robertson is a fine christian true to the real history of the faith! You know what the situation calls for? Another fine old christian tradition!
How about burning him at the stake? Or maybe tar & feathers?
WHAT was the big “Iraq” story in August so far? Which vital issue got the most air-time and ink? The camp-out of a sad, tormented woman who had lost her son, her marriage and her judgment.
The media pounced on poor Cindy Sheehan in an anti-Bush, anti-war frenzy. The disappointment was obvious when she decided to go home.
What should have made headlines? It would’ve been nice to see more attention devoted to the complexity and importance of drafting a new constitution for Iraq. But my nomination for the “Greatest Story Never Told” is a quieter one: Locked in a difficult war, the U.S. Army is exceeding its re-enlistment and first-time enlistment goals. Has anybody mentioned that to you?
Remember last spring, when the Army’s recruitment efforts fell short for a few months? The media’s glee would have made you confuse the New York Times and Air America.
When the Army attempted to explain that enlistments are cyclical and numbers dip at certain times of the year, the media ignored it. All that mattered was the wonderful news that the Army couldn’t find enough soldiers. We were warned, in oh-so-solemn tones, that our military was headed for a train wreck.
Now, as the fiscal year nears an end, the Army’s numbers look great. Especially in combat units and Iraq, soldiers are re-enlisting at record levels. And you don’t hear a whisper about it from the “mainstream media.”
Let’s look at the numbers, which offer a different picture of patriotism than the editorial pages do.
* Every one of the Army’s 10 divisions — its key combat organizations — has exceeded its re-enlistment goal for the year to date. Those with the most intense experience in Iraq have the best rates. The 1st Cavalry Division is at 136 percent of its target, the 3rd Infantry Division at 117 percent.
Among separate combat brigades, the figures are even more startling, with the 2nd Brigade of the 2nd Infantry Division at 178 percent of its goal and the 3rd Brigade of the 4th Mech right behind at 174 percent of its re-enlistment target.
This is unprecedented in wartime. Even in World War II, we needed the draft. Where are the headlines?
* What about first-time enlistment rates, since that was the issue last spring? The Army is running at 108 percent of its needs. Guess not every young American despises his or her country and our president.
* The Army Reserve is a tougher sell, given that it takes men and women away from their families and careers on short notice. Well, Reserve recruitment stands at 102 percent of requirements.
* And then there’s the Army National Guard. We’ve been told for two years that the Guard was in free-fall. Really? Guard recruitment and retention comes out to 106 percent of its requirements as of June 30. (I’ve even heard a rumor that Al Franken and Tim Robbins signed up — but let’s wait for confirmation on that.)
Of course, we’ll hear stammering about an “army of mercenaries”— naive, uneducated kids lured by the promise of big retention bonuses. That’s another lie told by the elite to excuse themselves from serving our country in uniform.
The young men and women who have been through the crucible of combat — often on repeated deployments — are hardly naive. Their education levels exceed the American average. And, as of Aug. 2, the Army had spent a 2005 total of only $347 million on Selective Re-enlistment Bonuses — that’s weekend walking-around money for America’s Fortune 500 CEOs.
Big bucks for risking your life? Not hardly. Only 60 percent of soldiers get any re-enlistment bonus. For the overwhelming number whose skills merit an extra incentive, bonuses runs between $6,000 and $12,400 per year of contracted service — per year of facing death, wounds, separation from family and uncertainty as to whether you’ll ever see that family again.
A total of 643 soldiers with very special capabilities, from special operators to doctors, got an average payment of $57,000 — a fraction of what the private sector offers them for doing the same jobs at far less risk.
No, they don’t do it for the money.
Guess we have to face it: Patriotism is alive and well. Soldiers believe in the Army, and they believe in their missions in Iraq and Afghanistan. They love their comrades, too. And yes, the word is “love.” They would die for the man or woman serving beside them. They’re risking their lives to save a broken state, to give tens of millions of human beings a chance at decent lives, to do the grim work that no one else in the world is willing to do.
Their reward? The Cindy Sheehan Extravaganza. Predictions of disaster. The depiction of Michael Moore as a hero and our soldiers as dupes. And a ceaseless attempt to convince the American people that there’s no hope in Iraq.
The ugly truth is that much of the media only cares about our soldiers when they’re dead or crippled. That’s a story.
As you read this, 500,000 soldiers are on active duty because they chose to serve their country. Additionally, hundreds of thousands of Reservists and Guard members have been called into uniform. And they’re all behaving as true soldiers do: Running toward the sound of the guns, not away from them.
We should be humbled by their choices, honored by their sacrifices, and proud of what they’re fighting to achieve. Instead of the jerk’s refrain “Support our troops, bring them home,” the line should run “Support our troops, make their home worthy of them.”
Bush better be careful of Chuck Hegel. He owns the voting machines….
re 21: Iraqi oil isn’t worth dying for. Neither is GWB or DC. They were unconstitutionally appointed to their offices by the Supreme Court and any legislation signed by GWB is void and NOT THE LAW OF THE LAND.
igdaf @ 56
Your lengthy and eloquent post misses one crucial detail: the Iraq war is a war of opportunity. That’s the real ugly truth.