I support the military. I support the men and women who put their lives on the line for this country. Do I support the war? Simple. I support the military.

Protesting troops or at military bases in unacceptable. Even worse, the mindless, selfish, arrogant bastards who protest at troops funerals need to be shipped off the the front lines. People who protest at troops funerals are no better than the terrorists who attack our freedom and kill Americans. They do not deserve air.

If you don't support the war, don't protest the troops, they are just doing their jobs. If you protest the troops please get out of my country. You are not welcome. You are not wanted, and frankly you are not American.

I was on the verge on being ashamed to call myself an American because of all the stupid people in this country. Then I realized that it's not I that should be ashamed to call myself an American because of these people, for these people are not truly Americans

 

I was bothered by some of the conspiracy vs. government rhetoric on this thread and wanted to post a description from the NY Times of Flight 427 outside of Pittsburgh. The thing to note here is that 427 was not flying as fast as 93 but the results from a crash at similar angles.

http://query.nytimes.com/gst/fullpag...=&pagewanted=1

The bottom line on this thread is that no one is going to change anyone else's mind, especially those who are digging in.

My last response is to the person who posted that if we believed in the war we should volunteer and go fight. Been there, done that, and survived the lowest point a serviceman or woman would endure from their country, unfortunately many of those same folks who did that to the Vietnam Vets are behind the decent today. I am not ashamed of my service nor will I tolerate anyone else who demeans our troops. Our weak politicians, on both sides of the isle, who pander to special interests instead of listening to their constituents, are feathering their own bank accounts are the ones who need to be recalled and put on trial for their pandering and mismanagement of public funds and treason. We will soon elect a new president, someone who comes from the same halls of congress that has a 9% approval rating.

Kinda makes ya feel all warm and fuzzy about our prospects for the next few years. If I were facing surgery I'm not sure I would pick a Doctor with a 9% success rate to do the job.

 

You have got to be kidding.

To those of you referring to 911 as an incident... can not think of words that exspress my feelings.

I guess I am not ready for public forums...

Notice that I have cleaned out my desk.

 

My thoughts on the Iraq War:

I don't care about WMD or yellowcake or any of that nonsense. What I care about is people living under the thumb of a dictator that we allowed to rise to power and left in power for over a decade after he'd invaded and was expelled from another country. It was estimated at one time by the UN that over a million Iraqi children died as a direct result of the sanctions imposed after the '91 Gulf War. Over a MILLION. Our country had also spent billions along with other coalition nations to guard and patrol the borders and no-fly zone within Iraq. This is all going on as Saddam Hussein builds more palaces, equips and trains the Fedayeen Saddam to fight an insurgent war, and France, Russia, and China make billions from currency flowing through the Bank of France to China and Russia for military weapons and supplies.

In my mind, it was either Saddam or the kids. Yeah, a lot of people have died. That is WAR. In the grand scheme of things, show me another war that has gone on for over five years that has resulted in fewer casualties for both military personnel and civilians. Does that make these casualties worth less than those? Hell no. The people who volunteer in our armed forces know that freedom is NOT free, and the red stripes on our flag may very well represent the blood that they will spill to protect, defend, and spread forth the freedom this country represents.

 

Saddam Hussein Kill tally: Approaching two million, including between 150,000 and 340,000 Iraqi and between 450,000 and 730,000 Iranian combatants killed during the Iran-Iraq War. An estimated 1,000 Kuwaiti nationals killed following the Iraqi invasion of Kuwait. No conclusive figures for the number of Iraqis killed during the Gulf War, with estimates varying from as few as 1,500 to as many as 200,000. Over 100,000 Kurds killed or "disappeared". No reliable figures for the number of Iraqi dissidents and Shia Muslims killed during Hussein's reign, though estimates put the figure between 60,000 and 150,000. (Mass graves discovered following the US occupation of Iraq in 2003 suggest that the total combined figure for Kurds, Shias and dissidents killed could be as high as 300,000). Approximately 500,000 Iraqi children dead because of international trade sanctions introduced following the Gulf War.

A very small percentage of those civilian casualties in Iraq are from US soldiers. Most are from the insurgents. Of course, some are just because someone was in the wrong place at the wrong time. I guess sorta like those going to work in the WTC, or on Flight 93. A large part of those Liberal numbers are actual insurgents as well. Take the Washington Post numbers as what they are... Liberal raving. Everyone knows where they stand.

Based on Saddam's track record, less Iraqi civilians have been killed since we have been there than would have been killed had we not gone in and left him to his madness.

There are two sides to every story. Sometimes you just have to look.

And I am so glad someone finally brought up the approval ratings of our Democratically controlled Congress. The mass media concentrates on the low approval ratings of the President, which ride about 10 points or more better than those of Congress. Too bad the media doesn't see fit to show who is really messing up this country.

 

Well said Crafty


I love how Pelosi opens her yap calling Bush a total failure..maybe she should look in the mirror and really take a hard look at how things have gone in Congress since she became Speaker of the House and Reid became Senate Majority leader...not to well eh? But they are not to blame for any of this...EVERYTHING is Bush's fault





Goose

 

Just on fuel prices alone! Look how much the price has gone up since the Democrats took over Congress. And they have the nerve to blame it on President Bush being an oil man.

 

See, that's their trump card. They're waiting until after the election and Obama gets into the office before they pass any legislation concerning fuel taxes or speculation. They think that 70% of the people in this country are really ignorant enough to believe that Bush alone has the power to reduce oil prices without intervention by Congress.

Then again, all they need to do is look at their own approval ratings and find that more Americans disapprove of them than the President. I think it's gonna backfire on them.

 

Its time to draw down and leave Iraq, and this is not surrendering it is simply passing the torch to the Iraqis who have had about 5 yrs now to get up to speed as far as securing their own country. I know they are doing a lot of the operations now, but we still back them up.

I do believe that the only way a country like Iraq with long standing (centuries) religious and tribal divisions and a heritage of violece due to same, can be ruled with any measure of law and order is with absolute power and the fear factor. Rule by the strongest and most ruthless has gone on there for a long time, don't see it changing anytime soon.

My 18yr old son joined the Indiana National Guard and ships to basic training in approx one week. My family has a heritage of military service dating back to W.W. II, up through Vietnam, and now Iraq may be added to the list if he gets deployed. He joined knowing full well the risk of deployment to either Iraq or Afghanistan, and I commend his bravery for the decision, but as a parent I have concerns and in all truth would probably rather he had not joined but I support his decision and I certainly support our military.

But I think its time to go in Iraq. Time for them to stand up their own. Afghanistan, I don't think they're ready for prime time yet.

Three and four tours for reserve units, probably more for active duty. The strain on our military human resources is beginning to build, and on military families as well. Not to mention our national budget and economy.

Where does our preparedness stand if the need arises for military action by the US somewhere else in the world? On the flip side of that, our forces are gaining valuable operational experience, but as mentioned it is beginning to wear on the force in general.

I sure don't have the answers, I just know we need to begin to start moving out of Iraq.

One of the reasons Iran is so c0cky is they know we are stretched thin right now as far as ability to committ troops to another conflict w/o ordering a draft.

 

I think it is already backfiring on them. And President McCain is going to benefit from it.