Pulling out early and other lunacy

Yea, I know this thread is years old and all.
But I just saw it and would like to say;
Thank you for your service.

While I'm a civilian who has never served, both my mom and dad did. And I think it's frankly insulting to any member of the military to even insinuate that they can't get the job done.
The members of the US Military can do anything. Just takes time...And the politicians allowing them to do their job!

We are all called to be Salt & Light in this world...and that requires action. Please get out and vote next Tuesday, November 7th. I know many of us are frustrated with our leaders, but staying home on November 7th to "send them a message" is irresponsible and reckless. If you do that, you will be enabling the efforts of many people who do not cling to our biblical worldview, you are helping them advance against our values, and you are assuming the problems that they can create before the next election can be erased. Do Not Stay Home on November 7...VOTE! Steve Noble from a NC website

Who ever said success was just around the corner?

My my, what insight! Success is just around the corner.

Sgt Bardo
Get me out of here you dickheads.

Perhaps the WMD was not an object as many might think, such as a missle ect....I think the greatest "weapon of mass distruction" is the way people think and that has been proven to be very dangerous. We, as humans, are the product of our own life's experiences, insurgents are no different. Insurgents have been born and bred to destruct,yes, thier way of thinking needs to change, they need to be civilized. And as for the liberals, I havent seen one sacrifice anything yet. Thank you for your service to our country and it is you that I will respect and admire.
Stephen

Dear Trevor,
You are a fine young man--your politics appear iffy perhaps a bit nieve but good on ya for saying them.....I am confident time will focus your views...
When I was in the service, lo many a moon ago, we felt pretty well the same...The people back home did not understand what we were doing...As in all wars the soldier fights for his buddies his outfit and himself...vague political principles, especially those of politicians w/o our experience were ignored....afterward some of us remember Rudyard Kipplings lament about his only son, KIA in WWI...maybe just maybe he was right..
Defending our freedoms occurred in WWII to a lessor extent in Korea and to a limited extent during Vietnam...The real defense occurred during the cold war... Unfortunately--and I am sure you will disagree--not in Iraq...Being caught in the middle of what appears to be an Iraqi colonial insurgency similar to Algeria and I dare say Vietnam, is difficult to rationalise..We Americans have no history of this..very difficult to understand why they do not want our freedoms gained over 200 plus years and with multiple wars...perhaps the Northern Ireland example of a family killing one another for ancient rivalries and of course the Balkans should be revisited...very difficult
Finally,you serving members are to be saluted and are examples of the type of young man and women sent, the finest.I salute you and pray the insurgents RPG misfires and the roadside bomb does not ignite....You are just doing your job...

modoblog.blogspot.com)See my blog (www.modoblog.blogspot.com) for a discussion on why the term 'exit strategy' itself doesn't make much sense: in brief, the highest echelons decide when to pull out, but the lower ones have to have the flexibility to decide how to pull out, making any rigid 'exit strategy' meaningless.

Usually, I think people calling for exit strategies are making proxy criticisms of an adminstration for embarking on a war for values the critic does not share. In the 90s, conservatives opposed the precedent of humanitarian military action, fearing we would get bogged down in costly actions that don't further our national interest, and exhaust ourselves. Clinton felt that the burden was not great enough to outweigh his value of a world community that does not tolerate genocide.

Liberals opposed invading Iraq when they perceived diplomatic channels as being potentially effective for achieving the stated goals of the war. Conservatives felt that the danger to the region and the world of the precedent of allowing a rogue state to ignore UN resolutions and develop WMD was greater than the cost of invasion and occupation.

It would be nice if we could have a public discourse on these real differences in value/cost perspectives rather than proxy debates about who wants an exit strategy when.

Applause! Applause!
I posted about this at http://youbetchaimapam.blogspot.com/2005/12/som...
Thank you!

Thank you everyone for your comments. Even those who disagree. Thanks especially to those of you who made a donation to keep this blog going. I will continue to maintain and upgrade the equipment I use thanks to your support.

I am a real soldier doing a real job in a real war zone, and real insurgents would like to kill me and anyone else who is involved in trying to bring new freedoms to common Iraqis. The insurgents are going to lose.

One more thing Please if you are the "Soldier in Iraq" give us your e-mail address. Would love to hear your side also. If your not......

Sir,

Trust me we believe The Man. In fact most of us don't listen to him because we know, we understand. He is the kettle calling the frying pan black..etc....

I haven't had time to read all of the previous comments..but I briefley read one by "Curious"...Again, if people haven't figured it out by now they never will. Sometimes we have to remember the truley stupid, ignorant, uninformed, unthinking people we have met and been eithered awed or disgusted by.

We have to take care of people like "Curious"..they may never get it, but they may contribute something to society, like..hmm..weird poetery..a good egg breakfast..something.

We, the quiet majority Thank-You and people like you for EVERY freedom we have.

Remember the only Poll that counts took place 11/2004.

Thanks for the great post. Enjoy reading your site - even some of the comments by the moonbats are fun to read - takes all kinds, doesn't it? Thanks so much for your service. Without men like you and others who serve, I shudder to think where this country would be right now. Stay safe. Have as merry a Christmas as you can, and know we are all praying for you and your family!

PintoBean writes: "Though I understand your analogy, do not agree with it. It is sad, but Bush was never the nation’s president, and was only able to wrongly march us into war because of a handful of lies and misrepresentations, coupled with the tragic events of 911."

PintoBean,

It is sad to see you as bitch slave to the MSM.

If they told you to jump off a bridge because bridge jumping was good for people, you have been so brainwashed you'd probably do it, I'm sorry to say.

it's truly ana mazing phenomenon to see people like you regurgitating what the MSM's 1960's retreads pour down your gullible throats. And remember, those are the folks responsible for the murder of millions in the Killing Fields. They have great judgment, eh?

John Williams writes: "That wasn’t a plan, it was a marketing brochure. I have seen well managed programs before, and this is not one of them. When we ask for a schedule, you say “cut and run”. A schedule is a management tool. Twisting it into a “cut and run” deadline is symptomatic of the hoops this administration will jump through to avoid any means of measuring progress..."

Dear Mr. Williams,

Your narrow thought processes reveal themselves. In management, not every tool is appropriate for every situation. In management, there's good management, mediocre management, and *mismanagement*.

Running wars on timetables is mismanagement.

If you want to see other examples of mismanagement via timetable, look at communism's 5-year plans, or the fine management that led to Merck's current dilemmas.

"LISTEN to the man"? What POSSIBLE reason is there for believing ANYTHING this president says about Iraq. He lied about it to start the war, he deliberately avoids hearing any bad news about it, and virtually EVERY prediction he's made about our effort in Iraq has turned out wrong. His track record is one of failure, misinformation and paid propaganda. He pretends, he postures in front of carefully-scripted and staged events, and you know what... he doesn't have a workable plan. He doesn't have a CLUE.

Here's who you want us to believe.

This is a military chicken-hawk of the very worst kind. His military record? He found a cozy politically-arranged National Guard unit that NEVER GOT CALLED UP - even at the height of the Vietnam War. Not like today's National Guard who are getting called up everywhere, and are fighting bravely and valiently! He hid behind the politican's skirts. And how did he spend this time while everyone else was at war? Coke, booze and politicians made George a Popular Party Animal.

Here's who you want us to believe:

When 9/11 happened and they interrupted the school event to tell him "Mr. Presenident, America is under attack" what did your chicken hawk do? HE SAT FROZEN. Was it fear? Was it stupidity? Who knows? Eight minutes he sat there frozen and unable or unwilling to tell an elementary school teacher that something important had happened and he had to leave now.

Eight minutes. If you're there in Iraq, you know HOW DEADLY that is. Eight minutes FROZEN. If that's the guy who has your back, you'd both be dead now.

We're supposed to listen to THIS guy???

Sorry dude. Choose someone else. Maybe not Rummy or Chain Gang Cheney. Certainly not stupidest man on the planet Feth or any of the other neocons who blundered us into Chalabi's Folly. Not one of them served a day in the military. Tell us to listen to one of your generals. Or maybe Warner. Please. Tell us to listen to someone with actual military experience. Tell us to listen to someone who has a clue, someone who hasn't already SOLD his credibility to Rove and Abramoff. Tell us to listen to YOU.

But DON'T tell us to listen to this smarmy lying liar who disgraces his nation and the office of the presidency--who had a CHANCE, after 9/11, to unify and motivate an entire generation of citizens to hunt down and strike at the very core of terrorism, but who INSTEAD sold us out to the Karl Rove politicians with a partisan war and in so doing SQUANDERED the support that you now so desperately deserve.

What's SAD is that you do deserve that support. Not because this is a just war, or that our president did anything at all right or good. But because you've been thrown into a quagmire without the funding, manpower or strategy to win - by a bunch of brainless chick-hawk politicians who don't have a SHRED of honor. YOU DESERVE our support. But DO NOT lecture us about BELIEVING , TRUSTING OR LISTENING TO the people who sent you there in the first place. They are the LAST people we should be listening to.

President Bush, for ONCE in his life, should be held accountable.

Listen to that man? No thanks.

Though I understand your analogy, do not agree with it. It is sad, but Bush was never the nation's president, and was only able to wrongly march us into war because of a handful of lies and misrepresentations, coupled with the tragic events of 911.

At every turn, there is more shame for the Republican party, more lies, more investigations, the latest the Pentagon planted story situation in Iraq papers. If the press does its job, there if far more to this story than just a bad case of propaganda. There is something very fishy about the SUPPOSED PR firm known as Lincoln Group, but so far the press is not probing them, or their close intimate ties to the Bush White House.

Think the faltering support for the war is much more about a lost faith in Dick Cheney, Donald Rumsfield and the Commander and Chief than it is about losing faith in the troops...you want to cut out the cancer, impeach Bush.

Amen to that ... Thank you for being the brave one, dont listen to the mainstream media, they are idiots and speak for themselves, not the true americans.

God bless you in your fight. Thank you for your courage, dedication and sacrifice.

Dang Trevor...just can't be satisified sitting around in the sand, pulling your duty and coming home, eh? Always stirring something up. Love the site...impressed by your thoughts & words and ability to put them out there. Always knew you were deep...didn't know you were literate too! Well done.

As for "Reuben", I've always liked that sandwich...a nice collection of salted beef, crusty bread & sour kraut thrown together with a dressing to make it all edible. Reuben's just showing how tight his brain is under the pin-head hat he and his buddies wear. "Solider in Iraq"...frankly he sounds like the same whiney troop that I had to lead when I was in...always finding something to bitch and cry about so that they don't have to truly believe in the mission...yet trying to sound educated enough to substaiate he belly-acheing. "W" is your leader because we, the people, voted him in. He didn't run on becoming a military leader...he ran and WON (dumbass) because we, the people, believed in him and believed that he would return this country to moral ground, financial standing and garner the respect from the world that we, the people, believe that America should represent. Not one speech was ever given about how great he'd be once we went into war. This was dropped on all of us and Thank God is in charge instead of some other leftminded, give away America's strength and "please define the definition of the the word "is" smuck president. Suck it up, Troop...drop your political issues and focus on the mission and not why you're there. You, as I was, are the INSTRUMENT of the policies of this government...be the hammer...not the twinky. You, if you are a solider there know that missions and battle plans change after the first bullet is shot...no one could have seen the mess that this has become. Focus on your day to day and take care of yourself and the troops around you.

Trevor, you know that I wish I was there with you but I thank you for being a American and willing to not only put it on the line, but for giving us the insight of your experiences too. Folks, I know Trevor...he's NEVER been a fan of government or especially "W". If he's stating these opinions now...he's doing it because the of the actual experiences that he's getting "live" in theater. He is no Republican plant...he's the real thing, a fine individual and an outstanding American solider. Looking forward to having you home, bud. Let your troops know that we believe in the mission and especailly in them. JP

Just in case anyone was paying attention...

As Thad Anderson quoted:

Richard Clarke, former National Security Advisor: "Having been attacked by al Qaeda, for us now to go bombing Iraq in response would be like our invading Mexico after the Japanese attacked us at Pearl Harbor."

Okay, history buffs: after America was attacked at Pearl Harbor in 1941, whom did we invade first? Japan, right? The people who attacked us, right?

Wrong. We started with Morocco. Look it up.

There were good and sound reasons to start there (having to do with establishing a solid foothold in enemy territory), and there were good and sound reasons to invade Iraq -- particularly if you see Islamist terrorism, and not merely Saddam or bin Laden, as the threat to America. President Bush seems to see it that way, and, as it happens, so do I.

I'd also be willing to bet that, malapropisms notwithstanding, Bush has learned more from history than Clarke has.

respectfully,
Daniel in Brookline

Reuben, your insight is an excellent case in point


"Saddam is not stupid... Come on guys.. you cant be this blind.." [Good one!]


I prefer what another poster wrote above: that the people calling for withdrawal are the cancer in our midst! Two weeks before Iraq's first fully representational election and ALL the MSM in the US can discuss is the call to leave. No sense of judgement or proportion whatever.


Rather, consider the current discussion in light of John Burns's message in "Embedded", where Saddam's Iraq was presented as a vast slaughterhouse. Most Western reporters worked hard to keep the news from getting out because they were afraid of losing access or getting expelled from Iraq. The monstrous savagery of life under Saddam, the vast tortures and up to a million dead, was "the essential truth that was untold by the vast majority of correspondents,"

We should be talking about that in appreciation for how far Iraq has come. Keep up the good work soldiers!

Thank you. Your wording was eloquent.

How much did the government pay you to post this?

Sgt. Snyder,

I admire the fact that you can state your case without resorting to ad hominem attacks, which sadly occur far too often during these times. However, if I may offer a counterpoint to your post, I would ask that you please listen to what this man has to say, not how others relayed his speech through their own biases:

http://www.house.gov/apps/list/press/pa12_murth...

I wonder if the continued military presence in Iraq is the best use of our Armed Forces? I wonder if, to use your analogy, you are attacking the cancer at its source or if you're not just applying treatment near the tumor instead of on it.

At any rate, stay safe over there.

-- Mike

I really wish that Solider in Iraq had left his email address (comment #XXVIII). I would like to personally write him and tell him that YES...my husband, the author of this blog, is indeed in Iraq. What an inane thing to say. I am the one left at home waiting and worrying about him, and even I believe that what we are doing in Iraq is right.

Mr. Anderson:
Didn't Richard Clarke say Osama bin Laden would "boogie to Baghdad"? Do you suppose he meant Baghdad, Mexico?
Seargeant,
Richard Clarke speaks with a forked tongue. So does Mr. Anderson.

Sergeant, for every Thad Anderson, there are 10 patriots who believe in you and what you're doing. For every Richard Clarke, unfortunately, there are dozens of other hold-outs from the Clinton administration who contradict what they said in the '90s. Don't worry about what they say. Nobody, except the Thad Andersons, take them seriously anymore.

You wrote: "Keeping the fight in the enemy’s home court is exactly the right thing to do."

Richard Clarke, former National Security Advisor: "Having been attacked by al Qaeda, for us now to go bombing Iraq in response would be like our invading Mexico after the Japanese attacked us at Pearl Harbor."

We're listening to the President. And to you Sergeant Snyder. God bless The USA, the CIC, you and all our brave men and women in harms way. God grant that the terrorists continue to realize, in increasing numbers, the hopelessness of their cause.

Thank you for your service, Sergeant, and for the great post.

Excellent analogy! Thanks for keeping us safe. You guys are doing such a great job over there, that even the press is beginning to be forced to admit it.

God Bless and stay safe.

Nope.. bad analogy.. A better analogy would be "Q" has a bad case of Malaria.. "S" has an infected wound on one arm.. Now "Q" goes ahead and spits on "A".. "A" gets alarmed/offended and goes about injecting "Q" with all sorts of antibiotics..
Now "B" has a nice shiny ball.. "A" wants that ball.. so it chops of the "S"'s infected arm telling "S" that is to save the rest of the body from being infected by the wound.. now "S" is not too happy about it.. so it starts defending itself from "A"'s unasked for attention..

If you found the analogy too complex.. let me lay it out for you:
Q: Afghanistan/Al Qaeda
S: Saddam/Iraq
A: America
Shiny ball: Oil

Iraq/Saddam never had any links to Al Qaeda.. so Iraq never did or had intentions of bombing America.. The reason Iraq had a military ambition was because of its strained relations with Iran.. Do the math.. What possibly would Iraq have gained from bombing America.. Saddam is not stupid.. he knows he would not be able to fight America.. why risk a war?

Al Qaeda on the other hand have no land to defend.. they will bomb who they wish and when they wish..

About the Timetable.. How many Project Managers would you trust who refuse to give a time frame to when they will deliver the product..

Come on guys.. you cant be this blind..

You are not really helping the people of Iraq.. they were quite ok before you came along..
The best comparison I can think of is of France during World War II.. The Nazi's occupied France.. the Vichy government was called the people's government.. and the resistance were called terrorists.. Dont think I need to explain who is who in this analogy..

The argument "we have to fight them there so we do't have to fight them here", is beyond stupid. Do those who spew it have ay concept of the modern world?

For a towelhead sandnigger to practice terrorism in the US means he needs to be here. He needs $$, a passport and a US visa. Before 9/11, those clowns at the State Dept. had an express visa program for Saudi Arabia (remember 15 out of 19 were Saudi, not Iraqi). This program has been terminated and US visas are now almost impossible for Habibis to obtain.

So, they can only get here by going to Mexico or Canada and illegally crossing the border.

Wouldn't we better off if our military studs were guarding OUR borders than getting themselves killed and maimed in Iraq?

Those advocating withdrawl ARE the Cancer.

Trevor:

Each day I wake up and thank God for the wonderful gift of young men such as yourself.
The anti-war protestors are unaware that your sacrifice is for them as well and somehow see you as the enemy rather than
their protector.
Please retain your faith in our leader,President Bush and please be
aware that many more of us salute your sacrifice rather than condemn it.
God Bless

Thank you for your service and your fine words.

Very well said Soldier. God bless ya.

T,

I'm listening and telling everyone I know...

Stay safe,

Joe

*Standing up and cheering*
Well damn said!

Please.....going after the bad guys on their turf? who walked into their country un-provoked and started killing innocent civilians? Not the "bad guys" it was the "good guys". The only reason they're fighting you is because your dim-witted comander in chief and his bad-ass(yet personally gutless) monkeys started it. I certainly wouldn't want to be in your shoes, but stop recycling the garbage.

You come up with some great stuff, Trevor. I'm glad to see others are finding this, too. Keep it up!

But Iraq had nothing to do with 9/11, doesn't anyone remember that? Iraq has never even threatened the USA.

That was very well said.

I like your blog. Please try to stay safe over there.

Thank you for your service.

Trevor,

I am a 58 year old Canadian Lawyer. I am in awe of you and your colleagues. You have my admiration, respect and love. I pray for your safe return when this honourable mission is completed -and thanks to people like you, Trevor, it will be completed.
God bless you and all the soldiers in Iraq who are creating a better world.

Terry Gain,
Peterborough, Ontario

God bless to the soldier. Excellent insight!!!!

Don't forget as well that the MSM pushes the idea that many members of the armed forces were somehow forced to join because they had little opportunity or were simply underemployed.

Excellent analogy. God bless you and thanks for your service.

This guy does not speak for anyone I know. In fact, I'd say he's in the minority. I doubt he's even over here. It is deeply, deeply sad that people are willing to believe that President Bush is actually a military leader with any sort of vision. Bush might be a good president, but he's a soldier's worst nightmare. What's demoralizing isn't that people don't like the war--who does--it's that we don't know what war we're supposed to fight anymore. At first, it was easy. Go get Saddam and kill the terrorists. It's since degraded.

I greatly respect the job I have and all the responsibilities it carries with it, but why in the world would anyone listen to this President about matters of military "strategery"? We get our daily orders. Go get this guy... go patrol that street... go here... go there... It's entirely silly and goes nowhere fast and makes lots of people hate us. There's no real long term strategic planning. We live day-to-day. I also know it's not my CO's fault, he's as frustrated as the rest of us.

I doubt very much that the author of this blog knows much of anything. He's clearly as out of touch with the situation over here as the President.

It wouldn't be so difficult to sell the war if we knew what we were doing there. It's as simple as that. The playing nuanced word games is a typical liberal move. It's sad that sites like this and people like Bush have resorted to them.

Stop your rhetoric. Define sensible victory objectives and get us out. We've deposed Saddam and largely installed a new gov't. We found no weapons. We found few terrorists--not counting the ones that followed us in. Sounds like we won. Let's get out.

This is one of the best analogies I've read in a long time- one of the best responses to anyone who thinks producing a timetable/exit strategy is only the next logical step to the Iraq War.

While I like the analogy, I have trouble believing that Iraq was the heart of the cancer of terrorism - at least before the war. I see it more like treating a part of the body which has problems, but not because of cancer (Saddam). The treatment is largely successful, but in doing so, the cancer living in other parts of the body spreads to this one, and quite possibly, the entire body becomes sicker.

Amen

I hesitate to comment since I am Canadian and cannot influence the results directly.

However I have made a pest of myself protesting to my elected representative on the ridiculous and anti-American attitude my country has adopted to the US efforts in Iraq.

On behalf of all people here, might I say that your observations on how critical it is to complete the mission are 100% on target.

It amazes me that people not on the front believe that their boredom with ongoing combat in Iraq and their irrational hatred of President Bush, gives them the right to undermine their Nation at a critical historical juncture. Between the Media and the defeatists, it must get discouraging sometimes for those of you doing the heavy lifting there.

Thanks for your sacrifices. Never think they are not valued and appreciated by anyone who actually looks at the situation.

Again-----

Thanks

The truth is that even if the proverbial doctor tells you the cancer's still growing (which is what many on the Left believe), you still don't give up. In fact, you fight even harder. As someone who personally witnessed the 9/11 attacks in NY from a few blocks away, I want to thank you for your service to our country and, as the President said yesterday, to humanity.

I just felt a steel rod be placed in my spine. Great words in a powerful message.

Sgt Snyder,
Thanks so much for your input. I suspected for a long time that troops on the ground over there pretty much support what you are saying and your blog entry proves it.

Even more, I would like to thank you and your fellow soldiers for your bravery, dedication, and vision in staying the course in this most important fight.

Drop me a line if you like. I want to know more people like you. I salute you and your fellow troops. Please let them know for me. And thanks so much for your service.

keystonesoldiers.comOops, what happened to that link?

http://www.keystonesoldiers.com/staticpages/ind...

keystonesoldiers.comYou tell 'em, soldier. And here's a tribute to those who sacrifice to defend even our useful cut-and-run idiots back home:

Thank you for your honor, duty and sacrifice.

What you say, is exactly correct. Let us hope the Leftist drivel doesn't turn the country on its head.

For if it does, there will be no more wars to fight, (which would be wonderful) NOT EVEN for the Documents written some 230 years ago, that gave birth to our nation (which would be horrible). It would also be the end of what we once stood for.

Thank you, Sgt. Snyder. For your service and for your words. Your cancer analogy is a good one. I work with cancer patients and the one thing I have learned is that just when I think we should give up, something happens that proves me wrong. We'd be sued if we prematurely stopped treatment. I wonder who we can sue if troops are "immediately withdrawn" and the terrorists follow you home?
Keep the faith; you are our first and best defense.
Myssi

As others said...that is an excellent analogy...one that the whole blog-sphere ought to pick up and push. It is so simple and clear that even the morons in the MSM can "get" it.

Thanks for your service. You may hear it all the time or never at all... but thank you. I appreciate your defense of our nation.

I can't think of a more efficaceous move at this moment than having countless Iraqi voices testifying to Saddam's willingness to help "blow up and crush [Americans] while they are inside [buildings]."

Almost anyone I come in contact with here in New York refuses to believe this, or downplays it to the point of meaninglessness. Saddam's contacts with the 1993 WTC bombers - to name only one connection - are dismissed as having no significance whatever. I guess it's what's called the law and order approach to terrorism? To me, the mass obtuseness of the view is just staggering.

The stock, anti-war response nowadays is a recitation of polls that indicate that the Iraqi population wants us gone tomorrow. Unfortunately I can't find anyone who'll admit to having seen the recent TV commercial sponsored by the Kurds, who are seen thanking Americans for having liberating them. I get a little choked up each time I see it.

I respect your opinion and I agree a time table is potentially dangerous, but isn't there also the idea that us having a visible presence in Iraq is also hurting the situation? Is there no thought of a middle ground where we allow Iraqis to become more visible and we provide more background assistance?

That wasn't a plan, it was a marketing brochure. I have seen well managed programs before, and this is not one of them. When we ask for a schedule, you say "cut and run". A schedule is a management tool. Twisting it into a "cut and run" deadline is symptomatic of the hoops this administration will jump through to avoid any means of measuring progress according to expectations. This is politics at it's worst. All sizzle, no steak.

Very well said! I hope you don't mind if I quote you on my blog.
Be well, Sergeant Snyder. Take care of your buddies, and let them take care of you. And please remember that many, many Americans support you all the way.

respectfully,
Daniel in Brookline

Well said, and thank you for your service!

Excellent post! Thank you for putting your service and the mission into perspective. I will definitely pass this around to family and friends.

Thank you for serving your country. It is because of you and the others there that we are safe here in the USA.

God bless!

Is it, on the other hand, worth the sacrificed attention that could otherwise be paid to the other problems we're having at home, like drug trafficing, social oppression of gays, non-christian religious affiliates, and other minorities in our country that preaches freedom so strongly, national debt, and god knows how many other problems we have? Personally, I think that it is a worthy cause to help the iraqies in their struggle against oppression, but it comes to a point where it is no longer our responsibility to look after their best interests and ignore our own. And while it may seem we're on the brink of break through, it seems to always appear that way, but can you name any arab country that doesn't operate in an oppressive, corrupt, tyranical society according to our American definition? Who's to say we're the ones to tell them how to live? We've got enough problems of our own, no?

While the President talks about not wanting a timetable, he's actually following one.

The Washington Post today points out that Generals Abazaid and Casey have laid out a withdrawal timetable, the Senate voted 79-19 in favor of it, and President Bush's "National Strategy for Victory in Iraq" actually relies on that timetable.

The thing to remember is that there aren't a lot of specific dates in these timetables -- aside from election days and dates when new government posts are filled in Iraq. But they serve as guideposts for measuring success.

Arguing against a timetable is good politics on the administration's part. It lets the administration buy itself time if things go wrong -- so they don't look like they've had a problem. And the "National Strategy" relies on things going without any hitches. So you know there will be things that go wrong.

But without a timetable, it's hard to lay out the big strategic picture that Generals rely on to accomplish their mission.

Just remember, the timetables aren't there to put pressure on you to get the job done. They're guidelines to let the brass know if they're getting the job done efficiently.

AMEN!!

it's sad to think we need to constantly remind people of what's at stake here and I think you hit the nail right on the head.

americans ARE more concerned with themselves than they are their own safety or humanity itself.

we'd rather sit around sucking down beer screaming at the game on the tv screen or stuffing our faces with bon-bons wondering if brad and angolina will really get married or not.

meanwhile hero's like yourself are hunting and killing animals in iraq so the civilized iraq's can have some electricity and running water.

god bless you and your soldiers and I pray for your safe return.

Trevor, that's a great analogy! That is one that maybe the rest of the world can actually visualize and understand. :)