I am unabashedly American with no desire to become a citizen of the world - at least not at this point in history. We are still the country that more people want to live in than any other in the world, and our Constitution is one of the main reasons they come; even if they don't know it.
Our freedom of speech is second to none. Some of our citizens took to the streets in Washington D.C. today. Some of them got arrested, but outside of a civil fine, that will probably be the extent of their punishment. Imagine someone trying to do that in Tianamen Square during the upcoming Olympics. With the world watching they have a slightly better chance of living, but past history has shown how freedom of speech is treated in China and elsewhere around the world.
Just as some of my fellow countrymen expressed their displeasure today, I too will take advantage of my right to free speech to say that I am still a proud supporter of our mission in Iraq. Like any other war, things go wrong, mistakes are made and the mission changes. The success of the surge is undeniable, at least to some of us, and I look forward to the draw down of our troops this summer.
Make no mistake, we still have thousands of troops in South Korea, in Japan, in Germany and elsewhere around the world. The missions those troops undertook were worth price we had to pay - from the boys of "The Greatest Generation" up to the present. The men and women who served in Vietnam were of the same make. They did not lose a war, their government and their fellow citizens did.
I am proud of our efforts to bring peace, stability, and the freedom for the Iraqi people to choose how they will be governed. A precipitous pullout of Iraq would give us another Vietnam, and the killing fields that sprung up in Cambodia after our bugout would have a good chance of blossoming in the Middle East.
I know many of my fellow citizens will find my opinion most distasteful, but I believe there are a lot more out there who feel like I do. Whatever your opinion, it's still okay to be proud that you are an American.
13 comments:
While I second your comments, I do so with a few reservations. Like The Civil War, WWI, WWII, Korea and Vietnam, this war has been prolonged and the cost escalated by the inept and wrongheaded decisions of civilian leadership. If, once the decision to go to war was made we had gone into Iraq with the overwhelming force we were capable of and if we had a plan for what would happen after the "shock and awe" wore off, the war would be over and if we were still there we would now be peacekeepers rather than combatants. Another missing componant is shared sacrifice. Even during the disasterous war in Vietnam Johnson had sense enough to pass a "war tax surcharge" so everyone had at least some skin in the game.
Bush, Cheney and Rumsfeld have proven themselves to be no better at strategy and running a war than was Lyndon Johnson when he was personally deciding what locations could and couldn't be bombed in North Vietnam and declaring "bombing halts" that had the North Vietnamese laughing their asses off.
Agree with you Ben. As painful as this war has been it will help protect us in the long run.
I guess you don't believe what Bush has been telling us for 5 years. He is running the war exactly as the military wants it run. I too am proud that we have brought freedom to the shia majority. Now they can join with the shia in Iran (which we used to run through the Shah). Yes, freedom is great for the Shia. Just keep fooling yourself that they are going to choose Democracy. You can also keep fooling yourself about the 'surge' troops coming home this summer. The surge was a success? Then why isn't there a working government in effect in Iraq right now. Wasn't that the main purpose of the surge? Yes, I know my comments are unAmerican in your eyes and that I'm one of those hate America, hate the troops liberals. But come on, there is zero evidence that the surge has done what it was supposed to do and there is zero evidence that we are safer because we invaded Iraq.
BGA, if you keep up with the military websites and blogs you'd know that the guys on the ground feel we did this on the cheap. If we had used the full force of the military in the 1st six months there would have been a lot fewer American deaths but a lot more Iraqi deaths(think Vietnam 65-69).
The "surge" has worked, but it was 4 years too late.
"A precipitous pullout of Iraq would give us another Vietnam"
Do you mean a thriving Southeast Asian tourist industry based on former American soldiers returning to their youthful "adventures"?
Or the death and destruction the American military left in its wake?
Perhaps you are not aware that the Khmer Rouge of Cambodia and Communist of Vietnam were/are enemies.
SCG, isn't hindsight wonderful. Maybe Bush should have paid more attention to people that told him what would happen in Iraq (like the State Department).
I think he did the best he could with the intel he had. For reference look at Okinawa, Salerno and Hue.
I didn't have any special intelligence and I knew that the war would be a disaster. Bush had a State department report that told him the war would be a disaster. Bush did the best he could with what he wanted to believe. Also, what was the big rush to invade Iraq? Was that nuke going to be flown to the USA on one of Saddam robot airplanes?
The Vietnam War was definitely lost by the military. Watch the movie or read the book "A Bright Shining Lie" about Lt. Col. John Paul Vann. He saw a way to win the Vietnam war when he was a military advisor. The government and military refused to listen to him. Like the Iraq War, the Vietnam War could not have been won by military force alone.
Thanks to all for your comments and for the book recommendation - I plan on picking it up and reading it the next time I'm in Borders. BGA - the surge has worked and continues to do so - check out Michael Yon's website. He has spent more time there than any other journalist I know AND he doesn't represent any media organization. I have referred in the past to the timeline of our own revolution and institution of government - it wasn't done overnight. There is no argument that will assuage you on this issue, as I fear your disdain of Dubya deafens you when it comes to hearing anything good about our efforts in Iraq. So we differ on this subject, and others, but at least you care, you're aware, and your sarcasm is at times brilliant.
Ok, the surge has worked. Obviously we can bring the troops home now. The actual purpose of the surge was to give the Iraqis breathing room from the violence in order to form a functioning government. If you believe the government in Iraq is functioning then I have a bridge......oh nevermind.
BTW, I do not disdain Dubya. Disdain is way too mild a word. I just think he is the lowest form of life on earth.
The above post is from Big Gay Al not anonymous
Sooooo......that would make you Anonymous BGA? Isn't he a rap star?
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