We try to be reasonably objective here. I have to say that I saw something positive and honest in John Kerry today. In the committe debate about the resolution about the Iraq War, Kerry said something to the effect of "Who at this table wants to be the one to ask a man to be the last to die for a mistake?" A sobering point, and one that causes some reflection. I think this was a passionate and honest look at what he was feeling at the moment.
I don't think he took this far enough, nor did he answer his own question. I will provide mine, since you asked!
You don't ask him to die for a mistake. You acknowledge that war is hell, it is nasty and depressing. You then tell him that he won't die for nothing and you go out and hit them hard, hit them fast, and keep right on hitting them until we have won.
Otherwise, we have asked too many to die for a nation of quitters.
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Wednesday, January 24, 2007
A Good Word From Me About John Kerry
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I don't know why you always try to put the ownership of the failures of Iraq upon the American people, or your assertion that liberals want to put it on the soldiers.
We place ownership where it belongs: The Neoconservative leadership that argued that Iraq would be the cake we could have and eat, too.
So you can call us "a nation of quitters" all you like - you can't seem to separate a failure of leadership from the successful efforts of the soldiers carrying out the orders. I think this is why you insist that the US won the Korean war despite offering no academic citation of the claim. You seem to think that it's an insult to the soldiers. It's not; it's the acknowledgment that while ideas can have popular support, they're not always necessarily the correct ideas. That isn't the fault of the people but the fault of the leaders.
Hey Rob..ty for droppin by at my site..come more often y'hear!...lol..I think what Kerry said is inexcusable actually...sure theres no Easter bunny and theres no GWOT either eh?..pfftt!
I have no problem seperating the efforts of the men on the ground from the leadership. I have never said anything that can be misconstrued as such.
I fault the American people for not having the fortitude to accept that this is a long process, that war is ugly and people die and defeat is unacceptable. I fault the democratic party for working so hard to make it difficult to fight this war.
I don't understand why people set timetables for military action. I don't understand the "milestones" in counting deaths. I don't understand why we can't simple be committed as a nation to winning.
There have been mistakes in this effort. There have been leadership mistakes and there have been strategic mistakes. That doesn't mean that the overall mission was a mistake. For some reason, the terrorists acknowledge that Iraq is a center of the GWOT, but the American people are ignorant of this fact. They have said so because they know that a free society in the middle of radicalism will lead to the loss of their philosophy.
Not changing your mind or anyone else's, and not fooling myself that I am. I think this "nation of quitters" will regret the day that defeat became acceptable.
Robert said...
For some reason, the terrorists acknowledge that Iraq is a center of the GWOT, but the American people are ignorant of this fact.
Has it occurred to you that the reason why terrorist recognize Iraq as a center of the GWOT is because it proves their personal theories about the US presence in the Middle East to their people?
And the people aren't ignorant, and that's why they refuse to swallow this lie. There is no central war on terror. If there was one at one point, it was Afghanistan and we sent a whopping 15,000 troops there to find a 6'4" needle in a haystack. (Again, this operational failure is not the fault of the troops.) All of the sudden, Iraq was the great terrorism superpower, the US sends 150,000 troops and Osama is all but forgotten. I firmly believe that had the US concentrated on capturing Osama, sending an overwhelming force to Afghanistan, and put HIM on trial, the nation and the world would be a lot more behind our "GWOT". Al Qaeda would've been devastated and George W. Bush would've gone down as one of the greatest Presidents ever.
In choosing his own course the US is facing the mythological hydra - if you chop off one head, two will grow out of the stump. Even the capture of Osama will matter little as the US proved his theories in his followers' eyes. His downfall will only mean that two more will gladly take his place, noting the success they have had in perturbing the Great Satan.
Regardles of whether or not you agree with our invasion of Iraq, fact is we are there now, and abandoning the region is detrimental to the U.S.'s image, and would spurn a bloodbath in Iraq much like the Kmer Rouge in Cambodia after we pulled out of Vietnam. As for Kerry, he is such an idiot, I am surprised that the Democrats haven't disowned him yet.
The failure of the Democrats and the left to acknowledge the dire consequences of an Iraqi pullout is shows the failure of intellectual maturity. They claim to have to have higher IQs and more sheepskins, but show zero comprehension for consequence. I have no desire to visit the happy wonderland they live in where if we pull out the Middle East will grab a Coke and smile. No, sorry, there are evil men and women there who are need of meeting Allah, stat.
douglas vs. gibbs: So does that mean that everything in Iraq is all peaches and cream right now with our occupation? This isn't meant to ignore your comment about pulling out will mean violence but I think the part you're missing is that the current violence is, by and large, our own fault. I know the Pottery Barn rule, but how long would Pottery Barn allow a customer to run around breaking shit in their store before they asked them to leave?
obob: There has been an estimated 100,000 Iraqi civilians who have been sent to Allah (and that's the low estimate). We lost about 3,000 on 9/11 and it made you conservatives, and a good deal of liberals, lose their minds in anger and need of retribution. I'm glad that you feel this kind of anger because it gives you some kind of inkling of how angry they must be at us.
The answer is simple, but it's not an easy one: Redeployment. Now I know you both believe this to be a sign of weakness but it really isn't. If we do it now, your argument is that it will be interpreted by "the terrorists" as some kind of victory. Well in case you hadn't noticed, if we were to establish a full-on commercial democracy in Iraq that operated 100% like the US did, al Qaeda would still consider it a victory. Any pullout at any time from Baghdad will be considered an American failure in their eyes.
Yea Kerry the good ole US is the pariah and to blame for it all..blah blah blah!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
What a wonderful contribution to an intelligent discussion, womanhonorthyself. You should be proud.
Great Post Robert.
I think you drove home the point.
Nobody likes war, we didnt start it, but we sure as hell are going to finish it!
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