Cold realities in hot zone (Excellent Read)

Washington Times ^ | 3/20/04 | Karl Zinsmeister

[kattracks]

At the first anniversary of the war that removed Saddam Hussein and set Iraq and the rest of the Middle East on a dramatically new path, about 400 American men and women have been killed in action.

Each of those lost sons or husbands or daughters is a source of heartache for their families, and for all Americans. They're also a reminder that, as the saying goes, "Freedom's not free."

[TYVets]

Very good

Well worth the time to read this article

[deeaggie]

Thanks for posting this. Awesome article.

[taxesareforever]

Should be required reading for all the leftists and Democrats. Dare we ever forget. Sorry to say, many have already forgotten but there are many more who stand tall and support the actions of the United States of America. My hat is off and prayers go out to all those who are fighting the war on terror and to their families. May God bless them all with victory and a safe return to their homes.

[kattracks]

ping

[lainde]

BTTT

[Reb Raider]

The author of this article lays out the case for fighting the terrorists in a thoughtful and convincing way. It should be very obvious to the American people why communists and socialists througout the world are excited by a Kerry presidency, but they cannot stop hating Bush long enough to think through the consequences to our country if a weak willed president is elected.

One thing is guaranteed-- because of the anti war crowd here and in Europe, there will be as many sensational terrorist atrocities commited as they can get away with in the months leading up to Bush's and Blair's reelections plus the attacks that had calmed somewhat in Iraq will be escalated.

[GailA]

Excellent read, his book will be worth reading.

[Ragtime Cowgirl]

Bookmarked, and passing on to many others.

Thank you. kattracks.

Y

[Ragtime Cowgirl]

The Americans who have given their lives in battle in Iraq aren't random victims. They were doing their duty in one of the great turning points of our generation. 

The unprecedented security, freedom, wealth and opportunity Americans now enjoy didn't just burst forth out of a cabbage patch. These achievements were created, and then defended many times by bloody force of arms.

 

There are times when the best, perhaps the only, response to hard blows is to embrace each lump as a badge honoring the determined striving that produced it. In 1918, Teddy Roosevelt's son Quentin (who had left Harvard during his sophomore year to serve in World War I) was shot out of the sky in one of aerial warfare's early dogfights. German propagandists took photos of his maimed body amidst the plane wreckage and, hoping to dampen American morale, sent one to Mrs. Roosevelt. 

 Rather than letting herself be cowed, however, she insisted the picture be displayed over a mantel, as an emblem of her family's sturdiness and their pride in sacrifice for a high cause. 

What Edith Roosevelt did was both a very hard and a very soft thing. She pushed aside her own grief and expressed admiration and undying love for her son by celebrating his bravery and refusing to abandon his fight. 

As they aggressively attack ancient evil and gently nurture frail shoots of a new good, our military forces face many risks in Iraq. They have enemies who aim to kill them, and to panic the American public standing behind them. Our battle against Middle Eastern extremism can thus be seen a struggle of wills. 

But demoralization can work both ways, and today it is Iraq's insurgents who face physical and psychological defeat.

 

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

 

Why we fight, 101.

 

Bring tissue.

 

Please share with others.

 

Pray for our troops and our country.

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God Bless those who serve our country

   * * * Past, present and future!  * * *

[LLBeet]

BTTT

[Luis Gonzalez]

Greatr article, thanks for posting this.

Here's one more.

For it's becoming clear now that poverty wasn't what caused a group of middle-class and reasonably well-educated Middle Easterners to fly three airplanes into buildings and another into the ground. It was, rather, resentments growing out of the absence of representative institutions in their own societies, so that the only outlet for political dissidence was religious fanaticism.

Hence, Bush insists, the ultimate goal of U.S. strategy must be to spread democracy everywhere. The United States must finish the job that Woodrow Wilson started. The world, quite literally, must be made safe for democracy, even those parts of it, like the Middle East, that have so far resisted that tendency. Terrorism—and by implication the authoritarianism that breeds it—must become as obsolete as slavery, piracy, or genocide: "behavior that no respectable government can condone or support and that all must oppose."

A Grand Strategy of Transformation

[Valin]

Should be required reading for all the leftists and Democrats.

Unfortunately, for way to many of them their hatered of Bush trumps all. Many of the ones I've met and know are moral midgets, their moral development stopped in (about) the 3rd grade.

[Valin]

today it is Iraq's insurgents who face physical and psychological defeat.


And that's a good thing!

[Alamo-Girl]

Bump!

[TEXOKIE]

This thread is now an officially designated Prayer Warrior Field Trip destination!

For those who may wish to join with other FReepers in spiritually supporting our troops and those who defend our freedoms please know you are welcome to come to the troop prayer threads. We just started our tenth one and you can find it here:

http://freerepublic.com/focus/news/1101474/posts?q=1&&page=51

[blackie]

We are winning ~ the bad guys are losing ~ trolls, terrorists, democrats and the mainstream media are sad ~ very sad!

~~ Bush/Cheney 2004 ~~

[VOA]

Bump for exposure...
We may lose Spain and the Rest of OLD Europe, but we'll pull Iraq into the
league of civilized nations.

[taxesareforever]

So so true. That's the reason that they are pushing their agenda beginning in kindergarten. They hope to have the children indoctrinated by the time they get to the fourth grade.

[Ragtime Cowgirl]

If Americans at home will exhibit the tough love of the steely Mrs. Roosevelt — celebrating the accomplishments of our sons and daughters by cherishing their sacrifices on our mantels, and multiplying and extending their courage by refusing to abandon the struggle they wage — this is a fight America will certainly win.

 

---

IMMEDIATE RELEASE

March 19, 2004

---

  ~* Pfc. Brandon C. Smith ~ Pfc. Ricky A. Morris Jr. *~  

            The Department of Defense announced today the death on March 18 of two Marines as a result of enemy action in Al Qaim, Iraq.  They were supporting Operation Iraqi Freedom.

            Pfc. Brandon C. Smith, 20, of Washington, Ark.

            Pfc. Ricky A. Morris Jr., 20, of Lubbock, Texas.

            Both Marines were assigned to the 3^rd Battalion, 7^th Marine Regiment, 1^st Marine Division, I Marine Expeditionary Force, Twentynine Palms, Calif.

---

~* Sgt. Ivory L. Phipps *~  

            The Department of Defense announced today the death of a soldier who was supporting Operation Iraqi Freedom.

            Sgt. Ivory L. Phipps, 44, of Chicago, Ill., died March 17, in Baghdad, Iraq, of injuries sustained from a mortar attack.  Phipps was assigned to the 1544^th Transportation Company, Illinois Army National Guard, Paris, Ill.

---

~* Pfc. Ernest Harold Sutphin *~  

            The Department of Defense announced today the death of a soldier who was supporting Operation Iraqi Freedom.

            Pfc. Ernest Harold Sutphin, 21, of Parkersburg, W.Va., died March 18 in Landstuhl, Germany, from injuries sustained in a vehicle incident in Kirkuk, Iraq, on March 11.  Pfc. Sutphin was assigned to the 2^nd Battalion, 11^th Field Artillery, 25^th Infantry Division (Light), Schofield Barracks, Hawaii.

---

~* Staff Sgt. Anthony S. Lagman ~ Sgt. Michael J. Esposito *~  

            The Department of Defense announced today the death of two soldiers supporting Operation Enduring Freedom.  They died on March 18, in Dehrawood, Afghanistan, when their team came under small arms fire while clearing a village. Both Soldiers were assigned to the 2^nd Battalion, 22^nd Infantry Regiment, 10^th Mountain Division (Light Infantry), Fort Drum, N.Y.  Killed were:

            Staff Sgt. Anthony S. Lagman, 26, of Yonkers, N.Y.

            Sgt. Michael J. Esposito, Jr., 22, of Brentwood, N.Y.

---

         ~* Cpl. Andrew D. Brownfield *~

 

            The Department of Defense announced today the death of a Marine who was supporting Operation Iraqi Freedom.

            Cpl. Andrew D. Brownfield, 24, of Summit, Ohio, died March 18, due to wounds received from an enemy mortar attack at Al Asad Air Base, Iraq.  He was assigned to Marine Wing Support Squadron 374, Marine Wing Support Group 37, 3^rd Marine Aircraft Wing, I Marine Expeditionary Force, Twentynine Palms, Calif.