This war is not against terrorist murderers. At least not the ones who committed 911. They were Saudis, not Iraqis. And their mastermind is still on the loose.
As far as ridding the world of Saddam. Great, he is gone. Now we have Zarqawi. Not much of an improvement, especially in light of the growing need for body bags in Iraq. Not just for American soldiers, but for an increasing amount of civilian casualties as a result of the insurgency. I suppose that they are just part of the cost of freedom.
Saddam Hussein was not threat to this country. He had no WMDs nor a program to put them into place. Iraq was not actively involved in terrorist activities against this country at the time, nor had they been in years. Did you really go to sleep at night worrying about Iraq?
Iran on the other hand has been involved actively in terrorist activities and is in the process of developing a nuclear program. They may or may not be planning on developing weapons from this program. But they are a hell of a lot closer to a weapon than Iraq ever was.
Consider then, North Korea who many say has a much more developed nuclear weapon program than either Iran or Iraq. And they have the missles to deploy them.
Why was Iraq more of a threat than either of these two countries who are much more capable of becoming a threat to this country?
So, why are we fighting this war in Iraq again? Are we fighting for Iraqi freedom since the whole WMD thing did not pan out? Is that what it is about now? Is this the cause that we can now use to justify 1600+ American deaths? I am sorry but I take war very seriously. I want to be damned sure that if American blood is going to be spilled in some far away land that it is for a very good reason. Not to mention the hundreds of billions of dollars that we have poured into this cause.
Through BRAC we are supposed to save $50billion over 20 years. Imagine the cost savings if we had chosen to handle Iraq a bit differently. And there might be about 1600 moms that would have had a much better Mother's Day a few weeks ago.
I pray that some day, something worthwhile will spring forth from this war. Right now, I am not sure.
As far as your going to boot camp. If that is what is you want to do, good on you. I did my time in service. And if this country were truly in need of my service, I would serve again. I just choose to wait until such time as there is a real threat to our freedom. Iraq is not that threat.
No threat, eh?
"Without question, we need to disarm Saddam Hussein. He is a brutal, murderous dictator, leading an oppressive regime ... He presents a particularly grievous threat because he is so consistently prone to miscalculation ... And now he is miscalculating America's response to his continued deceit and his consistent grasp for weapons of mass destruction ... So the threat of Saddam Hussein with weapons of mass destruction is real..."
- Sen. John F. Kerry (D, MA), Jan. 23. 2003 | Source
"I will be voting to give the President of the United States the authority to use force -- if necessary -- to disarm Saddam Hussein because I believe that a deadly arsenal of weapons of mass destruction in his hands is a real and grave threat to our security."
- Sen. John F. Kerry (D, MA), Oct. 9, 2002 | Source
"One way or the other, we are determined to deny Iraq the capacity to develop weapons of mass destruction and the missiles to deliver them. That is our bottom line."
- President Clinton, Feb. 4, 1998 | Source
"If Saddam rejects peace and we have to use force, our purpose is clear. We want to seriously diminish the threat posed by Iraq's weapons of mass destruction program."
- President Bill Clinton, Feb. 17, 1998 | Source
"We must stop Saddam from ever again jeopardizing the stability and security of his neighbors with weapons of mass destruction."
- Madeline Albright, Feb 1, 1998 | Source
"He will use those weapons of mass destruction again, as he has ten times since 1983."
- Sandy Berger, Clinton National Security Adviser, Feb, 18, 1998 | Source
"[W]e urge you, after consulting with Congress, and consistent with the U.S. Constitution and laws, to take necessary actions (including, if appropriate, air and missile strikes on suspect Iraqi sites) to respond effectively to the threat posed by Iraq's refusal to end its weapons of mass destruction programs."
Letter to President Clinton.
- (D) Senators Carl Levin, Tom Daschle, John Kerry, others, Oct. 9, 1998 | Source
"Saddam Hussein has been engaged in the development of weapons of mass destruction technology which is a threat to countries in the region and he has made a mockery of the weapons inspection process."
- Rep. Nancy Pelosi (D, CA), Dec. 16, 1998 | Source
"Hussein has ... chosen to spend his money on building weapons of mass destruction and palaces for his cronies."
- Madeline Albright, Clinton Secretary of State, Nov. 10, 1999 | Source
"We begin with the common belief that Saddam Hussein is a tyrant and a threat to the peace and stability of the region. He has ignored the mandate of the United Nations and is building weapons of mass destruction and th! e means of delivering them."
- Sen. Carl Levin (D, MI), Sept. 19, 2002 | Source
"We know that he has stored secret supplies of biological and chemical weapons throughout his country."
- Al Gore, Sept. 23, 2002 | Source
"Iraq's search for weapons of mass destruction has proven impossible to deter and we should assume that it will continue for as long as Saddam is in power."
- Al Gore, Sept. 23, 2002 | Source
"We have known for many years that Saddam Hussein is seeking and developing weapons of mass destruction."
- Sen. Ted Kennedy (D, MA), Sept. 27, 2002 | Source
"The last UN weapons inspectors left Iraq in October of 1998. We are confident that Saddam Hussein retains some stockpiles of chemical and biological weapons, and that he has since embarked on a crash course to build up his chemical and biological warfare capabilities. Intelligence reports indicate that he is seeking nuclear weapons..."
- Sen. Robert Byrd (D, WV), Oct. 3, 2002 | Source
"There is unmistakable evidence that Saddam Hussein is working aggressively to develop nuclear weapons and will likely have nuclear weapons within the next five years ... We also should remember we have always underestimated the progress Saddam has made in development of weapons of mass destruction."
- Sen. Jay Rockefeller (D, WV), Oct 10, 2002 | Source
"In the four years since the inspectors left, intelligence reports show that Saddam Hussein has worked to rebuild his chemical and biological weapons stock, his missile delivery capability, and his nuclear program. He has also given aid, comfort, and sanctuary to terrorists, including al Qaeda members ... It is clear, however, that if left unchecked, Saddam Hussein will continue to increase his capacity to wage biological and chemical warfare, and will keep trying to develop nuclear weapons."
- Sen. Hillary Clinton (D, NY), Oct 10, 2002 | Source
"We are in possession of what I think to be compelling evidence that Saddam Hussein has, and has had for a number of years, a developing capacity for the production and storage of weapons of mass destruction."
- Sen. Bob Graham (D, FL), Dec. 8, 2002 | Source
http://www.glennbeck.com/news/01302004.shtml
Bravo Sir!