Posted on 02/08/2005 11:21:51 AM PST by NorCoGOP
MADISON, Wis. -- Pop quiz, hotshot: Who made the following statement last week? "Actually, it's a lot of fun to fight, you know? It's a hell of a hoot. It's fun to shoot some people. I'll be right up front with you. I like brawling."
A. Abu Musab al-Zarkowi
B. Osama Bin Laden
C. Saddam Hussein
D. U.S. Lieutenant General James Mattis
If you guessed D, congratulations. You now understand that one of our U.S. Marines made a comment so outrageous that he is now on par with the worst of the terrorists. General James Mattis said that, "it's fun to shoot some people" and "it's a hell of a hoot" while speaking to a group in San Diego about strategies for the war on terror. General Mattis has commanded troops in Afghanistan and Iraq, but he now has blood on his hands because by making that comment, he immediately put our U.S. troops in more danger. His service in the marines is no longer honorable.
I have a long history of military service in my family, as do millions of other Americans. My uncle ran the Pensacola Marine Base and flew both Presidents Jimmy Carter and Gerald Ford. He also served in Vietnam, and in Beirut he flew a helicopter to try and free the Iranian hostages. My grandfather served in World War II in Pearl Harbor at the time of the horrific bombings there. I also have a very good friend who is currently serving in Iraq.
Military service is a priceless asset to the United States of America as our last line of defense against those who want to kill us, and I cannot thank the U.S. military enough for putting their lives at risk in the most heroic of fashions so that we can continue to live peacefully in this wonderful country. But there is one virtue that 99 percent of the military holds dear to this day: They serve their country not because it's a "hoot" or a fun little game to kill people, but because in the absolute last lines of defense, they must kill to protect us. In other words, 99 percent of the military does not enjoy killing.
Lieutenant General James Mattis is not a hero; he is a terrorist. By making that statement, he instantly recruited more terrorists to murder our good men and women serving in Iraq. Like the Abu Ghraib torture situation and the Mi Lai massacre in Vietnam, General Mattis re-emphasized the negative stereotype of the U.S. Marines as "killing machines" and "evil, vindictive murderers." He should be dishonorably discharged from the military immediately.
However, thus far his superior officer General Mike Hagee is defending these indefensible, pseudo-treasonous comments by saying, "While I understand that some people may take issue with the comments made by him, I also know he intended to reflect the unfortunate and harsh realities of war." It is an unfortunate reality to have to kill while we are at war, but it is a complete lie and distortion to insinuate that the majority of our troops enjoy killing.
General Mattis' statements do two extremely dangerous things. No. 1, it will cause the death of more U.S. soldiers, as the Abu Ghraib incident did after it was exploited and played countless times on Al-Jazeera television. No. 2, it adds fuel to the fire for a small sector of the Sandonista-left in this country that see the United States military as an evil institution with evil people in it that love to kill. A caller on my radio show re-emphasized this ridiculous position on Friday, when he called the U.S. military a bunch of "killing machines" who enjoy murdering people. The other ridiculous sentiment comes from the crypto-fascist, Kool-Aid-drinking, Sean Hannity right, who believe that we can say and do whatever we want to others because we are the U.S.A., and we are a superpower.
The people with this opinion are also fools. If we claim to have the "moral high-ground" over the terrorists, then we have to act that way. We can't avoid the Geneva Conventions like these same people wanted to do with Abu Ghraib, and we can't have people in the military who say to the whole world that they get some sort of sick pleasure out of killing others.
What General James Mattis did when he said "It's fun to shoot some people" is beyond my comprehension. If you defend his statements, then you must realize you are spitting in the face of every single person in the United States military and every single veteran. Mattis is not a hero, but a terrorist and an inhumane piece of human debris. He is a Benedict Arnold in our effort to fight terrorism and is a disgrace to this country. We must do everything we can to keep the General James Mattises of this world out of the conceptual image of the U.S. military and this great country.
"My uncle ran the Pensacola Marine Base and flew both Presidents Jimmy Carter and Gerald Ford. He also served in Vietnam, and in Beirut he flew a helicopter to try and free the Iranian hostages. My grandfather served in World War II in Pearl Harbor at the time of the horrific bombings there. I also have a very good friend who is currently serving in Iraq."
This is the equivalent of... "some of my best friends are Black" right before the offensive comment comes from their lips.
My ONLY friends are Marines... OOH-RAH!! Gen Mattis!!
Hopefully, they seek psychiatric help if they can't adjust back to life in the US.
You're insulting our military if you think they are the type of people who will come back from Iraq and proceed to assault or kill journalists.
Good point!
I saw that! Funny!
By the way the word Marine when describing a U.S. Marine... is always, Capitalized.
read: 'he tried to fly a helicopter and tried to free the Iranian hostages'...
Wait a minute Ace, I'm a New Yorker and I've been fighting these SOB's and America's enemies since the 60's. Patriotic Americans come from all over. Its not a matter of geography but rather honor, courage, duty, and love of country.
Well said brother.
Semper Fi
Like I said, the vast majority of the people serving in our armed services would never think of assaulting a journalist for expressing views they disagree with. Unlike you, they understand that one of the things that they are fighting for is the right of Americans to have different opinions.
They give aid and comfort to the enemy and should be treated like any other traitor.
That is, of course, utter nonsense. Disagreeing with the WOT does not make one a terrorist.
Any serviceman who attacked this reporter would find himself breaking rocks in a military prison for a very long time, and rightfully so. Our military are not equivalent to Saddam's goons, no matter how much you seem to think they should be.
Not if we had passed through first and I'll point out that they don't say that the Marines are the first to fight for nothing.
You are an exception or a minority red blooded American living in a blue area. A true American hero as are all troops that serve. Thank you.
Note, this civilian's credentials are "he has relatives that were in the military."
Plus he has taken the quote out of context.
What a putz
Most of the liberalism in my state comes from the cities. Upstate NY is very conservative for the most part. And you have scads of lib/dem strongholds in cities all over the South and Mid-West, urban areas where the thinking is that big govt can solve your problems. I think red and blue are a state of mind, not necessarily a state in the union.
OOH-RAH. I will never have to shoot terrorists as long as we have the United States Marines.
Semper Fi.
Why do liberals always end up with name calling when trying to formulate an argument? Are they all just suffering from extended adolescence or something? I really don't understand. I don't always see this when arguing with conservatives, but it invariably occurs when lefties attempt to put forth their side. What's up with that?
Funny, I was on Pensacola NAS today and I don't recall it being a marine base either. But, this guy writes for a college newspaper so he knows better than me...being an NFO student and all.
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