Posted on 11/24/2006 6:46:08 PM PST by kristinn
I'm reading an astonishing number of comments on Free Republic these days by posters who have joined the ranks of the anti-American left in calling for an immediate withdrawal from Iraq. Some claim to have military experience, some claim to be patriotic Americans and some claim to be smarter than the rest.
These posters are joining the Murtha-Rangel-McDermott treason caucus. Oh, they say they love the troops, but their decision to abandon them in the field speaks otherwise.
Three years ago, the United States led an international coalition to rid the world of one of the worst regimes on the planet. Saddam Hussein was an international terrorist: He financed terrorism, he trained terrorists and he harbored terrorists. He waged war on Iran, Kuwait, Saudi Arabia and Israel. He waged war on the people of Iraq, including genocidal campaigns against the Kurds in the north and the marsh Arabs in the south.
Saddam successfully subverted the Oil-for-Food program and was wearing down support for continuing the sanctions keeping him in check.
He had numerous contacts with al Qaeda over the years. He tried to assassinate a former U.S. president. He maintained research capabilities to implement nuclear, chemical and biological weapons as soon as the sanctions were lifted. There is evidence that some of these programs would have been operational within a year even with the sanctions in place.
The decision to remove Saddam and his regime as part of the Global War on Terror was correct.
Three-and-a-half years after Iraq and the world were liberated from Saddam and his terrorist regime, there are those on Free Republic who are clamoring to give up, surrender, cut and run, stab the troops in the back, betray the Iraqis, betray our allies in the GWOT, spit on the graves of our fallen heroes and join Cindy Sheehan, Medea Benjamin and Ramsey Clark in bringing about America's defeat in the GWOT.
It's only been three-and-a-half years--only six months since the freely elected government in Iraq was formed. In that time, what has been called a mini-Marshall Plan of construction and reconstruction has come to fruition. The Iraqis have held three national elections, they have held numerous local elections, fourteen out of eighteen Iraq provinces are relatively peaceful and stable.
Six months ago, when the Iraqi government was formed, the experts said the war would be taken to Baghdad because our enemies in the region could not abide the example of a free, democratic society in the Middle East. For once, the experts were right. The battle of Baghdad has been a prolonged Tet Offensive style operation of headline-grabbing attacks intended to sap the morale of Americans and Iraqis alike.
From what I've been reading on Free Republic lately, a lot of Freepers have fallen for the enemy's ploy and are howling like barking moonbats for our immediate withdrawal from Iraq. Some of that talk is couched in talk of 'we're fighting a PC war like Vietnam!' The soldiers I met in Iraq recently told Debra Argel Bastian to pass on a message to the Vietnam vets criticizing the war: With all due respect to your service, this is not Vietnam. It is not being fought like Vietnam. Please let us finish our mission.
But our enemy is playing the Vietnam ploy to great benefit. They know they can count on the American and world media to broadcast their propaganda. They work with leftist Americans to sabotage the war effort at home. They know these leftist Americans have allies in the Democratic party. They know they do not need a military victory--only political and psychological victories are needed to defeat America.
You guys are playing right in to their hands. Congratulations.
There are those who argue that murder and dictatorship is the mindset of the Middle East and that will not be changed by our actions. Funny how those who smugly denigrate the Arab peoples' capacity for freedom forget the wholesale slaughter of millions of Westerners by Westerners at the hands of Western dictatorships just a few generations past.
I hear complaints that the Iraqis aren't standing up. Yet, to use one common example, when police recruits are slaughtered in bombings, Iraqis line up the next day at the same recruiting center. The insurgency is small in number, but they are able to do enough damage on a daily basis to stretch out the time it will take to secure the whole of Iraq.
At this time of our testing, the American people are starting to go wobbly. Sadly, many Freepers are too. Our troops and their Commander-in-Chief are not, thank God. It's only been three-and-a-half years. The progress made has been phenomonal. Throw in the towel now, and you'll just have the terrorists follow us home. Everyone knows that, including you. I'm not willing to pay that price, not now, not ever, but you are.
Let me close by offering similar sentiments recently offered by two men 'in the know' on the situation in Iraq who are not giving up. First, Kurdish Regional Government Prime Minister Barzani: "When I was in the United States recently and read the negative news in the Washington Post, New York Times and in the network TV broadcasts, I even wondered if things had gotten so bad since I had left that I shouldn't return."
Next, Gen. Abizaid: "When I come to Washington, I feel despair. When I'm in Iraq with my commanders, when I talk to our soldiers, when I talk to the Iraqi leadership, they are not despairing."
I just find it amazing that you can call kristinn a "total ass" in one post.
And then in another say the above.
Which is it?
You find it amazing that someone can be a total ass yet do good work?
Been out in the world much?
This is absolute nonsense. Saddam Hussein gave sanctuary to the worst of the worst. Abu Nidal, Abu Abbas, Zarqawi, Ansar al Islam. These people killed Americans. Abbas killed Leon Klinghoffer, one of your fellow citizens, an old man on a cruise.
The nexus of these terrorists with Husseins WMD knowhow was an unexceptable risk after 9/11. Hussein used chem weapons with aplomb, you think he would have any problem passing along that experience to islamofascists who were involved in bigtime terror operations?
How soon we forget.
It doesn't matter though. The same people demanding we leave Iraq to the deadenders and Iran will be the same people demanding "action" when they turn Iraq into 9/11 Afghanistan and pay us a visit once again. We never learn.
Do your own homework.
WW 2,in aprox. three and and a half years 407,000 troups died.In about the same time frame in Iraq, 3,000 troups died.
=====
Big difference, WE WON.
and we won even though we started off undermanned outgunned and outexperienced. In three and a half years we beat tens of millions of veteran professional troops and thousands of their planes and ships and tanks....
Today, in three and a half years, the GOP Leadership can't beat a bunch of punks with RPGs and WE are the ones who have all the experienced troops and firepower.
Why? Because the want a KGC war.
Regarding US policy in Iraq, do you think the US should: 1. Stay the course until a stable united Iraq has been achieved 2. Expand the war to Iran and Syria 3. Support partitioning Iraq 4. Withdraw US troops from Iraq expeditiously 5. Don't know
I am proud to stand for our troops against this kind of attack on their mission.
You cannot say you support the troops and bash their mission at the same time.
There are people trying to tap dance around that fact, but it's not going to work. They have said what they have said, and they have indicted themselves in doing so.
I have no problem with a change in tactics but I have big problems with a change in any strategic goals which leaves Iraq to Iran and the deadenders.
For instance we can put some symmetry back into warfare and kill Sadr and his 'crew'.
But I'm interested in just what strategic changes you'd like to see.
They want everyone to know they're cut-and runners. They're proud of it. They might even have French heritage and have been embarrassed about it of late and now they feel they can just bring that French on out of the closet and flaunt it.
Just like gays and vegetarians often seem to have this innate desire to make sure everybody knows they're gay or vegetarian.
You're the informed one. Right? Let's get down to cases. Start naming names. Be brave.
(On this thread FAR too long........it's a good thing dinner is coming).
Look for the words, "Get out now."
I adore your sense of humor, Allegra. :)
And yes, absolute, indiscriminate carpet bombing would've been a good start. It would have shown our enemies in Iraq and elsewhere we meant business.
ROFL!! :>)
It's up, I was 5th to respond...
May be. Yet that is an opinion. The fact of the matter is that as the chairman of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee, this Republican senator IS shaping the agenda. And arranging for US government talks directly with Tehran. You know, those peaceful people that gave us the Beirut Marine barracks bombing back on October 23rd, 1983. The Tehran government sanctioned the killing of 220 US Marines, 18 US Navy, and 3 US Army personnel, and the wounding of 60.
But heck, if the Shiite Hezbullah talks don't work out, our government can go grovel to the Sunni Al Qaida backers and put together a unity government with power-sharing. Kind of like the talks going on in Kingdom of Saudi Arabia today.
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