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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."
"Both Nagasaki and Hiroshima were both major Japanese Naval ports"
On the military nature of the bombing: It is doubtful that the bomb dropped on Hiroshima was intended for any of the military bases. The bomb was dropped in the center of the city, miles from either the army or navy base. Given that the destructive capability of the bomb was not fully
known, it is doubtful that the air force would have targeted the center of town if the bases were the intended targets. But few historians have ever argued that the bombing of Hiroshima was intended as a strategic, tactical
strike on a particular target.
I don't know where your getting your history from but much has been written about our bombing of all three cities in Japan and the facts are easily found.
Anyone who says, as you have :"let them hit us hard with a nuke.....", is a disgusting, brain dead, subhuman who doesn't understand just how moronic a statement that is. Iran won't nuke us. Korea can't, but Kim Jong Il will sell the stuff to terrorists. Terrorist, NOT a nation, would do the dirty. So WHO do we retaliate against; which nation? We won't know where the nuke came from and millions of AMERICANS would be dead.
I think today's poll sheds light on this. There are as few people who want to stay the course as want to cut and run. It would seem that the general consensus is that we are fighting another PC police action and aren't kicking enough butts to win.
Yes, I did and he should have been banned long ago. Thankfully, I see that the troll has now, at last, been banned.
You answered your own question. Both the source of the terrorists and N Korea using your story.
Oh, but WOULD it be N.Korea? Why not Russia, or Iran, or Pakistan?
No, I did NOT "answer" my own question. I gave a well reasoned speculation. We don't nuke nations on mere speculation.
Good, the longer it "cooks", the more idiots will get banned. :-)
As you know it is very likely Iran will be the source. But we are running purely on speculation on something that has not happened yet.
I would also hope we would have a mandate to remove any country that gets in our way next time as well. Note Iran and Syria at present.
You forgot France...
Speculation, now, is masturbatory silliness.
"HOPE" when used in such sentences, is a useless word.
No I didn't. I just kept the list to the prime suspects and France is a bit lower down on the list, is all.
What I do know is we can not win a war without the support of the people. The only way to do that is if the people believe their life or way of life is on the line.
Even after 9/11, there were many Americans who didn't want to do ANYTHING in retaliation.
Not what I read nor the concensus of all involved; guess you have secret sources of inside information.
Bookmarked this great post!
From the NY TIMES, traitorous as it is publiching classified infomation now says:
November 26, 2006
U.S. Finds Iraq Insurgency Has Funds to Sustain Itself
EXCERPT and redacted as needed...
BAGHDAD, Nov. 25 — The insurgency in Iraq is now self-sustaining financially, ...connivance by corrupt Islamic charities and other crimes ... a classified United States government report has concluded.
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