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."
That figure is about the same as after Pearl Harbor. So it is a meaningless percentage. That fear of the enemy must be sustained.
That fear is obviously not there anymore by the majority and progress in Iraq was at least at a stand still which the American people want to see progress in anything we do.
You forgot France...
While France may not be a standout supporter of the USA in the memory of anyone alive at this time, I am strongly against including France on this list.
Unless you were reading FR on 9/11,12,13, 14, 15, and beyond, then you have NO idea what a lot of moronic Liberals were saying.
I have no "secret sources", but I do have FR!
I mentioned NO figure!
And you're wrong about Pearl Harbor. The American Stalinists and card carrying Commies didn't want America to enter WW II, until AFTER Stalin broke with Hitler. Once THAT happened, they were all for it! Of course the Nazi sympathizers, such as Ford and Lindberg were against our entry, but even old Lucky Lindy joined up, after Pear Harbor.
How did that DeWine GOTV thing work out for you? You're seriously delusional. Blackbird.
It's not "my" failed policy...I don't believe it HAS failed since we aren't done yet, nor do I think we as a nation have decided to go after just anyone we consider a "threat". After 911 Bush said we would go after those who harbor and/or give aid to terrorists, not just Al Qaeda but Islamist terrorists. Frankly, I don't think it matters whether they're Hamas, Hezbollah, or Al Qaeda...they're all one big jihadist family that share an ideology, training (and probably funds & members as well). You might want to read up on Salman Pak as it was a terrorist training facility not too far from Bagdad (that would be in Iraq).
Now, you could certainly make the argument that Iraq isn't the only country to harbor and support terrorists but you have to start somewhere. The fact is THEY violated the terms of the cease-fire, by merely kicking the inspectors out. THEY violated the terms again by not allowing said inspectors complete access when they were "allowed" back in Iraq. If we don't have the balls to enforce our agreements we have no business making them.
By virtue of their violating a cease-fire agreement, harboring and giving aid to terrorists they made themselves a target. While I'm not sure how you know Saddam's knowledge of Zarqawi being in Iraq was tenuous (it wasn't exactly an open society) he WAS there receiving medical treatment after fleeing the battlefield in Afghanistan. For all we know the 2 might have gotten together for tea and cookies every other Tuesday or Saturday night double date-rape.
Nevertheless, Saddam's tentacles were pretty much everywhere and it certainly wouldn't have been impossible for him to take Zarqawi into custody and turn him over to the US or the international community. And then there's Abul Abbas (but I'm guessing in your mind he doesn't count since his big claim to fame was the Achille Lauro hijacking and you seem to have some kind of statute of limitations on terrorism). I don't know what your definition of "harboring" is, but those 2 examples certainly fit mine.
Now as far as aiding, I'd say large checks to suicide bombers families constitute "aiding" (again, your definition may vary). While we may not be able to trace those checks in particular to the pockets of terrorists landing on our shores (and sitting in our airplanes) it definitely supports a mindset and is incentive to continue fostering those rather warped beliefs. To me these are not minor things.
I won't get into the WMD issue because I think 1) violating a cease-fire agreement, 2) harboring terrorists, and 3) giving monetary aid to terrorists (or those that breed them) is enough justification for taking Saddam out, but I really urge you to read through some of the translations jveritas has done. They are documents from Saddam's own government, some quite recent, that discuss WMDs, weapons programs, etc. There are also plenty members of his administration who have discussed these things as well.
Cindie
Iran's Revolutionary Guards are training hundreds of Al Qaeda fighters to carry out attacks against coalition forces throughout the Middle East.
The Iranian government has been providing a safe haven for fighters loyal to Osama bin Laden's Al Qaeda terror group since they were forced to flee Afghanistan in late 2001.
But Western intelligence agencies now report that the Iranians are training Al Qaeda fighters at centers that were previously used by other Islamic militant groups, such as the Lebanese militia Hezbollah.
Okay the following is from one of the enemy's propaganda sites.
Names of six Iranian Revolutionary Guard agents killed in Baghdad’s "Madinat as-Sadr" car bombings on Thursday.
Names of six Iranian Revolutionary Guard agents killed in Baghdad "Madinat as-Sadr" car bombings on Thursday published.
In a dispatch posted at 1:42pm Makkah time Saturday afternoon, Mafkarat al-Islam reported that on Saturday the Iranian embassy in Baghdad received the bodies of six Iranian members of the Iranian Revolutionary Guard who were secretly working in Iraq with the Shi'i sectarian militias and were killed in the car bombings of Jaysh al-Mahdi gunmen in the Madinat Saddam area on Thursday night. The Baghdad area of Madinat Saddam was nicknamed "Madinat as-Sadr" after the US occupation of Iraq in 2003.
The correspondent for Mafkarat al-Islam reported that the six bodies of the Iranian agents were received by Mujtabi Sari Nida, an employee of the Iranian embassy, from al-Kindi Hospital where they had been taken initially after the Resistance attack.
The Iranian regime claimed that the six Revolutionary Guards were present among the Jaysh al-Mahdi gunmen just as "ordinary citizens" on "pilgrimage" to the Shi'i al-Kazimiyah mosque.
The Iranian agents were killed in a part of Baghdad some 30km from the al-Kazimiyah mosque, the correspondent pointed out, noting that the area was, however, a stronghold for the Jaysh al-Mahdi and Badr Brigade Shi'i sectarian militias which receive support from Iran and the United States.
The following are the names of the six Iranian "Revolutionary Guards" killed in the Thursday car bomb attacks:
'Ali Shamkhani, killed by bleeding in the brain;
Baqir Dhu al-Qadr Rida, killed by severe wounds to the chest and back;
Muhammad Husayni, burned to death;
Ramadan Fayruzandah, died of a crushed skull and burns;
Qasim Taskhiri Rida Agha (passport NO. 01459872 from Karmanshahr, Iran) had his leg blown off and suffered a wound to the neck;
'Ali Farhad Salmani, died of a severe lateral cut on his chest and from having both legs blown off.
The Mafkarat al-Islam correspondent reported an informed source as saying that 30 commanders of the Jaysh al-Mahdi militia were killed in the Thursday attacks, among them Husayn Fattumah, who carried the name of his mother because he was a marked man after abducting three Sunni girls from a Qur’an memorization school on Palestine Street.
The regional hegemonic regime in Iran is seeking to secure its hold in Iraq by using Shi'i sectarian leaders and organizations in order to try to step into the shoes of the American occupation authorities whose grip on the country has been weakened by three years of increasingly severe Resistance attacks. To forestall Iran’s attempt to replace America as colonial power in Iraq, the Iraqi Resistance continues its offensive against pro-Iranian as well as US and pro-US groups and facilities.
http://www.uruknet.de/?p=m28552
Supreme Leader: Armed forces, forerunners in defending justice, people's rights
Tehran, Nov 25, IRNA
Iran-Supreme Leader-Armed Forces
Supreme Leader of the Islamic Revolution Ayatollah Seyed Ali Khamenei said here Saturday that armed forces in the Islamic ruling system are forerunners of the nation in defending justice, rights of people, particularly the poor, promoting national security and protecting the values of Islam and Islamic Revolution.
Ayatollah Khamenei made the remark while speaking at the graduation ceremony of the cadets of the Islamic Republic Guards Corps (IRGC) at the Military Academy of Imam Hossein University.
The Commander-in-Chief of the Armed Forces referred to militarism of the world powers as a means for gaining power and said that on the contrary, in the Islamic system, armed forces are actually the field of worship on account of the high logic of Islam.
"The most important feature of IRGC is that its cornerstone was laid on Islamic values. It requires determined manpower capable of defending the nation, though the revolutionary conditions no more dominate the country and the Sacred Defense era is over," said the Supreme Leader.
Ayatollah Khamenei dismissed some semi-intellectual views against military forces and described a militaryman with Islamic identity as someone prepared to sacrifice himself for his high goal.
"Therefore, a militaryman with an Islamic identity is not comparable to the violent and irrational US or Zionist troops and those from hegemonic countries," said the Supreme Leader.
2326/1412
---> Iran-Supreme Leader-Armed Forces
http://www.irna.com/en/news/view/line-17/0611259627170640.htm
"Civilian responsibility" that's the key word; something there doesn't seem to be much of these days. I grew up in a kinder gentler time, but when we went to war we meant it.
I think bringing back the draft would solve a lot of the social woes that currently plague our great nation. There are many young people today that lack discipline, respect, and a sense of citizenship/patriotism that will haunt them,(and us), the rest of their days.
Very well said. "It’s hard to have an anti-war movement when everyone is in uniform." Boy if that doesn't hit the nail on the head!
And this, (This would have the positive effect of ending the poisoning of the minds of American youth by the mavens of socialism and political correctness.) POUNDS IT IN!
BUMP!
Won't be long now, and you'll just be talking back to the voices in your head. Blackbird.
You make it sound as if every one from the President on down the chain of command involved directly with the mission didn't even know if it would go off.
They knew exactly what to expect, which is why they targeted it the way they did. Every city on the target list was chosen because they were legitimate military targets that had been ignored for the most part.
Those same history books you are telling me to read are where I am getting my information, unless of course, yours were written to be politically correct and condemn Truman, Tibbets, and the rest as nuclear maniacs that choose to bomb non military targets.
Bump for 1457 and 1494.
"Members of the 4th Battalion, 23rd Infantry Regiment 172nd Stryker Brigade Combat Team wait to be dismissed at Fort Richardson, Alaska, Saturday, Nov. 25, 2006, after arriving back from a 16-month tour of duty in Iraq. The remainder of the 700-man battalion and the 3,800-man Stryker brigade will be returning over the next 10 days. (AP Photo/Al Grillo)"
Thank you for the pic. Notice the two soldiers in the front row. Each has had previous tours somewhere. One with the 4th ID and the other with the 101st.
As I posted somewhere on Sat., a young coworker told me her friend had told her in an email that he would be back in Alaska by Christmas.
lol
It wouldn't have been a bad decision, if that had been the plan all along. The first time, if you'll recall, the Marines were on the verge of taking the city & were called back because of objections from the Iraqi government.
This made the U.S. and the Marines look weak, and it wasn't good.
The problem all along has been trying to run a P.C. war and give the new Iraqi government a say in it. Maybe if it's our guys and our reputation on the line, we should run the show.
I try
Disclaimer: Opinions posted on Free Republic are those of the individual posters and do not necessarily represent the opinion of Free Republic or its management. All materials posted herein are protected by copyright law and the exemption for fair use of copyrighted works.