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."
Got any links? We know Saddam came after Poppy once, but I'm unaware of attacks they attempted here in the States.
I'm glad you're willing to drop the BS fiction that this was for the good of the Iraqi people. It makes the discussion a lot easier.
Hey, thanks for relieving me!
I don't want to talk about the new "mom" story. :-)
I think a whole lot of the "The Iraqi people are incapable of democracy" bunch feel that way because they think that we are superior by nature to Arabs.
And that goes against Biblical principles, and offends me at every level.
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And if there comes a National Will to Win, carpet bombing would not be needed.
Thankfully, perhaps, Mr. Kristinn Taylor's thread opened the doors on FR to the bedazzled and unknowingly confused. For it is in those folks from which a National Will needs be forged -- that is, if it can be.
Our enemy attacks that underbelly we have, it is soft and vulnerable. Just as we can't yell our own guts to suck it in and become six-packs of hard muscle, rather than six pack-filled paucnhes, we can't yell at out nation's soft gut to make it tough.
We have to work out with it. A whole lot of exercising has to take place. No more FR the echo chamber.
It was about individuals living their faith in love, and there's no reason to amend it because you misunderstood it.
We do know Saddam was recruiting and training suicide and terrorist bombers to attack the US.
Unless you are saying these terrorist suicide bombers where just weapons that where never going to be used, I don’t understand your point?
Same here.. I believe that every human deserves freedom.. No matter what the race is.. Freedom is universal...
I threw all my old Fallujah bookmarks away.
Here's one I found again. Gen. Franks answers a Scarborough question about the Fallujah delay on the eve of the second attack.
"incapable". no.
"not ready" for democracy. ABSOLUTELY. they were not ready for democracy, we gave them democracy too soon. and now, that democracy of theirs stands in the way of US forces taking the acute military action needed to clean the place out.
so all we are left with, is a speech every 6 months by abizaid where he talks about "the iraqi forces need just another few months of training to get up to speed". how many times have we heard him say that?
--Spending more time in Iraq is not worth losing more pro-life senators.--
Agreed. Nothing is worth that kind of loss. Anything is acceptable to keep the Hilldebeast out of the WH.
Thank you for the excellent posts as well. As Lincoln said, "a horse divided against itself cannot stand" [or was it house? ;-) ] Long live FR.
Amen, Bootless. Same to Kristinn.
I do support a cut and run strategy though: cut off Muqtada al-Sadr's head, and run him over with a tank.
Then, give the tank the most thorough washing it's had in its Army career, to get the bits of jihad wannabee all off. Rinse and repeat as needed.
That's the cut and run that is called for.
d.o.l.
Criminal Number 18F
If you state that you support open borders, they'll stop calling you a troll
We have been blessed by being born and raised in this incredible country, but that does not make us superior as human beings.
Actually they had the right to leave before.
Again I disagree with you. Freedom isn't free and never is easy. Christians should have an easier time living in Iraq if we some how won in Iraq.
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