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 didn't have the benefit of being in FL, but I was watching FL 2000 on FR, and I went out to march for W as it was going on. There's no way I have to defend myself as if I were a troll.
What we have here is a serious failure of critical thinking. Anyone who disagrees or calls a spade a spade, we call them Jim McDermott and ban them.
Why am I not surprised we lost the election?
My oldest kid is a Stryker Platoon Leader over there as we speak.....in Mosul. You're dead on. Bump.
BTTT
Do you ever hear from Bigun or JENX anymore?
Mike would have disagreed with you.
The posters who, compare this to Vietnam, the posters who think the dems have the right perspective, the poster who think 3000 killed is not worthy, they can kiss my behind. This war is the the war of our time, and our military and it's operation is way more advanced than any war previous encountered. What would the cut and runners did after Normandy? Pathetic bunch of losers.
Every time there is a poll that includes Ms. Clinton she gets votes on here. They can only be disruptors!
How do you classify those of us who have taken the position that the current strategy is not working. Some advocate that we either fight for unconditional victory or not waste the lives of our troops. As a Vietnam vet I don't want to see lives trickled out at a politically acceptable rate in lieu of victory. To continue to fight is not a strategy, to kill everyone who would lift a hand or a voice in opposition to us is a strategy.
then Black Jack Pershing is your model to follow.
You done throwing your little tantrum?
Technically, he resigned, but I'm guessing he was asked to resign. There's not a big difference.
He's a very gracious professional guy, loyal to this country and his duty, and would never have stormed out in a huff in any event.
I didn't read the message Kristinn, because it wasn't addressed to me.
Cut and run? Nah. I'd happily settle for a cogent strategy.
One good thing? We were able to close our bases in Saudi Arabia that we used to enforce the No-Fly Zone from. Osama used those bases as propaganda to show Muslims how we were "occupying" the Sacred Lands (Saudi Arabia).
Counting the Iran-Iraq war, which he started, Sadam killed close to 3 million people before he was disposed. He was dictator for 25 years. That averages out to 10,000 a month, or 333 per day. We got a very long way to go before we even come close to that number. And the vast majority of those dying today come from Muslim killing Muslim. So stop with the hissy melodrama and WAY overblown facts, it sounds unbecoming of a FReeper.
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