Posted on 01/18/2007 7:50:55 AM PST by jveritas
The most lasting tragedy of the Vietnam War is that it has legitimized giving aid and comfort to the enemy. We are seeing the giving of aid and comfort to the enemy running wild in this war on terror and sadly not only among liberals and their media but also among some conservatives who some of them are right here on this great Free Republic.
When Al Qaeda terrorists, or the terrorist regimes in Iran and Syria, or the Iraqi insurgent terrorists whether they are Sunnis or Shia hear the speeches of defeatism coming from liberals and their media, or unfortunately coming from some conservatives who some of them are right here on Free Republic, will they feel comforted and aided by these speeches? Of course they will be comforted, and they will be embolden to fight more and more, kill more and more, destroy more and more, because they realize that many Americans do not have the will to fight a long and hard war.
Defeatism and providing aid and comfort to the enemy was something that we expected from liberals and their media because their hate to President Bush and the Republican Party is hundred of times more than their hate to the terrorists. However it is really sad that some conservatives and some members on this great forum are doing their share in providing aid and comfort to the enemy through their defeatist attitude.
Do the defeatists want to amend the Constitution so we will have the following? Stop the war and leave if we lose more than one thousand troops, or stop the war and leave if it lasts more than one year, or stop the war and leave if it costs more than 50 billions dollars, whichever comes first. Do they want to do this?
The defeatists who argue that Iraq is not part of the war on terror but rather it is just a civil war between Sunnis and Shia are wrong and naive beyond belief. Iraq is most definitely the central and most important front in the war on terror. It is in Iraq where Al Qaeda and their local Iraqi allies decided to fight the US. It is in Iraq where the islamic terrorists from all over the world are pouring in to fight the Americans. It is in Iraq where the terrorist regimes of Iran and Syria and their local Iraqi allies want to defeat the US so they can have total control of the Middle East. Since the terrorists are all over the world, then the best way to fight them is to attract them to one place to kill them. Whether it was planned or not, Iraq turned out to be the magnet that has been attracting the terrorists from all over the world, and that is the ultimate way to fight the war on terror and to kill as many terrorists as we can.
Every defeatist who is giving aid and comfort to the enemy should ask himself or herself this question: What will happen if we leave Iraq before we achieve complete victory? The First thing that will happen is that the enemy will be embolden beyond belief and the terrorists whether they are Sunnis or Shia, whether they are Al Qaeda, or Iran or Syria, will be given the ultimate victory that will embolden them thousands more time then when they were emboldened when the US left Beirut after the Marines barracks terrorist attack in 1983, or when the US left Somalia in 1993 after the terrorist killed 19 troops, or when no reprisal happened against the terrorists when they attacked many American targets through out the Clinton years. If our passiveness to the past terrorist attacks emboldened them in such a way to attack us on 9/11, think about what they can do to us if we give and leave Iraq and thus handle them the ultimate victory that they have been dreaming about for decades.
The defeatists must understand that if few terrorists sitting in a cave in Afghanistan with a small budget and few volunteers were able to do the 9/11 terrorist attacks, killed 3000 Americans, and caused over one trillion dollars in economic damages, then the terrorists control of Iraq and of the whole Middle East, and its vast oil resources will allow them to conduct terrorist attacks against us that we cannot imagine even in our worst nightmares. By controlling Iraq and the Middle East the terrorists will have hundreds of billions of dollars under their control that they will use it to attack us everywhere in the world and the US and cause unimaginable death, destruction and economic losses that will make 9/11 terrorist attacks look like a picnic in comparison. They will also use the oil weapon to bring the world economy to a disaster that will be many folds worse than that of the 1929 Depression.
Fellow Free Republic members, we are fighting the most important war since WW II. We are not fighting for the Iraqis in Iraq but we are fighting for ourselves, for our freedom and for our way of life. Let us all support our President and our brave troops because they need our support now more than ever.
Personally speaking, the WOT is not lost until my head parts company with my shoulders.
Having said that, I'm less confident that they'll stay attached than I was a couple of years ago.
I thought so but wasn't sure.
The basis of your post is that we must keep fighting in Iraq until we achieve "total victory" but this debate is meaningless unless you define exactly what you mean by this.
Your interpretation of victory, and it's consequences, may be different from that of others and appears to me to be the nexus of disagreement.
I have been a supporter of this engagement since the beginning but I now do not believe we can achieve the "victory" that was intended at the start. That doesn't mean the effort was for naught nor does it mean we should disengage at this point. But we do need to have a clear idea of what we desire to achieve, if it is attainable and what unintended consequences may develop.
For God's sake, refrain from addressing anyone as "dude". Additionally, we do have the right to debate. However, the effect of some views in that debate may be extremely unhelpful to those viewing the debate.
The War on Terror isn't lost, however it is not winnable. The War on Terror is similiar to the War on Poverty and the War on Drugs...open-ended with no real long term goals to end anything.
50 years from now we will still be funding the War on Terror, the War on Poverty and the War on Drugs.
Oh, that's easy. Anyone who doesn't post on the daily screen licking thread "A Day in the Life of" is a defeatist and traitor to these United States of America.
If you have a problem, why not contact the freepers in question directly ?
To attempt to control what you view as a problem with other people's attitudes in this way is less than effective. The people of whom you are speaking likely have no clue, and it's confusing to the rest of us. It's also codependent and sideways.
Sir, you are right on. If a FReeper cannot detect a defeatist by reading his posts and replies, he either ain't trying or ....
Rino's like Hagel & Snow and most Dims want to cut and run, leave Iraq, redeploy and/or criticize EVERY decision made by the POTUS, or putting it any other way......NOT WIN!!!
That is aiding and abetting!!
Those that don't aid and abet are for increasing troop strength, changing tactics or putting it another way.......WIN!!
The truly sad thing is that those who want to WIN at any cost come across as AIDING & ABETTING by spin doctors in the MSM.
I can tell the difference and believe anyone with a room temp IQ, has the same capacity.
Thank you.
Right on, and God bless you, Ma'am.
Thank you for your post and I want to see ultimate victory in Iraq. I wish the current adminstration would quit micro-managing our military with ridiculous rules of engagement and let them do their job however. This war has been fought to much in a PC mode by the Bush administration. They seem to have had on blinders during this conflict and it took the 2006 election results to finally wake them up I guess. Have a good day, and I pray for final victory for it is very important to our great nation.
In a nutshell, here is my beef with the Iraq war. I believe we are there for the right reason, fighting the right enemy, in the right place. Why in the hell are our soldiers riding around in Humvees "on patrol" waiting to be shot at or blown up? Nobody ever won a war playing "defense." Put the Marines on offense, hunt the scum down and send them on their way to hook up with their 72 virgins. They'll soon lose the appetite to kill each other.
Unfortunately, Iraq will be to us what Afganistan was to the Soviets. That's not defeatist. It becomes more of a reality daily. The only difference is the terrain in Iraq where the problems are is flat instead of being full of mountains.
Do you think the three trolls you're addressing this rant to will actually read it?
I'm astounded that someone accused you of McCarthyism on this thread. I thought that was a smear that leftists use, not Freepers.
I know that Americans can be an impatient bunch, but thinking the WOT in the short term is totally foolish. We need to think in terms of decades with multifaceted military and foreign policy aspects.
In terms of Iraq, yeah we've made mistakes. Welcome to war were mistakes cost lives rather than money. I don't like them, but the important thing is to learn from them and win. I'm fine with constructive criticism (Such as these) but am fed up with the 'woe is me' we're losing and need to get out attitude!
Look at history. In WWII we spent so much time preparing for DDay (and even it had many screw ups) that we failed to train for the hedgerows sitting right behind the beaches. I've been through that area. I took me about 2 hours (with many stops) driving from Omaha beach to St. Lo. It took the 29th ID almost two months. It was a terrible slog and cost many lives. Fortunately, our GIs did learn from their mistakes and adapted several effective tactics in the hedgerows, ultimately making significant advances against well trained German divisions. (this is just one example, there are plenty more)
We're adapting in Iraq - our troops need to be given the time to do so particularly given the fact they're dealing with a complex 'insurgency'. If we fail here, the consequences will be terrible. We must will AND WE WILL IF we have to fortitude to accept that we are at war and stop bitching and start looking for solutions!
To put it another way:
I am certain you are capable of using a dictionary or the search features of a computer.
But I know the question is not your point, so look it up, then get back to me.
What is your definition of "complete victory" in Iraq?
"Screed"? "McCarthy"? Take off your hat and stand up respectful when you say McCarthy, boy! Try listening to Rush once in a while and get yourself fixed up. Then come back and try again. We'll wait.
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