Murtha is in the fifth-column with John Kerry, Jane Fonda, Cindy Sheehan.
And the Queen of Code Pink:
Posted on 02/18/2007 6:49:58 AM PST by Teófilo
By Pedro O. Vega
As published today in the Johnstown Tribune Democrat
The situation in which we find ourselves in Iraq because of the war on terror defies my attempts at originality to describe.
I find myself in need of laying hold of aphorisms and clichés said by the truly Great Ones, and some not-so-great.
The first one that comes to mind is from Thomas Paine, an American Founding Father, written in 1776. It’s one I used in a previous column, one I keep returning too because of its sheer wisdom: “These are the times that try men’s souls. The summer soldier and the sunshine patriot will, in this crisis, shrink from the service of their country; but he that stands it now, deserves the love and thanks of man and woman. Tyranny, like hell, is not easily conquered; yet we have this consolation with us, that the harder the conflict, the more glorious the triumph.”
A movement is afoot in Congress to remove funding from military stabilization operations in Iraq. The nonbinding resolution designed to disagree with the president’s military “surge” currently being debated in the House and Senate represents the first step in that direction.
The resolution is mute when it comes to offering an alternate plan ensuring victory and protecting our national interest in the region.
“Summer soldiers” and “sunshine patriots” are intent on prolonging the war on terror for two more generations by hastening a unilateral retreat from Baghdad without giving current operations a chance to work.
Emboldened politicians and pundits now behave as generals, claiming to be masters of the retrograde fighting maneuver and the pursuit of peace.
Another saying comes to mind, this one by that great Pennsylvanian, Benjamin Franklin: “There never was a good war, or a bad peace.”
Not knowing the original context of Franklin’s declaration, I am left to deal with its meaning at face value.
I agree with him that all wars are bad, but it goes without saying that some are worse than others. On occasion, there’s such a thing as a “bad peace” if this “peace” becomes a cover for defeat, humiliation and eventual surrender to the will of the enemy.
Franklin’s actions in the field of diplomacy belied his own assertion. Once converted to the patriot’s cause, Franklin ensured that the nascent United States had enough weapons to win the war. His diplomatic skills doubled the size of the country at the end of the revolution, at the expense of the British.
If aversion to war and love of peace ever moved Franklin to appease the British, he never showed it.
Thomas Friedman is credited for coining the “Pottery Barn rule” of foreign policy. That is: “You break it, you own it.”
This is what Colin Powell, retired Army general and then secretary of state, told President Bush before the start of the war in Iraq.
Events are about to disprove the logic of this common-sense assertion. We went into Iraq and broke the status quo there, and now our armchair generals want us to retreat without fulfilling our responsibilities, despite an already dreadful investment in American lives and treasure.
We want to walk away; we don’t want to own the situation. But the fact is that we do.
Neville Chamberlain returned from the Munich Conference in 1938, waving a piece of paper signed by Adolf Hitler and saying, “My good friends, for the second time in our history, a British prime minister has returned from Germany bringing peace with honour. I believe it is peace for our time.”
Winston Churchill wryly replied, “You were given the choice between war and dishonor. You chose dishonor and you will have war.”
Many Chamberlains run around today in the guise of politicians and pundits, waving papers and declaring “peace for our time.”
Their views might even prevail and become both law and accepted wisdom. But by choosing peace over dishonor, they will ensure the coming of even more war.
Sadly, summer soldiers, sunshine patriots and enlightened pundits alone are not going to bear the bitter consequences of failure in Iraq. They will befall all of us, our children and our children’s children.
One more aphorism is in order. George Santayana once said: “Those who cannot learn from history are doomed to repeat it.”
As we get ready to abandon Iraq, we’re about to relearn this lesson in spades. Truly, these are the times that try men’s souls.
We don't know that. He might have, he might not have. He did make mistakes in the execution of the war, you know. While he did have a capable and brilliant staff, we must remember, too that he was a megalomaniac.
For example, while he was real close on Stalingrad, at no point did he provision the 6th Army for winter combat. Same mistake as Napoleon. That's what did him in on the Eastern Front.
I enjoy the discussion, but the West's willful blindness in the post-WWI era through the run-up to the invasion of Poland unmistakeably speaks directly to us as we seemingly want to go through the same thing yet again. Unlike last time, however, we definitely have the wherewithal to do something about this.
Obviously, the Left has been very, very busy since 1945, making major inroads into the educational establishment and most every other are of non-elective positions of influence, resulting in the somnambulism, if not outright paralysis, we see today.
In his time, Winston Churchill was a lonely voice lost in the miasma of the times. We hear those same voices today, and ignore them at our own peril.
This is one war we cannot afford to lose!
CA....
Murtha is in the fifth-column with John Kerry, Jane Fonda, Cindy Sheehan.
And the Queen of Code Pink:
Bump!
Poland by the way was quite content with Munich as it later sought to share in the spoils when the rest of Czechoslovakia was dismembered. No doubt you are aware of that however.
Very impressive post!!
The "ex" American - Mexican.
Good post Phil.
Murtha never was a soldier. He was a Marine. He isn't any more.
We hope that Bush uses his veto pen.
He may try to get along with the DUmmies.
good work !
Rethink your vote.
Thank you for your kind reply. I understand your disagreement. I think my reasons were valid. I explained them in detail, and I am mystified that no one has done a proper post mortem of Irey's campaign. The GOP simply made an economic calculus, decided that Murtha was unbeatable, and invested elsewhere--where, we don't know. The GOP left Irey to hang when they could've nationalize the issue here and help Irey widen her appeal. Nothing like that happened.
George W. Bush was the first Republican President to win reelection in Cambria County, PA, where Murtha's base is located. Two years later, the same electorate voted overwhelmingly for Jack Murtha. Even the local GOP boss lauded him before he was made to backtrack.
I, as an opinion maker, saw all that, and decided to remain locally relevant by becoming a friendlier critic of Jack Murtha. I took a calculated risk. You, and others, with different degrees of vehemence, may disagree, and that's fine by me.
I will continue my criticism of Jack Murtha as before. I am part of that big mass of Bush voters that voted for him. If the GOP want to win over Jack Murtha, they have to come up with something better than calling him names. In the end, this is what happened, and it was pathetic, and terribly shortsighted.
Ladies and gentlemen, I stand by this column, and the previous column on my vote to Jack Murtha for the reasons I explained in that column and the reasons I explained here. I take full responsibility for my ideas, opinions, and their written expression. I am sorry if my opinions shrink me before you. I cannot do anything to change that, because that's not really my problem. I remain consistent and coherent to my own principles and that's my problem--if it is a problem--not yours. That's enough for me.
My guiding purpose as an opinion maker is rather simple: to move people to action. Although I want to persuade people to my point of view, if my opinion pieces move you to act in ways diametrically opposed to my viewpoint, that's fine by me to. Either way, I moved you to act.
"Biglook," thank you kindly for your considerate riposte, and to those of you who have been less considerate, I thank you too. I'll stick to the high road, if you don't mind, thank you very much.
And I will continue writing.
-Theo
There was a tiny piece of territory Czechs took from Poland (when Poland was fighting against Bolsheviks) because it had a few miles of railroad. Yes, Poland took it back.
And what would you do? Declare war on Germany?
Can we use this ?
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v419/drpix/TokyoRose3.jpg
Be my guest.
>Vote Al Qaeda. Vote Democrat
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