Lincoln on Anti-war Congressmen

The Hutchinson News ^ | 5/8/07 | ART HENRY

[kathsua]

I recently read a book about the battle for Iwo Jima. It was a deadly battle for both sides. Thousands died in the effort to acquire U.S. airfields close to Japan. It was successful, but painful.

Shortly after this conflict, Japan surrendered. Would the outcome have been different if peace factions in the U.S. had forced us to withdraw from WWII before defeating Japan? Probably so.

World War II is the last war the U.S. has won. Since that time, we have a "cease fire" in Korea, we were ushered out of Vietnam and Somalia and we did not complete the job in Desert Storm. We have had some measure of success in Bosnia and Afghanistan but we still have some work to do for completion of those jobs.

Now the "peaceniks" want us to leave Iraq before our job is complete. If we leave Iraq without a sense of winning, what pride do we have; what country in the world believes we will do battle until we win? Neither our friends nor our enemies will trust our word. What price will democratic processes pay if we do not stay the course?

I will always wonder how our Iraq encounter might have turned out if the Democratic majority would have stated: "Let us get our heads together and win this battle and get our guys and gals home."

Instead, they do the political thing and immediately divide the country by trying to withdraw our forces and leave another job unfinished. This, so they can win the next election. In addition, they have the support of the "Hanoi Janes" and other actor notables whom should be branded traitors. They do not know the pride of country the WWII era stars demonstrated by their military service.

Hanoi Jane Fonda is in a movie titled "Georgia Rule." Let us all agree to skip that movie.

Some say we cannot win the Iraq war. Perhaps that is true. If we do not intend to win, then we cannot. If we have enough Democratic congressmen working at premature withdrawal, then we cannot.

I believe congressmen who are proposing no-win withdrawal are as bad as the "Hanoi Jane" types. I believe the majority party is creating a defeatist mind set for America. I believe the terrorists have us figured out already; all they have to do is wait. I believe we need a win to maintain our credibility in the world!

I have encountered what is purportedly a quote by Abraham Lincoln, although I was unable to verify it. I am including it here because I like the thought. "Congressmen who willfully take actions during wartime that damage morale, and undermine the military are saboteurs and should be arrested, exiled or hanged." It sounds like Abe, don't you think?

[kathsua]

I like the comment by President Lincoln on war opponents in Congress. Weren't they also Democrats.

[kidkosmic1]

On the same subject:

http://www.interviewwithgod.com/FDR_prayer/motion.htm

FDR’s D-Day Prayer could also be read as a prayer for victory in Iraq!

[Thebaddog]

Lincoln suspended habeas corpus. What he did to save the union can't be done today.

And one thought about why Truman dropped the bomb to end things quickly was because the American public had grown war weary.

[retMD]

You might not be aware that this isn't a real quote by Lincoln. It was in a article by J Michael Waller, and an editor mistakenly put quotes around it. Waller, who wrote the article, corrected the misimpression:

"The supposed quote in question is not a quote at all, and I never intended it to be construed as one. It was my lead sentence in the article that a copy editor mistakenly turned into a quote by incorrectly inserting quotation marks."

[FoxInSocks]

Hanoi Jane Fonda is in a movie titled "Georgia Rule." Let us all agree to skip that movie.

A local movie critic, Willie Waffle, gave "Georgia Rule" -1 out of 4 waffles. Doesn't even deserve a zero. As if I needed another reason not to see it.

[george76]

Accurate ?

---

Vallandigham and a host of other Democrats, including judges, newspaper editors, politicians, and antiwar activists, were arrested and imprisoned without trial on the orders of Lincoln and Secretary of War Stanton, who had decided to take off their gloves in dealing with persons “guilty of any disloyal practice”.

http://civilwar.bluegrass.net/HomeFront/copperheads.html

[Publius]

Fighting Under World War II Rules

[Popocatapetl]

(Picture was originally of a Civil War era Copperhead politician from New York.)

[conservativehusker]

I watched a show about the use of the atom bomb during WWII...it seems the Japanese Army leaders felt they would break the will of the American public by inflicting mass casualties during the invasion...they believed the American People didn’t have the will to fight...especially that the REAL war in Europe was over....their prediction came close to coming true if Mc Aurther had his way..the estimate was 500,000 - 2 million casualties in the invasion of Japan ..McArthur really wanted it....but the American peoples patience was wearing thin even back then....before 24/7 news...

[NYIslander]

Just because I can’t stand to see history wrongly cited or placed out of perspective...

As a congressman, Lincoln was anti-war, arguing vehemently against Polk’s Mexican War.

[SunkenCiv]

Thanks george76 for the ping.

Weren't they also Democrats.

Yes they were, although there were "war Democrats" like Stanton...

[iowamark]

"Congressmen who willfully take actions during wartime that damage morale, and undermine the military are saboteurs and should be arrested, exiled or hanged." It sounds like Abe, don't you think?

No, actually it does not sound at all like Lincoln. He was a cautious and polite man, who would never have said that.

Lincoln was meeting with some officers a few weeks before his assassination, when Mary Lincoln happened in and startled the group by reminding her husband to see that Jefferson Davis was hanged. Lincoln's reply: "Judge not, lest ye be judged"