Please Freepmail me to be added to the Ollie North ping list.
Posted on 04/10/2008 3:23:33 PM PDT by jazusamo
Five years ago this week, American soldiers and Marines liberated Baghdad from Saddam Hussein’s Republican Guards and the foreign "fedayeen" who had flooded into the despot’s capital.
For those of us who were there, it was an unforgettable event. But, as Ambassador Ryan Crocker so cogently noted this week while he and General David Petraeus were testifying before Congress, "the euphoria of that moment evaporated long ago." The assembled lawmakers, perched on their raised daises, barely noted the anniversary, while subjecting the warrior and the diplomat to a 16-hour-long spectacle. For the general and the ambassador, it had to be an excruciating exercise in patience and bladder control.
The "hearings" — two in the Senate and two more in the House — were all carefully choreographed to give maximum exposure to the potentates on the Potomac. The masters of the mainstream media were all gathered. Professional protesters were present. The solons, all carefully prepared by their staffs, made their little speeches and then shamelessly angled for the best "gotcha" question to win the sound-bite sweepstakes and the "honor" of being replayed repeatedly on the news and entertainment channels.
Like so many of these "hearings," it was a bit like Ringling Brothers’ Greatest Show on Earth, without a ringmaster. I know – as they say – I’ve "been there, done that."
Sadly, the attending members of Congress evinced little interest in hearing from a decorated general fighting a bloody military campaign or a skillful U.S. ambassador trying to help a democratically elected government survive against brutal foreign and internal foes. Rather, it seemed as though our elected representatives would have preferred hearing from soothsayers who could read palms and interpret horoscopes. That our Congress has sunken to such a level is a sad testament to the state of our political process...
(Excerpt) Read more at foxnews.com ...
Mike Monsoor is just the fourth member of our Armed Forces to be awarded the Medal of Honor since war was declared against us on Sept. 11, 2001. Call your grandstanding member of Congress and ask if he or she knows their names.
Well said, Col. North!
Please Freepmail me to be added to the Ollie North ping list.
Ollie North Ping!
Thank you for changing my goof to Editorial.
Paul Smith
Jason Dunham
Michael Murphy
Michael Monsoor
Heroes all. Thank God for them. Murtha and his pals are not fit to lick the boots of any of these....
BUMP!
Thank you, Star.
"Their world is inverted. They hate honor and courage and worship disgrace and cowardice. They hate life and loyalty and worship death and betrayal."
I couldn’t agree more and it’s appropriate to repost it on this thread.
Thank you!
Thank you.
Standing “O” on your quote...
Thanks
For once, I would have liked to have seen both Petraeus and Crocker ask the Congress creeps a few questions, just to see if they could operate outside their scripts. I doubt they could.
It just slays me to see Committee members reading off a script making statements when they’re supposed to be asking questions to find out the current status.
They’re just playing to the camera.
Watching those hearings I was so impressed with the General and the Ambassador's ability to answer the same stupid questions over and over with grace. General Petraeus has such presence, he makes those suits look like fools without even speaking.
AMEN!
BUMP!
Disclaimer: Opinions posted on Free Republic are those of the individual posters and do not necessarily represent the opinion of Free Republic or its management. All materials posted herein are protected by copyright law and the exemption for fair use of copyrighted works.