Posted on 01/04/2002 9:07:52 AM PST by MeekOneGOP
First MILITARY Personnel Killed by
Hostile Fire in Afghanistan
That is all they really said. More to follow per FOX News Anchor. . .
O, thus be it ever when freemen shall stand,
Between their lov'd homes and the war's desolation;
Blest with vict'ry and peace, may the heav'n-rescued land
Praise the Pow'r that hath made and preserv'd us as a nation!
Then conquer we must, when our cause is just,
And this be our motto: "In God is our trust"
And the star-spangled banner in triumph shall wave
O'er the land of the free and the home of the brave!
Sorry to butt in on your conversation guys, but I have to disagree with this statement.
You see, we value human life. Thats what makes us different from them. When we hold our own up to be recognised, remembered and revered, when 300 million odd people turn their heads in recognition of one life, you are telling every nation that you respect and love your own. That you are not the barbarians that your enemies are. Its a slap in the face to those that oppose you.
Dont know about you guys, but Im more than willing to keep slapping away.:-)
Youre most welcome - it is sincere. I told my mum this morning 'The Americans have lost another soldier'. Her reply 'Oh no! We must pray for them'. You are in our thoughts.
No, I haven't. I don't give a flying rip about anyone's "sensitivities". I care that our media is focusing on a single combat death, making us look like wimps, and thus encouraging our enemies to strike at us again. I care that this will get more people killed. So no, I don't care if I've offended anyone; I care about whether our reaction to this one man's death will get other people needlessly killed. We obviously have different priorities.
I hate to be the one to break it to you Redcloak, but the fact that youre a living breathing American is excuse enough to have these barbarians after you. They will come after you whether you stand to recognise the loss or not. What further incentive do they need other than youre trying to kill their leader? They dont. They will try anyway. But when you stop, to pay respect to your own, you earn respect(allbeit grudgingly) from others.
I should know. I hear it often enough.
We are at war. We shouldn't drop everything and turn all of our attention to a single death like this. Such behavior emboldens our enemy. They see us get exercised over a single casualty and think "Look at the Americans. See how they weep and wail over a single man? They have no stomach for a fight. We can strike them and they will be afraid to strike back." A single trooper's death, while the end of the world to his family, should be a non-news event to the rest of us.
That is a very good point. I couldn't have said it better myself.
Actually we have been at war since 9/11 and we lost several mililtary personnel on that day. Not to mention the three thousand or so civilians. Have we killed 30,000 of the enemy yet? If not we are not even close to payback. It is not the US who must be "inhibited", but rather the Islamist fanatics. I'm afraid the butchers bill to accomplish that task will be much much higher.
I am encouraged that Christmas, New Years and the Rose Bowl have come and gone with only the one pathetic bozo who tried to blow up his shoe in the way of terrorist incidents against Americans or their property. Maybe some of them are "inhibited" after all, mayb even some of those not sitting in US jails at the moment.
But my answer is of course I do. I think our enemy is too busy dodging bullets, bombs, etc. to know what is posted on our Internet sites or newspapers. Does Osama bin Flintstone get the New York Slimes delivered to his Cave complex??? What YOU don't get is that the folks over there are doing a good job, and that what we do here on FR doesn't really hinder their operation at all. I'm glad we have suffered so few losses. That you continue your senseless rant gives me the answer to my question about do you care? No you don't. Not like most other FReepers that have posted on this thread. And, I don't recall any others ranting to your cause, only a few "Amens" to you with little support otherwise. We need to be strong - and we are - and we will win the fight against the terrorists. I don't know if you've noticed, but they are on the RUN in Afghanistan. Do you think they read that on this FORUM? Oh, how can they? They are on the run. . .
Now, if you haven't already, go see post # 128 by Vets_Husband_and_Wife. . .
I was feeling uneasy about responding to Redcloak on this thread. But it became obvious that he had struck a nerve in many of us. No one here has called for backing away from this fight. And I don't think that heavier casualties, God forbid, would change the nations will either. Both Right and Left, for the most part, are incensed and resolved to rid the earth of these scum. Perhaps we should thank Redcloak for bringing forth our deepest feelings. Let all of Islam read this thread and know that we love our brothers. And let the terrorists read the rest of FR and get a sense of the fate they've called upon themselves. I have no fear that they will get the 'wrong' message here. (Most of 'em can't read anyway.)
I disargee. It is hypocrisy to say that we value every human life because clearly we only value the lives of our own soldiers. To our enemiesit is obvious that could care less about the lives of the enemies soldiers or of the civilians killed in strikes against our enemies.
That having been said I am deeply saddened by the loss of one our soldiers, however, I like Redcloak am deeply concered that overreacting to this casualty will only embolden our enemies by convincing them that they can successfully wage a guerilla war of attrition in Afghanistan. Furthermore, I am concerned that this is the image we have conveyed from the start based on what I consider to be our overreliance on foreign troops. I feel that had we used more of our own ground troops from the start we would be in a better position to capture senior Al Qaeda and Taliban leadership and recover intellegence.
And therein lies the problem. They aren't reading this thread or any other on FR. They are looking at all of the Western news sites that have this one man's death as their lead story. It is from those sites, not this thread, that they will conclude that we are weak and unable to bear the cost of war. Perhaps I haven't made myself clear: I'm not saying that the posters to this thread are making America look weak. The Media is by making this story front page news. This is the top story that never should have been.
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.