I also have been paying close attention to what is going on in both places. I have a son who just left Iraq that has been there for 13 months. I have another son who is in the Stan. I have been getting phone calls from them on a regular basis. Our little town is one of the first stopping points for returning troops and I have had the opportunity to talk with dozens of them. We have had close to 200 flights come through here. You can listen to the view of the liberal press if you want but I trust the people who fought there to tell me what is going on. I have talked to all ranks from joes to generals and they believe in the mission. They see improvement in both countries. They know it will take time to complete the mission but they know they are up to the task. Many will gladly return when called. The nurses returning from Ramstein kept talking about the wounded who just wanted to get back to their unit not back to the US. They have seen the devastation and horror of war but they know their mission is the right thing to do.
For some, political bias distorts the ability to understand what's really going on. Usually it's from those on the left. Sometimes......obviously...... it's not.
Our son will be coming home in a matter of weeks from a year's duty in Kuwait and Iraq. He tells the story that your sources tell.
The mission is just.
It is well that you pay close attention. I commend you for this.
I have a son who just left Iraq that has been there for 13 months.
I trust that his homecoming will be a joyous event for you both.
I have another son who is in the Stan.
May I assume you are a military family?
I have been getting phone calls from them on a regular basis. Our little town is one of the first stopping points for returning troops and I have had the opportunity to talk with dozens of them.
Quite frankly, given how little I know about you, and how little you know about me and my sources, so what?
We have had close to 200 flights come through here.
And?
You can listen to the view of the liberal press if you want but I trust the people who fought there to tell me what is going on.
I am not so stupid as to listen to either a 'liberal' press or a 'conservative' press. I listen to the soldiers I know, who are there now and who have been there and returned. IOW, I have the same sample base as you do.
I have talked to all ranks from joes to generals and they believe in the mission.
That's nice.
When I talk to my friends who've been there, their collective opinion doesn't match what you're apparently talking about.
They see improvement in both countries.
I can only hope and retain faith that they do. Mine sources don't.
They know it will take time to complete the mission but they know they are up to the task. Many will gladly return when called.
They ought to. Our men and women in service should hold no other opinions in this regard.
The nurses returning from Ramstein kept talking about the wounded who just wanted to get back to their unit not back to the US.
And this is a some sort of revelation to you? They are trained that way, and rightly so.
They have seen the devastation and horror of war but they know their mission is the right thing to do.
Perhaps, for those to whom you've spoken.
I know, up close and personal, all about what war is about and what it presents to an individual soldier. I do not presume to think that because people you know have a certain opinion, my experience, and that of those who I know, is somehow invalidated.