Posted on 02/18/2003 7:26:58 AM PST by BOBTHENAILER
Some see Americas patriotic mood waning.
Campujairi, Kuwait The peace protesters might as well be marching right under the tank barrels.
U.S. troops amassed in the Kuwaiti desert couldnt avoid news of anti-war protests that swept the globe over the weekend, and it is making some angry, defensive, fired-up and anxious.
They see scattered news reports of opposition to a possible war against Iraq, but the hardest-hitting bulletins come in phone calls home to worried wives and loved ones, said Sgt. 1st Class Victor Oravec, 41, of Fort Knox, Ky., of the U.S. Armys 3-7 Cavalry.
Theyre saying, Why are we over here when everyones over here saying we shouldnt be? Oravec said.
They hear it. They bring it up to me, and I squash it by keeping them busy, reminding them why theyre here, Oravec said, just before leading his tank maintenance unit in an all-night training exercise across the Kuwaiti desert.
Many of the soldiers who might be called to fight against Iraq were too young to remember the emotional protests that marked the end of the Vietnam War. Many had not even been born.
Still, some say they take the anti-war protests personally questioning the jobs they do and their boss, President Bush.
They get down, said Oravec, a veteran of the 1991 war against Iraq. Thats when I come around, try to get them work to do. Thats the only thing I can think of to keep their minds off home and what their wives are telling them.
Capt. John Turner, 26, of Colonial Heights, Va., whose father was a med-evac pilot for the Army in Vietnam, said soldiers are not decision-makers and cant afford to get distracted from their training.
Im not in this line of work for political reasons. I didnt come here to be a politician, Turner said.
Still, hes especially angry about opposition at the United Nations from France, a NATO ally.
How would they feel if it was the Eiffel Tower that got hit into (on Sept. 11)? he asked.
The troops see a possible war against Iraq as part of the ongoing war on terrorism, as the Bush administration targets alleged weapons of mass destruction that could fall into the hands of terrorists.
Protesters call that an unfounded or unproven claim being used to justify a war to control more of the Middle Easts vast oil reserves.
The No blood for oil slogan was used in opposition to the 1991 war, too. But back then, in the war to liberate Kuwait from Iraqi invaders, the protests did not seem as widespread and the troops did not take them so personally, Gulf War veterans said.
Thats their right to protest as long as they know thats their opinion, not ours, said 1st Sgt. Stephen Edgerton, 36, a Gulf War veteran from Blackshear, Ga.
When youre younger, youre a little more eager to go out and pick a fight with somebody, Edgerton said. With age, youre not as quick to jump into things without thinking them out first.
But for soldiers, he said, the bottom line is simple: I support my Commander in Chief. Thats my job.
Pvt. Wesley Carr, 23, of Virginia Beach, Va., said soldiers are the last ones who want to rush into unnecessary wars.
I can understand why they want to protest, because they dont want any harm to come to us. But a lot of them dont understand, Carr said. I hope, like everyone else, that it does end peacefully. But if it doesnt and we have to go to war, we have to think of the safety of the United States and all these people here.
Privately, some soldiers wonder if the patriotic mood and pro-military spirit in the wake of the Sept. 11 attacks has evaporated.
With all its soldiers and high-tech war fighting machines, the U.S. military would not have had all its recent success if the soldiers didnt get so much support from the public, Edgerton said.
They dont have to support whats happening, he said, but at least support the soldiers
Iraq Update
1st U-2 Mission: Iraq reported the first flight by an American U-2 surveillance plane Monday in support of the U.N. inspection mission, marking another concession by the Baghdad government in hopes of staving off a U.S. led attack. The flight lasted four hours.
Turkey Delays:
Turkeys prime minister on Monday ruled out a parliamentary vote to allow tens of thousands of U.S. combat troops on its territory until Turkish and U.S. officials agree on the conditions of the deployment.
Halfway down the trail to hell,
In a shady meadow green
Are the Souls of all dead troopers camped,
Near a good old-time canteen.
And this eternal resting place
Is known as Fiddlers' Green.
Marching past, straight through to Hell
The Infantry are seen.
Accompanied by the Engineers,
Artillery and Marines,
For none but the shades of Cavalrymen
Dismount at Fiddlers' Green.
Though some go curving down the trail
To seek a warmer scene.
No trooper ever gets to Hell
Ere he's emptied his canteen.
And so rides back to drink again
With friends at Fiddlers' Green.
And so when man and horse go down
Beneath a saber keen,
Or in a roaring charge of fierce melee
You stop a bullet clean,
And the hostiles come to get your scalp,
Just empty your canteen,
And put your pistol to your head
And go to Fiddlers' Green.
SCOUTS OUT!
When our country is at war and the blood of our boys is being spilled?
Yes.
I would have thought so until I saw the organizers selling t-shirts for ...gasp...a profit! I found the contradiction humorous.
To have doubts is one thing. Geez, I have doubts.
To criticize the leadership of your country, while remaining silent during the cruel and barbarous rape of a country by its ruler, borders on the criminal, if not the treasonous.
The Left knows what Saddam is all about. They choose to remain silent. They are complicit in evil.
Be Seeing You,
Chris
Do you agree that Al Qaeda hates Saddam with a vengeance and is only supporting his position here because it is an anti-American stance?
Oh, I strongly suspect that they despise each other. However, I do not believe that each party sees that as a roadblock to stop cooperation in pursuant of mutual interests.
Remember: Hitler and Stalin signed a nonagression pact! Each party got a bit of Poland and Hitler got a free hand in the West.
Do you agree that whether we should take out Saddam or not is a separate issue from the attack of 9/11?
No. This is part of the same conflict. Remember, we fight agianst terrorist organizations and the states that support them.
What is your position on Saudi Arabia in all of this
We make them an offer they can't refuse.
Reform or be undermined by the CIA.
Be Seeing You,
Chris
This raises the issue of why so may of us are distrustful of our government. There are currently scores of dictators that treat their citizens just as badly and yet not only does our government not call them to task, they never utter a word about it.
This raises the issue of why so may of us are distrustful of our government. There are currently scores of dictators that treat their citizens just as badly and yet not only does our government not call them to task, they never utter a word about it.
First, a reasoned distrust of government is one of the foundations of our Constitutional Order. The Framers didn't produce the Constitution as it was because they believed that people with power would do good.
Second, this isn't just about human rights. If it were, I would agree with you. We go at Saddam because of his potential threat to our country and her allies, not because he is a bad guy. His being a squalid tyrant merely adds to the indictment.
National interest is our lodestar, first and foremost.
Be Seeing You,
Chris
I tried to get my local paper to print the article today. They said they couldn't, but that they had a letter from a serviceman in Kuwait who was also pi$$ed about the anti-war crowd and they were going to print that.
I've had several letters to the editor printed along this line and I really hope our local men and women overseas are seeing them.
We've got five young men that are friends of our family that are either over there, Afghanistan or on their way. THEY KNOW THE SUPPORT THEY HAVE FROM US AND HOW PROUD OF THEM WE ARE!!!!!
I think #32 is back up after JH2 got his just rewards.
This is a good thread, no?
This is a very good and very important thread... doing my best to keep it alive!
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