Free Republic

ABOARD THE USS THEODORE ROOSEVELT -- They share the same long hours, the same stress of fighting in war, but those in supporting roles receive little of the glory showered on combat pilots. Still, aviators like Lt. Kyle Horlacher whose squadron has had the task of refueling the gas-guzzling supersonic jets before they go to fight over Iraq, wouldn't have it any other way, most of the time."There's a part of you that sometimes wishes you could get over there and see some action," acknowledges Horlacher. "But generally, we're happy to be doing what we need to do."It is only...

Tanks and soldiers of the 7th Armored brigade gather for a briefing by US Lieutenant General Jeff Conway Commanding General 1st Marine Expeditionary Force in the Kuwait desert, March 14, 2003. Leaders of the United States, Britain and Spain will hold an emergency summit on Sunday in a last-gasp diplomatic effort to overcome opposition in the U.N. Security Council to a resolution paving the way for war on Iraq (news - web sites). (Dan Chung/Reuters)

  "Now thou art come unto a feast of death."Shakespeare, 1 Henry VI 4.5.7 War is not about territories. War is not about oil. War is not even about winners and losers. In the end, all that can really be said is that war is about killing. It is about the taking of human life. John Donne wrote that "No man is an island entire of itself; every man is a piece of the Continent, a part of the main.... Any man’s death diminishes me because I am involved in Mankind…" If this is so, then we belong to...