This is what my friends died for?

We all were chomping at the bit to get to Afghanistan after 9/11. We had been attacked, and my unit was America's Vanguard to bring vengeance to those that harmed us, and we were proud and honored to do so. We did well, for the most part. I thought we had buried Osama alive in Tora Bora one night, and we were jubilant. I took part in operations that I firmly believed in then, and still believe in to this day, have protected our country from furhter harm. Many of us on DU are 100% pacifists, and I respect that immensely. I, however, felt that if ever there was a just reason to engage in armed combat, Afghanistan was it. A couple of my friends died there, I got sick to the point I could not fly anymore (some docs think I might have been exposed to depleted uranium), but I would do it all over again.

As the war drums for Iraq sounded, we took a deep breath, cinched up our belts, and went back into the breech. Initially we thought this was another just cause, worhty of our best, and worthy of the sacrifice. Sadly, it was not. More of my friends have died, and although progress is being made, the military was betrayed by Bush in terms of equipment, strategy, and policy.

Not holding senior officers responsible for Abu Ghraib was odorous, but when you look at the key officials in the admisistration, it makes sense. None of the senior leaders take responsibility for anything they have done. Dick Cheney lets Scooter Libby twist in the wind, Bush pushes the illegal wire-tapping and the Abu Ghraib crimes on ALberto Gonzales, and Mr. Whittington apologizes to the MAN THAT SHOT HIM, who happens to be the Vice-President of the United States of America.

And sadly, the watchdog that is supposed to be Congress cowers in the corner like a kicked dog, afraid to be called unpatriotic as things like the Patriot Act, illegal wiretapping, and the was without end continue to drain our country of treasury and our youth.

Now, the admisitraion has agreed to sell 6 American ports to the United Arab Emirates. The same country that supports and harbors the Taliban and al-Qaeda. The same people we went to fight, kill, and be killed over are now going to oversee the operations of 6 American ports? The weakest link against a future terrorist attack is now going to be contriolled by a country that still recognizes the Taliban as the official government of Afghanistan? THankfully, Democrats and Republicans gathered a collective backbone and have temporarily stopped that. May they have the courage to stop this.

Mr. Bush, you have betryaed EVERYONE in uniform, EVERYONE that perished on 9/11, and EVERY one of their family members, thanks to your callously obtuse decisions and total lack of common sense. Your admisistration's inability to exercise any bit of common sense has made you a complicit accomplice in what you claim you want to stop, and that makes you a hypocrite at best, criminal at worst.

I fervently pray that in 2006 your party is evicted from Congress, and impeachment proceedings can begin in earnest, as you are a greater threat to our country's peace and stability as any terrorist ever could be.

because when * was giving speeches post 9/11 he had his fingers crossed and in his mind's eye he was envisioning *FINALLY* putting the US Armed Forces back to work at what they were designed for, the enlargement and protection of big business interests overseas...

I thank you and your friends for their good work.The sacrifice can never be measured. I was against the war in Afghanistan & Iraq. OBL is just a Bushit pawn. I didn't believe the invasions would stop terrorism. I know you believed you were doing the right thing. Yes, everyone has betrayed you. I wish I could help stop it...god knows I try. Are you back hom in the US or ??. God speed.

Sad that our young men and women had to die so that George W. Bu$h could sell of the land of the free. And the fact that he is selling it to some of the very criminals who hate us is even worse.

Secondly, I'd like to know if you intend to stay progressive if the R's regain, at least what passed for sanity, prior to the BFEE taking it over? IOW are you here because you've seen the truth, or will "we're not as bad as Bush be enough"?

but I am a registered Democrat now. There are some things that I believe and I won't be able to reconcile with the party platform, but I think everyone can say that to some extent. I guess I would call my self more Libertarian than anything else, and my initial reasons for abandoning the Republican party was due to my anybody but Bush feelings, but to paraphrase Michael Corleone:

The Republican Party is dead to me.

The Republican party of today is not the Republican party my Dad and Mom supported. It's been hijacked by exrtemists that would install a Christian Theocracy if they thought they could get away with it and either deport or detain those that don't follow their program lock step. Oh wait, they already are. I am not homosexual, but I think their persecution of gays flies in the face of the Christianity that I know, their hypocrisy towards veterans, the elderly, I could go on and on, but I'd just be preaching to the choir.

No, I am here to see them thrown from power once and for all, and I make my stand with Democrats. I'll be a Democrat until the day I die. I've seen the truth, and the truth has set me free.

Too bad so many Americans are too afraid of seeing the truth, admitting their mistakes and doing the right thing.

It was long ago when some of the more principled repubs coulda said "GWB is not MY Republican."

Thanks.

God bless you.

and I really mean that sincerely.

I only wish you lived nearby so we could warmly welcome you to our local party. Reach out to your precinct chair. Check out the web..alot of small chapters are online these days.

and thank you for your sacrifice. There are no words to express our feelings of sincere appreciation.

Warmest democratic regards,

Tina

Now if we can just get the Democratic Party to get off the stick maybe there is hope.

to have your decency and integrity used.

your local papers I would suggest that you do so. It's well written & speaks from the heart with facts, experience and feelings.

Well said, m'man.

Thank you for your service. I know many here grieve with you, are angry with you and will fight to get these criminals out of office right along side you.

Needed to be worried about!

15 of the hijackers were allegedly Saudis
yet no hijacker is listed on any of the manifests
no hijacker remains have ever been found

Bin Laden family in bed with Bush family through Carlyle group and in rescuing GWB's failed oil company.

Bush Sr. in bed with the Saudis

9/11 twin towers were hit by planes, but multiple explosions brought them down

etc. etc. etc.

I too believed Afghanistan was an accomplice after 9/11, now I think Afghanistan was just another stop on the road. Poppies grow there, gas line was needed to go through there. Taliban didn't cooperate with our government. Karzai was with Unocal, the gas pipeline company. (Caspian basin has a lot of gas and oil)

God bless you and thanks for your service, but I think you and others were screwed by Bush on this and everything else he's done.

the beauty of this country is that we can disagree without being disagreeable.

Well, at least it used to be. I think Bin Laden was responsible for 9/11, and the Taliban shielded him, making them an ally of an sworn enemy. We can get into the weeds over a lot of things, like whether or not the above statement is even true, but it's what I believe, and I believe that's the truth.

but not anymore

too much evidence to the contrary (that it was as simple as that)

About the 9-11 attack, I would like a criminal investigation with the perps tried in absentia. I would like solid evidence presented which is more than Bush giving a 5 minute
press conference. I think that your posting plus your service would do a lot to
convince people of the truth of your statements which is needed in the spin zone where
a victim has to apologize to a shooter. I do not think the sale of our port operations
to UAE should be allowed. We have heard nothing but the Republicans know how to fight
terror in a post 9-11 world. Surely having your ports run by Americans who have been
screened is more secure than having foreign interests manage it. There is a great deal
of anger and hatred of America in the Middle East and I do not support outsourcing control
of 6 of our strategic ports to the UAE.

and needed to be purged. Unfortunately - because we decided to concentrate on Iraq, it is falling back into Taliban hands.

Damn shame.

"It had to be purged" Why do you think there is 'terrorism"? Do you think it might be the result of our foreign policy?? If we quit messing with people's countries, stealing their resources and killing their people, there won't BE any terrorism. It is a response to our bad behavior.

http://www.time.com/time/covers/1101020812/story.html
<snip>
That way, terrorists graduating from the training camps would have been forced to stay in Afghanistan, fighting (and dying) for the Taliban on the front lines


I have a good fried who did two tours of Afghanistan - they knew who they were fighting.

because he helped to pave their way to power after the US helped bin Laden kick out the Russians

We all were chomping at the bit to get to Afghanistan after 9/11. We had been attacked, and my unit was America's Vanguard to bring vengeance to those that harmed us, and we were proud and honored to do so. We did well, for the most part.



This boy is the only survivor of a bus hit by American Bombers outside Kabul. His whole family was killed.
I have a question, was his families lives worth your vengence?

:puke:

Yes, and although what happened to him and countless others in Afghanistan was horrible, it wasn't intentional, like flying two planes into the World Trade Center was.

The death of innocents is tragic, whether it's Afghanistan, Iraq, Manhattan, a Pennsylvania field, or the Pentagon.

That's all I can really say about that, other than the fact that bombing any major city is NOT trying to reduce civilian casualties.

Since you believe we had a right to kill his family because of 9/11, does he not also have a right to vengeance against us as well?

to kill his family. I stand by my original post. When I spoke of vengeance, it was on al-Qaeda and the Taliban.

Again, the death of innocents is tragic, be it his family, or the firefighters in the World Trade Center, or the victims of the London bombings.

revenge. My question is then, is your life worth his revenge?

as the premise in your original question is flawed.

"ideals", they are still dead. Its easy to be a nationalist when it comes to tragedy, but that is no excuse to bring violence to those who had NOTHING to do with that tragedy. How many people in Afganistan knew 9/11 was going down? A dozen, maybe two, and that's it. We didn't even capture or kill Osama, the mastermind, and you feel that going into Afganistan and providing cover(fog of war) to Osama so he could slip away was the right thing to do? You yourself said that you wanted revenge for 9/11, and therefore lashed out against a nation with blanket bombing and killings of civilians. How the fuck is that an acceptable response? This should have been a police or black ops operation, and then maybe Osama would have been rotting in a cell, but no, we had to wave our big dicks and let him slip by the blind spot, and now, we are a pariah of the world, and no amount of sidestepping the issue will fix that image.

Violence breeds violence, and you cannot say, with honesty, that this boy who is a victim of our aggression isn't justified, using your own justification, for waging violence against us. When will it stop, when one side is completely dead, or when people who don't think like you are actually in power again?

"Since you believe we had a right to kill his family because of 9/11..."

I never said that, nor do I believe that. I said we had a right to go to Afghanistan and seek vengeance on the Taliban and al-Qaeda.

Your question is flawed, therefore so is your argument.

Now you can answer the other questions. Also, you keep mentioning Al-Qaeda and the Taliban, well, one out of two ain't bad. Let be put it this way, while I do, on a moral level, oppose what we did in Afghanistan, that doesn't end my argument against that war either Afghanistan was was a strategic failure first and foremost. What Al-Qaeda did to us on 9/11 was horrible, but it was also a criminal action, our actions after the fact assured that Osama Bin Laden and his organization would escape. You do not use a Machete where a Scalpel would have sufficed, we hacked away at a limb, and it was the wrong one, maybe if we sat back and thought about it, or had a president with half a brain, we would have sufficiently cut out the gangrenous region and truly eliminated a threat. That is all.

it was an act of war, initiated by an organization that was harbored and supported by a sovereign nation. And we, as a country, gave them an opportunity to turn them over. They did not, so we responded.

THAT is all...

but not fund him, with both volunteers or money. Like I said, we hacked off the wrong arm, we should have captured Osama, covertly, then put him on trial here, then invaded Saudi Arabia, but NO, our damned government is too stupid to do what is right.

Were we wrong to wage war against the Nazi and brutal Japanese Imperial regimes?

First it was Japan attacking Pearl Harbor, in a pre-emptive strike, then Hitler declared war the next day. That doesn't compare, sorry.

It was al-Qaeda attacking America, unprovoked, like Japan attacked America, unprovoked.

And we retalliated. It's exactly the same. So please answer the question, which is a logical one.

Serious question, al-Qaeda is not a government, they never been elected to anything, and they aren't recognized as a soveriegn government by any nation, almost like the Taliban actually oh wait, I'm wrong the UAE were the ONLY ones to recognize them as a government. When do we bomb Montana?

Willfully provided aid and assistence to the violent militia warfare of McVeigh, then yes, the national guard should have been involved.

The difference is, of course, that no OFFICIAL GOVERNMENT ENTITY sponsored, funded, aided, or supported Tim McVeigh or Aryan Nations or the Unabomber or whoever the hell you're alluding to with your mixed metaphor.

at least technically, it was the Northern Coalition, but they simply didn't control the entire country. Like I said, only one government recognized the Taliban as a soveriegn entity, and even they were forced to retract that after 9/11. Now, if you want to talk about countries that provided countinual support for al-Qaeda, both materially and with volunteers, the Taliban were far from the only ones, there are the schools of Pakistan and Saudi Arabia that provided recruitment, not to mention money from the UAE and CIA, in addition to moral support from Saudi Arabia's royal family, and I still wonder how estranged he really is from his family, business partners of Bush Sr.

Not soldiers.

What about all the innocent Germans who died in the Dresden bombings? The innocent Japanese dead from the firebombing of Tokyo and the atomic bombing of Hiroshima and Nagasaki? Should we not have fought the war because innocents died?

It's as comparable as any other war. You seem to be arguing that because some children died in Afghanistan, we weren't right to go after the Taliban. Well, German and Japanese children died in WWII, too. If the fact that innocent children die renders a war illegitimate, then no war should ever have been fought, including WWII.

First, as I said before, it was a Non-government entity and individuals who attacked us, in this particular case it was a criminal matter, nothing more or less. Given that, going to war in Afganistan was a horrendious tactical mistake. Unlike either Japan or Germany, our actions in Afganistan did not lead to the capture or death of the leaders of al-Qaeda and so we went to war there for nothing. We lost the war before it even began, even I saw that, there was no way in hell that a small group of individuals, the ones Bush wanted "Dead or Alive" were going to be caught in the chaos we created by invading that nation to begin with. They were not leaders of a nation and neither were they really beholden to said nation either. You would think we would learn from the mistakes the Soviet Union made, and we made in Vietnam. Our idea of spreading democracy, either there or in Iraq, was also doomed to failure, because, unlike Germany or Japan, we are facing no armies this time, there is no-one to negotiate a surrender, and no peace terms can be hammered out without even a legitimate government to talk with.

After Pearl Harbor, WE declared war on Japan and Germany. They then declared war on us. But we had been sinking each other's ships and subs for quite a while before Pearl Harbor occurred. In the run up to WWII, we were supplying Britain, so our shipping was essential to the war effort even before we officially entered the war.

Then Hitler declared war on US on the 11th. Also, actually, while Hitler knew that the United States was supplying Britian, he made out explicit orders to NOT attack any ships flying the US flag, he did NOT want the US to enter the war in Europe. He did not want a repeat of WWI after all. He decided to follow his treaty obligation with Japan, though he was somewhat exhuberant, to his sorrow, declaring on the 11th “We have ally that has not been defeated in 1500 years!” He was hoping the US would be too busy in the Pacific to bother with him, but he was wrong.

Bush has treated the military like mercenary slaves.

Thank you for your courage in battling our attackers' commanders in the frozen mountain stronghold from which they thought they could strike us with impunity.

Thank you for your courage in opposing the greedy and cynical men who now exploit your comrades-in-arms for the sake of their own profit and power.

Thank you.

Thank you for your service, and for seeing the truth. And especially for putting it to words so eloquently.

Ever thought of running for congress? I hear it's all the rage for enlightened vets.

and welcome home.

Was never for war in Iraq once Scott Ridder proved the main threat became a whole sale lie. Afghanistan to me was one of those rare instances where war was needed in removing the terror camps. I would have favored an invasion of Saudi more so than Iraq but even that may be extreme if it had happened. But hey, who the F am I. I have no clue what you guys go threw so my two cents really don't add up, but one thing I can say with fair amount of agreement is Bush must be some kind of mad man, possible pro - Al Qaeda supporter to allow the sale of our ports to the UAE. It's almost as if the Chimp needs an other attack to step up his war on terror, war on American civil rights and constitution with impunity. Scary stuff. I say, lets get those Bush bastards, thats right NSA, wire tappers, lets get those Bush bastards, legally and legitimately of course, I dare you. Lets get those bastards - If you still believe in that constitution you swore to protect. Then do it!

never did

it's not about you and your "cause"

it's not about America

it's certainly not about democracy

it's about the bush crime gang's (and their masters') money

it's an ownership society; if your owners want you to go die for their pipeline or their oil field or their no-bid contracts, just shut up and go die


(my rhetoric aside, thank you for this post and thank you for your service._

and sadly, it's not getting any better.

I hope you are saying the same to your friends who are still in the repuke party.

They think I've gone off the deep end. If only they could remove the plank from their eye.

this sucks.

Abu Ghraib, I believe, is the single biggest motivating factor for insurgents against Americans in Iraq.

I remember how I felt when they showed video of our troops being dragged through the streets of Somalia. I imagine that it is the same way many Iraqi's feel when viewing the Abu Ghraib photos. It is locker room material, but the stakes are much higher than a football game. Bush spoke of it being the acts of a few, even after the infamous Gonzales memo was released. For a person so avidly anti-abortion, he pretty much aborted our troops.

We do have a volunteer Army, but troops are not mercenaries. Soldiers need to know that theirs and the country's best interest are in mind when they are sent into combat. Bush just wanted to be remembered as a "Commander in Chief". This is something he could have done if he just took Afghanistan seriously, and got Bin Laden, and THEN gone from there. The murderer of 3,000 Americans should have been our priority.

I am glad you made it home safely. I am sorry that you weren't given what every soldier deserves, a government that takes your sacrifices seriously.


I am supposing that your wartime experience is what caused you to rethink being a Republican?

:hug:

and the rehab and everything else I went through helped me to see what was going on. I had a lot of time off to think, reflect, and analyze what was going on, and I started to see things for how they really are.

We are so glad that you survived!

I applaud you.

Most of my worldview has changed. My view of the death penalty, elected officials, religion, just about everything.

It seems like wherever you go, an underlying factor is "Us vs. Them". It is all emcompassing. It includes race, political party, employers, sub groups within employers. It just seeps into everything. I am wondering if it used to be a survival instinct that we have just not evolved from, because everyone almost has to believe that they are right, and everyone else is wrong, that they are the underdog. I see it with the administration, making it seem they are under attack, and they are underdogs to make them seem more appealing, trying to use fear to motivate people. These are guys who pretty much did all they could to avoid serving themselves.

Now, I am sort of in the middle on most things. I used to be a yellow-dog dem, now, I am more moderate(but, in current circumstances I suppose I am viewed as being pretty far left). I don't like the death penalty, but there are certain cases, such as child raping-murderers, where I agree with it. I believe Afghanistan was a good case for war, but Iraq wasn't. I am no longer Christian, but more existentialist.

It was quite a shock to find most of what I believed was somehow faulted. I imagine it has been harder for you, as you most likely saw harder service in Iraq/Afghanistan than I did.

Are you still in, or were you discharged?

I hope your recovery is going well.

The days of rational discourse is over. I think the 'us vs. them' mentality is actually encouraged on television these days, with the glut of reality TV, and the government is going out of it's way to foster that sentiment, too. After all, war is good business. (sarcasm there)

I am fairly moderate in a lot of thing I used to be pretty conservative on.

I'm pro-death penalty in some cases, like you. I'm still religous, but after I actually read the Bible, Old and New testaments, I find that Jesus is no conservative. He is, dare I say, a radical, and whether you profess Christianity or some other religion, His message is still a powerful one: Love your neighbor, treat others as you would want to be treated, and don't judge someone else because you probably don't have a leg to stand on. When you read that and juxtapose what Jesus said and did onto what the right-wing religous extremists are preaching, you wonder if they'll get a special place in Hell for what they say and do.

I'm pro-life, which will offend a lot of people here, but mine is a personal reason. I was adopted at birth, and had my biological mother had an abortion, I would have never been. Her and I reunited 10 years ago, and we have a wonderful relationship now, and I have three brothers and a sister who I love like I had been raised with them. I adopted my wife's two kids when we got married, and my oldest daughter just got married last weekend. We are also in the process of becoming foster parents, and are considering adopting. I guess my belief is if you're going to talk the talk, you better walk the walk.

On edit: Still in, healthy to the point where I am normal, but won't fly again. I am eligible for retirement in less than a year.

and a safe final year of service.

:hi: :patriot:

I don't have anything to add but :yourock: :applause:

Well its no big secret..The Neo Cons want to make the Wolfowitz Doctrine reality and they have been very successfully at doing just that.

So everyone is basically fighting because the 1% of the richest people in The US feel that this is there big chance to take control of the world, and not just from a military stand point they have invested interests in everything.

Yes the media was very good at AMERICA STRIKES BACK type stuff but the truth is not about a war or getting revenge. Its even simpler than that, its about greed and control! Everything else is pure propoganda....everything!

you are appreciated. Not all will agree with you, but the vast majority of us will get chills reading your story - I know I did. A friend of mine went into Afghanistan for two tours.

for it is only because of your great sacrifices that true a American's battered and torn belief in America is reborn. When you are seen on the street, I tip my hat to you, and I ask for blessings to be on you.

:hi:

know you believed that going into Afghanistan was the right thing to do. We at the time did so as well. We also know your patriotism was misused by the Bush cabal in sending you into Iraq, something that we realize you had no choice in. I'm hoping that this nightmare will end in the near future and those criminals holding our government in a chokehold will be brought to trial and sentenced for their crimes. They can't get away with this forever.

a war that's a mistake (like iraq; vietnam) than one that's the right thing to do (Afghan/Taliban, WWII). We have to get the current group of idiots in the civilian leadership out before that sense of duty is destroyed by their one asinine move after another.

...that makes me wonder if the Bush admin. & the terrorists were in on 9/11 together. Letting Arab countries who support terrorism run our ports? It's absolutely sick!

Tammy

PS--I wasn't against us going to Afghanistan. Since bin Laden & al-Qaeda were there, it was the right thing to do. Iraq is when Bush lost me.

but then again, when a country that openly opposes your government, recognizes a government bent on your country's overthrow, and offered asylum for Saddam Hussein buys 6 US ports and the government is okay with it...actually DEFENDS the sale, it makes me wonder how much bribe money they got to support this sale, and how hush-hush they wanted to keep this.

No American truly, truly concerned for the safety of their countrymen would approve of this sale, especially as "patriotic" as Bush claims to be.

It reeks, and if it's not criminal, it should be.

I totally disagreed with the * decisions for war, but I don't doubt that your intentions were honorable. How doubly horrible it must be for you to know that you were used along with the friends who perished or were maimed in this unjust war.

Please keep your voice lifted. You have unique credibility and deserve to be heard throughout this land.

EVERY one of their family members, " and EVERY OTHER AMERICAN.

Bless you for your service and sacrifice, and may you soon find healing in body and soul.

who must bring the truth to light and help heal this troubled country. We can`t count on the lost-cause Congress that "cowers in the corner like a kicked dog" because they`ve sold their souls.

Because of feverish nationalism after September 11th, I`ve pretty much remained silent about my opposition to vengeance. As the dead and maimed bodies pile up here and elsewhere and as war`s horrible tentacles reach out and rob us of our humanity, I can`t help but think there must be a better way. From the hacking machetes in the Sudan to the bulldozed olive groves in Palestine to the burning White Phosphorus in Fallujah or to the crowded corridors of Walter Reed, we must stop this madness. How many more war memorials? How many more fatherless children? How many more amputees?

I`m on the other side of the war question, the "unpatriotic" or "soft on terrorism" side. I`m on the side that doesn`t salivate over new bunker busters. There`s a wall in Washington that has my friends` names on it, there`s a VA hospital that has my friends in it. Enough, I say.

At some point, Democrats and Republicans, Libertarians and Greens will have to join forces,find common ground and come together for the good of this country. It can start right here, right now.
You and I don`t agree on everything, but I sincerely wish you well and hope the sickness you mentioned can be overcome. Peace....

:cry: :patriot: :cry: Thank you for your service and thank you for your letter.


The Weight of a Snowflake

"Tell me the weight of a snowflake," a coalmouse asked a wild dove.

"Nothing more than nothing," the dove answered.

"In that case I must tell you a marvelous story," the coalmouse said. "I sat on a fir branch close to the trunk when it began to snow. Not heavily, not in a raging blizzard. No, just like in a dream, without any violence at all. Since I didn't have anything better to do, I counted the snowflakes settling on the twigs and needles of my branch. Their number was exactly 3,471,952. When the next snowflake dropped onto the branch--nothing more than nothing -- as you say -- the branch broke off."

Having said that, the coalmouse ran away.

The dove, since Noah's time an authority on peace, thought about the story for a while. Finally, she said to herself, "Perhaps there is only one person's voice lacking for peace to come to the world." - Source unknown

whole country to catch a handful of ALLEGED criminals?? Does this make ANY SENSE??? Obviously it never works and it didn't work once again...you only injured and killed tens of thousands of innocent people who did nothing to us. I don't blame you, you were lied to and, as soldiers, you had no choice anyway.

But, why on earth would anyone think bombing a country to catch a few criminals was justified?? Especially when we never even investigated the crime...to this day we have NEVER INVESTIGATED 9-11. Most of the evidence thus far points towards an inside job involving our own government. Should we have bombed ourselves instead?

First and foremost, thanks for your service to your country. I know the branches of the military are full of men and women who are just like you. It sickens me that this administration has sent them into harm's way for its own deluded, selfish goals. I know Bush is proud that he doesn't read much, but the man really should have picked up a copy of Barbara Tuchman's "March of Folly" about the history of the Vietnam disaster and read it cover to cover.

I know the mother-in-law of a special forces soldier and she related that her son-in-law told her that when he was in Afghansitan shortly after the 9/11 attacks, they "had a beed on bin Laden's head". They supposedly could have taken him out, but they were told by the White House to stand down. Now the Dubai port business. I've never been been a MIHOP or LIHOP theorist either, but like you, I'm starting to wonder WTF is going on.

It's comforting to hear that you are Christian but don't buy the anti-gay rhetoric proffered by the religious establishment. Who knows...I might have been up there flying with you. Or at least instructing you, depending on your age! I was courted pretty heavily by the Air Force during my senior year in HS(82)as I scored in the top 1% on the ASVAB test. I was (and still am) a fanatic for anything that has two wings and flies and I probably could have had a bright future in the AF. But at the same time I was beginning to understand my sexuality and was coming to accept the fact that I was gay. This was before the "don't ask, don't tell" stuff, but I still knew that I would have to conceal who I was to pursue a career and passion. I also knew that I couldn't do that, and the thought of forging a career flying when I could lose it in one fell swoop compelled me to change my mind. The recruiters still wouldn't leave me alone until I just came out and told them WHY I wasn't enlisting. They quit calling after that.

At any rate, I'm glad you saw the light and came over to our side.

Just because you don't embrace all the things that are big-ticket items on the Dem platform doesn't mean you're not welcome. And there's nothing wrong with you being pro-life. I completely understand where your perspective on the issue comes from. I link the term pro-life is a misnomer to begin with, since I doubt there are many people who are pro-choice that WANT women to have abortions. I am pro-choice, yet if someone I knew were considering an abortion I would help them in any way I could to avoid abortion as an option. If they ultimately decided to go through with it, however, I would still support them in their decision and not pass judgement on them. I don't think anyone has the right to make that decision for a woman except herself, even if I think that decision isn't the best one. It should be legal, safe and RARE.

Thanks again for sharing your thoughts. I think they mean a lot to many here on D.U. Be well, and I hope you will be able to enjoy a happy and fruitful retirement.

Peace.

:applause:

I'm sorry they have done this to the military and all that has happened. It's very heartbreaking and I'm sure even more so to those who have been effective by this whole administration military wise in some way whether as a soldier or their families, friends etc. Thank you for your service. :patriot:

And you seem to be an average American who has had it with this phoney. Hes a pretender, an image someone dreamed up . Finally after 6 years of repeated failures and empty words the people of this country are seeing him for what he is. A phoney who pretends to be working "hard" on National Security as he hands off 6 American ports to a country that says the Taliban are good people. He says he supports the troops as he cuts VA hospitals and soldiers benefits. He says hes strong on terrorism while he coddles Saudi Princes who helped finance AlQaeda.

home.

I only hope soon everyone sees as clearly as you do.
:patriot:

Sorry Everybody
http://www.sorryeverybody.com/gallery/804/

An Apology to the World for the Re-election of George W. Bush

An open letter of apology from America to the rest of the world.

Some of us - hopefully most of us - are trying to understand and appreciate the effect our recent election will have on you, the citizens of the rest of the world. As our so-called leaders redouble their efforts to screw you over, please remember that some of us - hopefully most of us - are truly, truly sorry. And we'll say we're sorry, even on the behalf of the ones who aren't

Do look through the gallery. This website is a love letter to humanity!

I watched from a motel room my home, New Orleans, dying on TV while Bushler did photo-ops with country singers and ate birthday cakes... Condi was shopping for shoes while my neighborhood filled up with water and my mom went missing... it was surreal and terrifying.



How could this happen in our great country?



Why did our most precious thing of all - our sons and daughters and brothers and sisters and mothers and fathers - get sent to die based on a lie?



I wonder if my cousin will be sent on yet another tour in Iraq... :cry:

Your cousin is now in my prayers. And NO is always first in my mind and prayers.
:grouphug:

It's imposing of me,but please keep us aware. I love NO and you have become the voice of NO on DU for soooo many people.

the event itself, the whitewash of the Bush administration in the bogus "investigations" that followed, how long it took us to get into Afghanistan, the utterly feeble effort that was made there, the obvious decision by the U.S. gov. to allow Bin-Laden to escape in Tora Bora, the immediate shifting of focus, thereafter, to the bogus war in Iraq, the deliberate confusion by the Bush adminstration of Saddam and Bin Laden, and all the other crap that the Bush administration has given us to suffer.

Right after 9/11, I had a few drinks with a friend at a bar and told him that if I wasn't about to become a father, I'd sign up immediately to go hunt Bin Laden down. By now, I worry that I may have to move my family out of this country to prevent my son from ever having to be drafted into some insane neocon war to die for nothing but another lie.

Thanks for posting this.

When the time comes they will blow away like chaff in the wind. I will wait and assist to see that day.

I actually hope this bogus charade goes on. Reason being the longer it goes on, the harder it will be for the thing, the ugly beast that empowered it, to find it's way back.

There is a force out there, a god, a omni-omega, a thing that's not comprehendable. The nuts seem to think that it likened to the humans image but if one really thought about it, why would that even matter anyway?

Everybody's day will come, just like everybody's else's day, the journey is all there really is and it is all we really get to keep anyway :toast:

Yes, it will be quite some time before my son could be subjected to a military draft, and there is hope that all this insanity will have long faded by then. Hypothetically, if it doesn't, I will definitely remove my family from danger and expatriate to a more civilized society.

I share your outlook on things universal. I don't need no friggin' KKKristian "God" or one of His megachurches - I got the universe and a mind and spirit sensitive enough to take it all in in all its splendor.

:toast:

I hope so too. But most people listen to the sound bites on TV. I fear the swift-boating of any and all Democrats by the Republicans against the Democrats such that the voters, again, will vote Republican instead of Democrat.

It seems whenever the Dems start to get traction or make headway, someone throws the label "traitor" or "un-American" out there, and they all shut up like kicked dogs.

It's very McCarthy-ish.

anyway. The Dems in Congress still don't seem to get it.

(the war record after he was appointed president :D). The Republicans will have to have a net gain in #'s to keep it going. They will use voting fraud and a war or conflict with Iran as a diversion. Only an extreme fool couldn't see this train coming down the track.

The phrase is "champing at the bit," not "chomping."

Anyhow....nice post.

tomato, tomahto.

Thanks though.

though the victims of Bush's abuse are waking up and fighting back.

"We shall not distinguish between those who harbor terrorists and the terrorists themselves." ~ GWB Thus by Bush's own standards HE is letting Terrorists protect our ports.

Great post XGOP-er. Thanks for your service and for your continued "fight."

Bless you.