Baghdad Thanksgiving

[Chuck S.]

(Soapbox) You Worry Needlessly About... (Soapbox)

The Vietnam Syndrome.

There will never be another Vietnam...and by Vietnam, I mean a protracted military engagement (ten freakin' years?) with high casualties, and for motives with much less imperative than protection of the American homeland. The American people will never again allow it; the national psyche was changed radically by that war. We now realize that there are some things that only we as a nation can accomplish, but we also know that there are some things that we cannot do.

Some people try to compare Iraq with Vietnam, and frankly, I can't see it. Outside of making "the world safe for democracy", we had no national interests in Vietnam. Yet we squandered our economy, our wealth, fifty thousand dead and many more permanenty disabled in an unwinnable situation. Documentaries wonder how the world would be different if JFK had lived; I believe he would have had us out of that "quagmire" before the Tonkin Gulf Resolution. My theory is that we did it all to help an aging political hack (LBJ) aspire to the wartime majesty of his idol (FDR). His ambition finally overcame him.

My concern is: Will we and our children have the leadership and the courage demonstrated by our parents (WWII) if an elongated struggle is necessary for the national defense? Is surrender an option? "Better Osama than dead, Mamma."? The struggle with Muslim extremists is more likely to grow rather than just "go away"...does the word "Armageddon" mean anything? Read up on it...the "simularity" with the present situation will chill you.

How would "hand-wringers" make our nation safe from nuclear devices in our cities? Should we become isolationists again, and stop them at the borders? Are you freakin' kidding? We can't even stop illegal immigrants at the border, and we can only inspect 4% of the shipping containers arriving from all over the world.

Bush rightly believes that we have to prevent sympathetic regimes from developing and providing nuclear weapons to these mad men. Why not start with the most inhumane tyrant among them; after all, it provides us with a strategic "aircraft carrier" right in the middle. Syria to the left of us, Iran to the right...We got them right where we want them...surrounding us, but over there.

We have yet to see how the North Korean situation will play out, but I personally believe that allowing terrorists access to nuclear weapons is an untenable position for the US and the Western World. If you are already worrying about Iraq becoming Vietnam, you have many sleepless nights ahead.

God bless our troops, our leadership, and our country.

[John C.]

Re: Apparently You Worry Needlessly As Well...

I did not wish to start a thread debating the merits of Iraq vs. Vietnam. I am well equipped to do so quite eloquently and factually... but this is the wrong forum for such a debate.

I merely wished to express that one can support our troops without wholesale acceptance of our president's actions.

That's it.

[Chuck S.]

Sorry, John...

I mean no disrespect to you personally.

The politicians start up with that Vietnam analogy every time US troops are deployed for more than a month. It is an idea that screams for rebuttal because it is contrary to history.

I am not worrying, but I do have concerns. I have every confidence in that intangible quality instilled in every immigrant's heirs by simply growing up in this country. No where is that quality more evident than in cable news interviews of young Americans in Iraq

What I fear most is that they won't have leadership that recognizes when real sacrifices MUST be made for the good of the country. Recognizing WHEN there is need to sacrifice seems to be the difference between the administration and the Democrats, as well as the Europeans.

Bush has made mistakes before that I didn't support, and he will probably make more. He gets no rubber stamp approval from me, but the principles and values that drive him are All-American.

We must beware of the microscopic view or the easy answer. We must see "The Big Picture" because the dangers are very real. The ostrich's approach is not an option, just as it wasn't in 1938, but the world realized it too late. In the darkest days of our country, FDR offered this encouragement: "The only thing we have to fear...is fear itself."

[Clem Z.]

these young people that die in uniform are

fighting for our freedoms. there are more people killed every night/day in the big cities of the good old USA and these deaths have nothing to do with keeping this country free. these people that are ringing their hands over iran never say a word about the big city deaths. i wonder why could it be these cities are being run by their political friends?

[Michael S.]

Re: these young people that die in uniform are

As unfortunate as it is, about 450 of our brave men and women have given their lives in Irag. One year ago today, If I had told you that almost 8 months after our invasion of Iraq our casualties would be 450 soldiers, virtually everyone here and everywhere else would have told me "I" was crazy! Remember, this Iraqi army had the elite "republican" guard! I believe everyone's (the Press and Congress) estimates were 5,000 casualties and up for the invasion of Iraq. And that was just for the invasion! Those estimates did not consider the the following months of occupation!

Give our soldiers your support and credit. I personally do not think many Americans understand/realize what a professional and well trained Armed Force we maintain.

Each of those 450 lives was special to each family and should be special to each American. Death is a fact of war. Considering our accomplishments in Afganistan and Iraq, the loss of life to our Armed Forces in sheer numbers is very small.

I guess a lot of people forget the 200/month death reporting about Vietnam on the nightly news in the late 60's - early 70's. Irag is NO Vietnam!

Mike Strinich
#11202