Comments part two
The next person to speak was Merrilee Carlson a Gold Star Mother. Her son Michael was killed saving the lives of members of his unit who were trapped in a submerged Bradley. Her words were haunting (especially to the mother of a son).
"On my son's 22nd birthday (February 14) my son got on a plane for Iraq...he never saw his 23rd birthday. On 9/11 he was finishing boot camp...he was mad that we were attacked like this - on our home soil and even madder still that we allowed this to happen. We OWE IT to our troops to let them finish the job." (emphasis hers)
When she sat down, 2/3 of the audience rose to applaude her and her son. One third not only didn't stand, they didn't applaud.
The next speaker rose on behalf of Sgt Thul, who couldn't attend himself as he is still on duty in Iraq. He read portions on the Star Tribune editorial that Sgt. Thul wrote:
"I won't pretend to speak for everyone in uniform over here, and in fact no one ever could. There are as many opinions in the military as there are in the civilian world. But I can tell you that a majority of U.S. troops want to stay in Iraq and finish the mission. How do I know this? Two ways.
The first is anecdotally, from the men and women I work with and talk to every day. I have yet to meet someone who thinks the long-term good of the United States and the Middle East would be served by an immediate U.S. withdrawal from Iraq. Many of us are tired and frustrated and miss our families and just want to go home. But we want to go home after transferring our area of responsibility to another unit, whether it is U.S. or Iraqi. We don't want to abandon our posts.
The second way I know that my fellow soldiers want to stay is that they have been saying so in a petition to Congress. At the AppealForCourage.org website, more than 1,500 service members in less than a month have signed an appeal for redress, the officially authorized method for the military to ask Congress to right a wrong, asking Congress to stop calling for retreat and to support our mission.
Day after day we see and hear our elected leaders in Washington telling us that the war is already lost or that it is not winnable. Nothing could be further from the truth. The essence of the military mission here is really quite simple. Train the Iraqi army and police to do the job that we are currently doing, give them the reins, and then take our leave. It is a slow job, but steady progress is being made. Already entire provinces of Iraq are under Iraqi military control. In more than 70 percent of the country, the Iraqi army and police are in the lead."
He then went on to advise Congressman Kline that it was their intention to present the Appeal for Courage Petition for Redress FIRST to Congressman Kline in the hopes that he would present it to Congress.
The next speaker (a self professed "scholar of history") then got up to express her "deep concerns" that we were losing our civil rights. She then called the prior two speakers remarks SPIN! (emphasis all mine). The murmers from the crowd were audible!
Ed. - let that sink in for a moment. The remarks and the experiences of our troops in the field who actually believe in what they are doing is SPIN to the anti-war crowd! What does that tell you about the depth of their "support" for the troops. It is clear to me that they ONLY support the troops as long as the troops are usefull tools to advance their agenda and if the troops DARE to disagree with them then the TROOPS are the ones engaging in spin.....oh my goodness....where is my duct tape?
The next speaker rose asking that we observe an minute of silence to honor Michael Carlson and all the Minnesota soldiers who lost their lives in the war. Classy way to defuse a tense moment.
The next speaker, a Viet Nam vet rose to thank the congressman for taking questions, remarking that when Candidate Coleen Rowley had Congressman Murtha in town for her, they did NOT allow questions to be asked. He then remarked that this was a legal war based on the August 2002 war vote which was based on the 1998 Iraq Liberation Act. He then asked if we were going to recognize Iran's violations of the Geneva Convention (ed. - a clear reference to Iran's taking those British sailors hostage) and if Congressman Kline supported Congressman Murtha's call (on the Situation Room with Wolf Blitzer) for a military draft.
That was the last of the comments. I would like to remind you that per my first post, there was no preset order of speakers so the order that these comments came in was pure happenstance.
"On my son's 22nd birthday (February 14) my son got on a plane for Iraq...he never saw his 23rd birthday. On 9/11 he was finishing boot camp...he was mad that we were attacked like this - on our home soil and even madder still that we allowed this to happen. We OWE IT to our troops to let them finish the job." (emphasis hers)
When she sat down, 2/3 of the audience rose to applaude her and her son. One third not only didn't stand, they didn't applaud.
The next speaker rose on behalf of Sgt Thul, who couldn't attend himself as he is still on duty in Iraq. He read portions on the Star Tribune editorial that Sgt. Thul wrote:
"I won't pretend to speak for everyone in uniform over here, and in fact no one ever could. There are as many opinions in the military as there are in the civilian world. But I can tell you that a majority of U.S. troops want to stay in Iraq and finish the mission. How do I know this? Two ways.
The first is anecdotally, from the men and women I work with and talk to every day. I have yet to meet someone who thinks the long-term good of the United States and the Middle East would be served by an immediate U.S. withdrawal from Iraq. Many of us are tired and frustrated and miss our families and just want to go home. But we want to go home after transferring our area of responsibility to another unit, whether it is U.S. or Iraqi. We don't want to abandon our posts.
The second way I know that my fellow soldiers want to stay is that they have been saying so in a petition to Congress. At the AppealForCourage.org website, more than 1,500 service members in less than a month have signed an appeal for redress, the officially authorized method for the military to ask Congress to right a wrong, asking Congress to stop calling for retreat and to support our mission.
Day after day we see and hear our elected leaders in Washington telling us that the war is already lost or that it is not winnable. Nothing could be further from the truth. The essence of the military mission here is really quite simple. Train the Iraqi army and police to do the job that we are currently doing, give them the reins, and then take our leave. It is a slow job, but steady progress is being made. Already entire provinces of Iraq are under Iraqi military control. In more than 70 percent of the country, the Iraqi army and police are in the lead."
He then went on to advise Congressman Kline that it was their intention to present the Appeal for Courage Petition for Redress FIRST to Congressman Kline in the hopes that he would present it to Congress.
The next speaker (a self professed "scholar of history") then got up to express her "deep concerns" that we were losing our civil rights. She then called the prior two speakers remarks SPIN! (emphasis all mine). The murmers from the crowd were audible!
Ed. - let that sink in for a moment. The remarks and the experiences of our troops in the field who actually believe in what they are doing is SPIN to the anti-war crowd! What does that tell you about the depth of their "support" for the troops. It is clear to me that they ONLY support the troops as long as the troops are usefull tools to advance their agenda and if the troops DARE to disagree with them then the TROOPS are the ones engaging in spin.....oh my goodness....where is my duct tape?
The next speaker rose asking that we observe an minute of silence to honor Michael Carlson and all the Minnesota soldiers who lost their lives in the war. Classy way to defuse a tense moment.
The next speaker, a Viet Nam vet rose to thank the congressman for taking questions, remarking that when Candidate Coleen Rowley had Congressman Murtha in town for her, they did NOT allow questions to be asked. He then remarked that this was a legal war based on the August 2002 war vote which was based on the 1998 Iraq Liberation Act. He then asked if we were going to recognize Iran's violations of the Geneva Convention (ed. - a clear reference to Iran's taking those British sailors hostage) and if Congressman Kline supported Congressman Murtha's call (on the Situation Room with Wolf Blitzer) for a military draft.
That was the last of the comments. I would like to remind you that per my first post, there was no preset order of speakers so the order that these comments came in was pure happenstance.
Labels: John Kline, Troops, Undermining the War
posted by The Lady Logician at
4:33 PM
2 Comments:
While I am not sure how your comments are germain to the above post, I do agree that ALL government (not just the MIC) has gotten too big and it needs to be dramatically cut. ESPECIALLY middle management. That is 98% of the problem with the VA medical system...too many bureaucrats over-riding doctors on what care should be given to patients.
However, continually electing politicians that want to enlarge the system (pork) we are never going to fix it. That means electing candidates who pledge to cut government as opposed to those who pledge to grow government.
LL
By
The Lady Logician, at 11:08 AM
I felt my comments were germain because the Military Industrial Complex is at the heart of why the idividual (s) you discuss were at war in the first place.
When you read the Vanity Fair Article I referenced in my initial reply to your blog you will see how this happens. It happened in Vietnam and it has happened in Iraq. It happened in the Balkans and it happened in Korea.
With regard to the VA, we need to be careful to differentiate between the Active Service Hospitals and the Veteran’s Administration. There are major differences.
I am currently a resident in a Veteran’s Home after having undergone treatment through the VA for PTSD and Depression, long overdue some 40 years after the Tet Offensive that cap stoned my military 2nd tour in Vietnam with a lifetime of illness.
http://www.twincities.com/mld/twincities/news/local/16873701.htm
My blog has attracted the stories of many veterans such as myself and other sufferers from PTSD who were victimized by elements of society other than the VA system of medical and mental treatment. I, for one, became trapped in the Military Industrial Complex for 36 years working on weapons systems that are saving lives today but with such high security clearances that I dared not get treated for fear of losing my career:
http://rosecoveredglasses.blogspot.com/2006/11/odyssey-of-armaments.html
When my disorders became life threatening I was entered into the VA System for treatment in Minneapolis. It saved my life and I am now in complete recovery and functioning as a volunteer for SCORE, as well as authoring books and blogging the world.
When I was in the VA system I was amazed at how well it functioned and how state of the art it is for its massive mission. Below is a feature article from Time Magazine which does a good job of explaining why it is a class act:
http://www.time.com/time/magazine/article/0,9171,1376238,00.html
I had state of the art medical and mental care, met some of the most dedicated professionals I have ever seen and was cared for by a handful of very special nurses among the 60,000 + nursing population that make up that mammoth system. While I was resident at the VA Hospital in Minneapolis I observed many returnees from Iraq getting excellent care.
I do not say the VA system is perfect but it is certainly being run better on a $39B budget than the Pentagon is running on $494B.
By
RoseCovered Glasses, at 10:08 AM
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