Q&A Time Part 2
Questions again in italics.
Why are we still there when people like General Petraus says that the war can not be won militarily?
JK - the war can't be won ONLY by the military. We need a military and political solution along with oil sharing and everything else. Prime Minister al Maliki made some mistakes (mistakes were made by a lot of people including President Bush & Prime Minister al Maliki). al Maliki turned only to fellow Shia (including al Sadr) and now he sees that was a mistake. We need all pieces working in unison in order to be successful. Iraq Study Group recommendations ARE being implimented which is helping. The Iraq Army is making big progress, but there are big problems with the Iraqi Police which is not helping.
Saddam did not bomb the World Trade Centers - Osama bin Laden did. We should be going after bin Laden and we are not. We (the anti-war protesters) are not unpatriotic (even though you refuse to honor a Gold Star Mother because she happens to be the Anti-Cindy Sheehan) and we are tired of being called that (we will be addressing THIS in a later post). We are sick and tired of people who say the support the troops not voting for bills that help the troops. You voted for only one bill that helped the troops - I am not making this up (well yes you are but....). Your actions are dispicable.
JK - I understand and appreciate your feelings. Just as you dislike being called unpatriotic, I dislike being called dispicable. Pandamonium broke out at this point. The speaker (who was almost back to her seat in the middle of a row) raced back to the person holding the mic, yanked it out of her hand and yelled "I did not call you that". (Ed. - While technically she is correct, everyone knows (even the Junior Logician gets this) that calling someones action despicable is the same as calling the person dispicable. Her intent was crystal clear.) Someone yelled "sit down and let him speak" someone else yelled "let her talk" which was answered with "SHE ALREADY DID!" At that point, the moderator finally took control of the floor again - although there was much grumbling from the floor.
An Iraqi National spoke next and his words were powerful.
"I am an Iraqi National living here in the US for three years. I never imagined that I would ever see democracy in action like I am seeing tonight! We want the same democracy and freedoms that you have here. I want to address the concerns. I started working for the American Army when the war first started. I had to move here 3 years ago under political asylum because the insurgents threatened me and my family. We love and admire all American soldiers and we are in awe of those who died on our behalf. People who say we are not helping do not know what is going on in Iraq. We are helping and we are in danger because of it! To the speakers who say this is a religious war - this is not Christian versus Islam. To those who say bring the troops home now I say - GIVE US A CHANCE!!! WE NEED IT AND WE WANT IT! If you pull out now it will be a sign to those who wish to harm you that you are weak."
The last question was about war funding but I could not write anymore (plus I had to get a drink of water as I had a really bad tickle in my throat). All in all it was a very productive and informative meeting. I will have one more post that is just observations of the night and then pictures!
Why are we still there when people like General Petraus says that the war can not be won militarily?
JK - the war can't be won ONLY by the military. We need a military and political solution along with oil sharing and everything else. Prime Minister al Maliki made some mistakes (mistakes were made by a lot of people including President Bush & Prime Minister al Maliki). al Maliki turned only to fellow Shia (including al Sadr) and now he sees that was a mistake. We need all pieces working in unison in order to be successful. Iraq Study Group recommendations ARE being implimented which is helping. The Iraq Army is making big progress, but there are big problems with the Iraqi Police which is not helping.
Saddam did not bomb the World Trade Centers - Osama bin Laden did. We should be going after bin Laden and we are not. We (the anti-war protesters) are not unpatriotic (even though you refuse to honor a Gold Star Mother because she happens to be the Anti-Cindy Sheehan) and we are tired of being called that (we will be addressing THIS in a later post). We are sick and tired of people who say the support the troops not voting for bills that help the troops. You voted for only one bill that helped the troops - I am not making this up (well yes you are but....). Your actions are dispicable.
JK - I understand and appreciate your feelings. Just as you dislike being called unpatriotic, I dislike being called dispicable. Pandamonium broke out at this point. The speaker (who was almost back to her seat in the middle of a row) raced back to the person holding the mic, yanked it out of her hand and yelled "I did not call you that". (Ed. - While technically she is correct, everyone knows (even the Junior Logician gets this) that calling someones action despicable is the same as calling the person dispicable. Her intent was crystal clear.) Someone yelled "sit down and let him speak" someone else yelled "let her talk" which was answered with "SHE ALREADY DID!" At that point, the moderator finally took control of the floor again - although there was much grumbling from the floor.
An Iraqi National spoke next and his words were powerful.
"I am an Iraqi National living here in the US for three years. I never imagined that I would ever see democracy in action like I am seeing tonight! We want the same democracy and freedoms that you have here. I want to address the concerns. I started working for the American Army when the war first started. I had to move here 3 years ago under political asylum because the insurgents threatened me and my family. We love and admire all American soldiers and we are in awe of those who died on our behalf. People who say we are not helping do not know what is going on in Iraq. We are helping and we are in danger because of it! To the speakers who say this is a religious war - this is not Christian versus Islam. To those who say bring the troops home now I say - GIVE US A CHANCE!!! WE NEED IT AND WE WANT IT! If you pull out now it will be a sign to those who wish to harm you that you are weak."
The last question was about war funding but I could not write anymore (plus I had to get a drink of water as I had a really bad tickle in my throat). All in all it was a very productive and informative meeting. I will have one more post that is just observations of the night and then pictures!
Labels: John Kline, Troops, Undermining the War
posted by The Lady Logician at
4:47 PM
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