Bush Won't Pull Troops in Iraq

Jess and Ashley have very good points. My husband is in the military. I had my surgery at Walter Reed, where they send a lot (I think all but the severe burn cases) of the soldiers. When I went in for my WLS, there was a guy with more severe burn scars over half his face. He was getting the beginnings of a new ear, since his was melted somewhere in Iraq. A lot of them are totally without a support system, as most families can't afford to move to Washington DC to be with their wounded family members for the long periods of time they are in the hospital. On my way out of a pre-op appt, I there was a father reading his sons discharge papers to his wife and injured son. The son had a severe head injury and would be completely dependent on others for the rest of his life. He couldn't even talk or look at me when he tried. It's heart breaking. I would love to take Jess, the "boy crazy" girl and her friend ashley, with all their infinite wisdom, for a little tour of the place. I'm sure those guys would love to hear what their seasoned, well argued, opinions are.

This may be a shock to some people, but when you sign up for the military....you know a war like this is possible. I assume your husband knew that before he joined. What are your husbands views on this? I know a ton of military people, both active and not active. They all support the troops and our Presidents decisions. I for one would not take a job as a cop in fear of getting shot by the criminal I am chasing....I for one would not take a job as a firefighter in fear of burning to death...I for one would not join the military in fear of getting sent to a countries that are in turmoil and hurting OUR country and possibly getting killed or dismembered. I don't want my son to go their either, but as long as he knows the risks...then if thats what he wants to do, then I will back him 1000%. People get killed, burned, dismembered, hit by planes flown by terrorists here......So what would you think if you sat in that hospital and looked at all the burn victims and they weren't there because of Iraq.....They were there because they were at work and a plane hit their building? Point blank....we need to be there, these people are a huge thret to us and also the innocent people over there need our help. If we backed out now, we will be in serious trouble...so YES LEAVE THE TROOPS THERE. DON"T SIGN UP FOR A JOB WITH LARGE POSSIBLITIES OF BEING KILLED OR HURT. I could see there being a huge issue if this was a draft. There are men out there who join the military just to go there and fight to keep their country safe. One of my coworkers, ran 4 miles every morning to get into shape just to go there, he is currently in Iraq and being a VERY proud American. Sorry I just get so pissed at the way people look at this war. So yes I would love to go visit them and thank them for their Courage and Service. Jess Still boy crazy....lol

I would like to start this post with a statement that I only speak for myself and how I feel. I HAVE NEVER SAID THAT I DON'T SUPPORT THE TROOPS. Every time I see another young soldier dead or severely hurt, I cry because I am old enough to be their mother. I thank them for doing for what they think is the right thing to do. However, my points against this war is this...have we captured Bin Laden yet and no one has told us? Did Iraq claim victory on 9/11? Did we not go entirely against the UN and ignored EVERY country that felt we had no right to do what Bush did? Did Bush not get down to a very low level when France actually decided to not go w/the Bush Administration and start call french fries "freedom fries", French bread Freedom bread...yeah, I had a great time trying to explain that to my youngest daughter, I'm sorry but the US does NOT have the right to go all over the world and tell the world that the American way is the only way to live. Have you even been overseas? Did you know that most other countries also think that their country is the greatest in the world but why does America feel as if they have force feed their ideas of what a country should be like? I look at our country right now and I'm not particularly proud of the state of the nation or what we are and aren't doing. I'm also guessing that you're not trying to pay for your child to go through college yet. Wait till you get to that point and realize that there is no help for you from anyone...so much for education being on the front burner. Then there's New Orleans...remember the city in Louisiana that is still not repaired nor rebuilt? Then there's the older Americans that can't afford medical care nor the drugs they may need. Oh, and also the working poor that have no insurance either. There are more people out there than I ever thought who have no ins. whatsoever. Then there's the unemployment problem...outsourcing I believe it's called. Minimum wage, now that's a joke, no one can survive on what that is. $8.00 is what is called a living wage, but with the cost of food, gas, electricity, oh hell, everything but salaries (unless you're a CEO) going up and I don't know about your family...but in my family the raises just don't measure up to the cost of living. I could go on and on but you know what? You're not going to change your mind and I doubt that I'll change mine but as I've previously said that one of the greatest priviledges that we have is Freedom of Speech, oh...I forgot we gave that away after 9/11 when the Patriot Act was passed (without being read, at that)...who wants to get audited by the IRS for saying something bad about the government, Republican or Democrat, it doesn't matter. Why are we not fixing all that's broken at home and then leading by example NOT FORCE? Have you heard about the Darfur region and the Sudan region where mass genocide is going on? Are we helping there...? No, there's no oil or anything that we need so we just turn our heads and bury them in the sand. As for Afganistan, we went in there got rid of the Taliban and then went to Iraq...well the Taliban is back and we've not done what we promised we'd do...help them rebuild. I'm getting tired and will get off my soap box now. Just remember this...we have the right to opinions and just because we don't agree doesn't mean we can't talk.

Ok my answers will be paragraph by paragraph..... If you are against the war....you are not supporting the troops, the media and protesters make it very hard for them to do their job. People had issues with vietnam, but my father went 3 times, he knew they needed help. Bin Laden is not our only threat, Sadam was just as big of a threat....explain to the people of Iraq that we won't go over there to help them and get the ******* who has murdered so many people, and if everyone agrees their country is the way to live, why is america filled with so many of them, many here because their countries are just like the ones we are fighting in. I highly doubt the women in the middle east enjoy not being able to leave their house without a male escort or being draged down a streat with a rope around their neck for showing their face in public. These people need our help. I am a single mother of a 14 month old with no support. I work my @ss of to support him and will continue to do so. He is only 14 months and already has 500.00 in his college fund, so his college will be taken care of as I am a responsible parent and started this fund the day he was born, why wait till he is 18 to start worrying? My opinion on liberals is they are super good at pointing out what is wrong, yet when asked the question how to fix it???? no one knows. The democrats have 2 years to prove they can do no better and then a republican president will get re-elected. So you tell me, how exactly do we fix what is wrong here? Now my own statement..... As I said, I am a single mom with no support, I have no parents and very little family, yet I find a way to get by and feel lucky not to live in a country where men can rape women whenever they want without consequenses and where I can show my face, speak my mind, choose what god I want to believe in and not be murdered for it. THEY NEED OUR HELP and we are Americans with compasion and WILL help. If I wasn't so worried about them and Americans I would say pull the troops and lets see which state gets the next terrorist attack, and then maybe liberals will learn. The terrorists came from all over the middle east so they all need a little visit. George Bush will go down in hystory as the man wo FINALLY got Sudam and killed the ******* We may never get Bin Laden and who knows, he is probably already dead, but that does not mean another head isn't growing in his place and we need to let them all know we need business. Sorry about miskeying but I have a child trying to type with me. Jess

I appreciate your reply; thank you for taking the time to expand on your previous reply. I apologize for the lengthly response, but it's close to my heart and I feel like it's really important to respond to your response honestly... which has found it's way out in a short novel form lol I'm interested in understanding your thinking on the following: "Point blank....we need to be there, these people are a huge thret to us and also the innocent people over there need our help. If we backed out now, we will be in serious trouble" Can you explain where you get/got your information that brought you to this conclusion? Which people are a threat to us? Are the innocent people the Iraqi civilians? How are we helping them? Why would we be in serious trouble if we backed out now? What would having more troops do to help the situation, and how do you think we can support sending those troops and still remain safe from terrorist groups still remaining from 911, terrorist groups that have formed in response to our invasion of Iraq, and places like N. Korea and other nuclear forces? My husband and I are both against troop escalation. Most of the guys I've talked with at Walter Reed are against troop escalation. Many, if not most, of the soldiers, sailors, airmen, and dependents I know are against troop escalation. Many of these people agreed with the decision to go to war in Iraq in the first place , and their minds have been changed. I did not agree with going to war with Iraq. I'm from the school that says we should focus on the specific 'terrorists' who attacked us. They are in many countries, not associated solely with Iraq. We actually trained some of the 911 terrorists. We continue to train terrorists at Ft.Benning, where my dad was trained as a paratrooper for the Vietnam war. Can you imagine what it would be like to sign on with the military and put your life in the hands of the government? It's an interesting thing. I find that most of the military people I talk with don't even like to be involved or informed about politics. While it's hard for me personally to swallow, I can understand and respect this because I know first hand how it feels to have the government have control over your LIFE in the biggest (okay, second biggest. My husband has the biggest) sense of the word. Bush's administration has a responsibility to those who have 'signed on' as much as we (I have to follow them too) have a responsibility to follow orders. They have not lived up to their responsibilities by any stretch of the imagination. Have you ever talked with a recruiter? It's hard to enter into something with an open mind when you already have it made up, but I suggest going in with an 18 year old and just listening. They don't talk about dieing. They talk about how they can give you a career. Check out recruiters in uneducated areas especially... it's amazing the things they say. Yes, the people who sign on with the military know they have a potential for going to war. They have to trust the government in this, and in this case the government has failed them. Why do people have an easier time talking about the individual soldiers responsibility to his (or her) country and not discussing our countries responsibilities to our soldiers? That seems so grotesquely backwards to me. I live in an area that is surrounded with all branches of the military. I am a military dependent. I shop, work out, and walk the dogs on a military base almost daily. The people who sign on just to go to Iraq are a huge minority, especially at this point. It's our LIVES, and we are belittled by people who say, "you knew what you were getting into." No, most of us didn't know our government would wage a war for money in the name of democracy, freedom, and national security. I know officers who have worked extensively with the Iraqi government, they will flat out admit this war is not about freedom, security, liberating the Iraqi's and/or all the other propaganda; it's about money. EVERY person I know who has worked with the Iraqi government AND with the people have been totally disheartened. Those 'in the know' are disgusted. Bush does not listen to his military advisers, he listens to his non-military neocon executive advisers who are making a killing... if you'll forgive the pun. What would I say to the burn patients who were victims of a terrorist attack? Well, what I DID say was we should find out how we let this happen in the first place, and yes, I talked about revenge. You really don't understand how I've been touched by this. A little background: I was a small business owner in N.Ca and visited friends in NYC frequently. I went to 'The Greatest Bar On Earth' (Tower 1) on the Friday before it went down. I was back in CA on the 11th. I had a friend who's stock broker was in one of the towers; he had an appointment that morning. He was in the area, but not in the building. He sustained some injuries; his stockbroker died. Equally terrible for me was talking to the folks I know in New Orleans (where I was married- my husband was in school in Pensacola FL)... where the government also failed, all while spending billions in this misguided war. We are still failing the people of New Orleans. I have heard the most morally reprehensible comments from defensive conservatives about the people of New Orleans, just because they (the conservatives) are so unwilling to admit any mistakes of this administration. How can you not admit at least SOME of these blatant and abhorrent mistakes? I have been profoundly touched by these events, and I am grateful for those experiences because it gives me a depth of insight I don't think I would be capable of without them. Here's the bottom line. The WTC went down on GW's watch and he's spend years and BILLIONS of dollars NOT FINDING THE AGGRESSORS. Start looking at some numbers, it's awe inspiring when you compare our military and financial resources with ANY other country. The most conservative comparisons show an unbelievable difference in power and wealth. My stance is so far from non-support of my country it's silly, I struggle not to take offense, and yet you still find it reasonable to assume because I disagree with this administration that I'm less patriotic than you. How awful. From where I stand, my patriotism is REFLECTED in my non-support of this administration and it's total disregard for it's responsibilities towards us as it's people. This is a point I take serious issue with; when people confuse my educated and first hand opinions an experiences to not support troop escalation, or even this entire war in Iraq, with not supporting 'the troops.' I am, in many ways, part of 'the troops.'