4000

[Joe_Black]

We've got enough problems at home to worry about fixing those outside our borders. The US should adopt an isolationist policy more extreme than that which we enjoyed prior to WWII and focus our energies internally, utilizing the military to secure our borders and coastlines. Once our economy and military stays here you'll see a radical shift in anti-US sentiment.

Will it happen? Will ANY change happen? Maybe after the next Revolution.

[tomdietrying]

Here's a way to stop the Iraq war. Have a draft. If everyone has a chance, other than volunteering, to go to this great war, it will end pretty quickly.

If you support the war, that's your right. If you volunteered, I respect that a lot. That means you talk the talk and walk the walk. I just ask that you don't talk all this smack and have someone else have all the fun. Go volunteer.....don't be like my cousin who was 22 when Iraq started. He talked all kinds of smack, but when asked why not go and do his part he would sheepishly say he was doing his part with his part time job. Or don't be like a buddy of mine who talked a lot of smack when his son was 12. Now that he's 17, I asked him if he was talking to his son about going to Iraq. He also said sheepishly my son makes his own decision. I reminded him that as a parent he should guide his son to make that decision. He looked away and said he had not and will not do that.

Peace.
Tom
012009

[HOT_WASABI_JUNKIE]

Interesting responses..

I personally hold anyone who voted for GWB personally responsible for not only 4000 of our countrymen and women dead,but for all the maimed and wounded G.I s who now have plastic where limbs used to be, for the countless innocent Iraqis who have been killed in the mayhem. The blood is on your hands....
Beyond the physical and mental toll...Let's look at the economic toll. Our beloved country is in a recession...I see it everyday, established businesses going under and closing their doors for good.
I see big banks and investment houses getting bailed out, but no help for the little guy, small business owners.
Gwb came into office with an economic surplus and will be leaving office with a deep deficit. I thought Republicans were money saavy?
Gas prices are skyhigh and oil companies are raking in huge profits.
The middle class is being squeezed harder than any time in history.
I was reading there is an influx of 40-50 somethings having to move back in with their parents!
This is the result of people voting in an idiot into office. I don't see why the whole country is not mad as hell. Why is there not legions of people throwing molotov cocktails at the White House every day screaming for his ouster!
I still love this country,with all my heart,but the American dream is fading, and like most dreams, you have to be asleep to believe in it.

[don moore]

lol..If you dont like it move to canada...GOD BLESS AMERICA..

oops ..lol

[HOT_WASABI_JUNKIE]

lol..If you dont like it move to canada...GOD BLESS AMARICA..

You are right...God Bless Amarica!
Where is Ama rica?
is it by Costa Rica?

[nocturnalVX]

We've got enough problems at home to worry about fixing those outside our borders. The US should adopt an isolationist policy more extreme than that which we enjoyed prior to WWII and focus our energies internally, utilizing the military to secure our borders and coastlines. Once our economy and military stays here you'll see a radical shift in anti-US sentiment.

Joe,

IMO you hit it right on the head.
As a veteran of OIF 2 & 3, I'm tired of people (other vets) standing ground for "all the good we've accomplished for Iraqi civilians" i.e. building schools/organizing soccer leagues for their children/repairing power plants, roads, hospitals, irrigation equipment, etc...
I'm not saying that's not awfully thoughtful of us, but it's all just a show--
why can't we do that here on our own turf?

Cy

Absolutely... take care of yourself first. Can't be of any use to others if you yourself are messed up.

lol..If you dont like it move to canada...GOD BLESS AMERICA...

Or Mexico... Ireland... Poland... wherever. If you choose to keep your loyalties elsewhere, move back. This is not The Divided States of America!

America & Americans first... then (if we can, after there are no more troubles here) help others.

[tom4bren]

"I personally hold anyone who voted for GWB personally responsible for not only 4000 of our countrymen and women dead,but for all the maimed and wounded G.I s who now have plastic where limbs used to be, for the countless innocent Iraqis who have been killed in the mayhem. The blood is on your hands...."

That would be me. I'm not going to hang my head in shame for making an educated decision at that time.

I rekin the only thing worse than me is someone who incessantly WHINES about the issues and does NOTHING about it but whine some more.

Just what would you have had the President do differently? Close our borders and pretend that 3000 Americans had not been brutally murdered. Maybe Sadam wasn't behind it directly but Iraq was a terrorist hotbed and terrorism is an cancer that just continues spreading if unchecked. Maybe the war could have been run differently but ... were you there? ... when did God tap you on the shoulder and give you the gift of absolute knowlege? Oh, I know. The media said it so it must be true.

Don't get me wrong, I mourn for the dead and wounded (my nephew was wounded 3 times in 1 tour) but I will not denigrate the sacrifice that they willingly made. They did what they believed was right as did the President. The cost of the war both in terms of lives lost and money spent is incredibly high but what would the cost have been if it had been fought on our soil. Make no mistake - that is the direction that terrorism was headed.

As an American you are entitled to voice your own opinion as you have done. The problem is that there are just too many Americans who sit in front of their TVs and become intoxicated by the media's bashing of the war and the President and develop a terminal case of constipation of the brain and diahrea of the mouth. You've stated your opinion and feebly attempted to justify it with facts but remember that the facts can (and have been) corrupted to make the story what they want you to hear. Cmon, if the media told nothing but happy face stories who would watch it?

All I'm saying is that it's time for you to stop whining and start acting. What are you going to do Junkie? All of those soldiers who valliantly gave their lives acted. Now it's your turn.

[tomdietrying]

Tom4bren said......"Maybe Sadam wasn't behind it directly but Iraq was a terrorist hotbed and terrorism is an cancer that just continues spreading if unchecked."

Your arguement is weak at best........we had Sadaam bottled up for 15 years.....he could not do anything in his own country without our knowledge. We had that country so secure after the first Gulf War it's silly now to argue that he had WMD. He could not even fly in his own country because the U.S. put a NO FLY ZONE for the past 15 years. We knew excacly what he had and what he didn't have.

There are good cops and bad cops. If you smart off to a cop, and he's a bad cop, he CAN and WILL find a reason to haul you in. That doesn't mean the cop is right. The United States was the bad cop in this case. Explain to me why we only put 20,000 soldiers in the country that was resonsible for 911 and 160,000 in a country that had nothing to do with 911. W estill haven't got Bin Laiden and we still only have 20,000 soldiers over there. Makes it seem like Bin Laiden wasn't the real target.

You have to admit every arguement this administration has given us of why we are there has not been true.

Peace.
Tom
012009

[HOT_WASABI_JUNKIE]

"I personally hold anyone who voted for GWB personally responsible for not only 4000 of our countrymen and women dead,but for all the maimed and wounded G.I s who now have plastic where limbs used to be, for the countless innocent Iraqis who have been killed in the mayhem. The blood is on your hands...."

That would be me. I'm not going to hang my head in shame for making an educated decision at that time.

I rekin the only thing worse than me is someone who incessantly WHINES about the issues and does NOTHING about it but whine some more.

Just what would you have had the President do differently? Close our borders and pretend that 3000 Americans had not been brutally murdered. Maybe Sadam wasn't behind it directly but Iraq was a terrorist hotbed and terrorism is an cancer that just continues spreading if unchecked. Maybe the war could have been run differently but ... were you there? ... when did God tap you on the shoulder and give you the gift of absolute knowlege? Oh, I know. The media said it so it must be true.

Don't get me wrong, I mourn for the dead and wounded (my nephew was wounded 3 times in 1 tour) but I will not denigrate the sacrifice that they willingly made. They did what they believed was right as did the President. The cost of the war both in terms of lives lost and money spent is incredibly high but what would the cost have been if it had been fought on our soil. Make no mistake - that is the direction that terrorism was headed.

As an American you are entitled to voice your own opinion as you have done. The problem is that there are just too many Americans who sit in front of their TVs and become intoxicated by the media's bashing of the war and the President and develop a terminal case of constipation of the brain and diahrea of the mouth. You've stated your opinion and feebly attempted to justify it with facts but remember that the facts can (and have been) corrupted to make the story what they want you to hear. Cmon, if the media told nothing but happy face stories who would watch it?

All I'm saying is that it's time for you to stop whining and start acting. What are you going to do Junkie? All of those soldiers who valliantly gave their lives acted. Now it's your turn.

What was your educated decision, to vote for GWB? For that you should hang your head in shame. GWB has been more detrimental to the United States than Saddam had been to Iraq.He has been more detrimental to Iraq than Saddam too. Don't spout off about the Kurd mustard gas massacre because that happened before W's fathers term and nothing was done about it then. Papa Bush was in striking distance of Saddam in the first gulf war but was wise enough to leave than hornet's nest alone.He knew what his dumb son diden't: that those people are crazy! They strap bombs to women and kids in the name of religion.
All this attention on Iraq was due t the fact that Saddam threatened to kill GWB's father. So he had a hard on for Iraq even before he was elected.
I supported us going into Afghanastan and rooting the Talaban because they were supporting Osama and had a supporting role in 911. There is no direct link to Osama and Iraq...It's just Afghanastan dose not have the worlds richest oil reserve under it's heroin poppys.
I am sorry, this country has suffered internally and in the eyes of the world under the current administration.I find it hard to put my trust in an administration that has been wrong or lied about almost everything regarding the war up to this point.I don't think the media is duping me, I think your party affiliation is duping you.

[tom4bren]

"we had Sadaam bottled up for 15 years.....he could not do anything in his own country without our knowledge."

Then why didn't we know where every mass grave and every weapon cache was located?

"You have to admit every arguement this administration has given us of why we are there has not been true."

To the best of my knowlege there was only the one reason ... WMD. Why would you assume that we were duped? We were mistaken, there's no doubt about it. Saddam took perverse pride in admitting that he intentionally misled the coalition forces about the existence of WMDs. I was fully convinced they were there too. I was wrong and I honestly believe that our Government was too.

"W estill haven't got Bin Laiden"

Ever stop to think that it's infinitely more effective to keep him contained than it is to create a martyr (sp?).

"GWB has been more detrimental to the United States than Saddam had been to Iraq.He has been more detrimental to Iraq than Saddam too."

Please provide the basis for this comment - it makes no sense to me. Or you using an exageration to add credence to your other false assumptions?

"There is no direct link to Osama and Iraq..."

I never said there was. I said that Iraq was a terrorist hotbed & you agreed ("They strap bombs to women and kids in the name of religion."). Thanks for supporting my point.

"Don't spout off about the Kurd mustard gas massacre because that happened before W's fathers term and nothing was done about it then."

But it was done and it was done by Saddam. You're just supporting the fact that we should have gone in ... we should have gone in sooner.

"I think your party affiliation is duping you."

Possibly. Unfortunately you have failed to convince me of that. I believe that 'my party' was mistaken as was I & so was Colin Powell. It wasn't a lie or a fabricated excuse. We were intentionally misled by Saddam.

"It's just Afghanastan dose not have the worlds richest oil reserve under it's heroin poppys."

That's paid out for us quite well now hasn't it.

[tomdietrying]

Why don't you open your eyes? We were not mislead by Saadam. We were misled by this administration, and we are still being mislead. You have been lied to, yet you make an excuse why it is not a lie. If Bush was a CEO of a company, he would already have his walking papers. The problem is Bush is SO MUCH MORE than a CEO, and created so many more problems than a CEO could ever do.

Peace.
Tom
012009

[tom4bren]

"Why don't you open your eyes?"

Maybe I choose not to. I lead a much happier life if I don't continually assume that the world is out to get me. So far my approach has worked out quite well for me. In my life I have taken many chances where I rely on the honesty of others and it is on rare occasion that I am disappointed. So I give the American political machine the same favor. If Obama or Clinton gets in office I'm prepared to have them make my life a living hell at work since I work for the Army but in general, I will put my trust in them just as I did for Bush.

Lets just agree to disagree since I won't convince you & you won't convince me on this particular topic. 'Sides, Y'all are giving me a headache making me think too much

[WyrreJ]

"we had Sadaam bottled up for 15 years.....he could not do anything in his own country without our knowledge."

Then why didn't we know where every mass grave and every weapon cache was located?

One day, I got really annoyed at people flinging around the "mass graves" comment and did some research on the topic. Here are some things I found out:

The term "mass graves" as used in Iraq applies to any grave with more than 6 people in it.

So far, only about 5,000 bodies total have actually been found in mass graves in Iraq.

The four largest mass graves -- purported, but not proven, to contain a lot more than 5,000 bodies -- were all created early in the 1990s as Saddam massacred people who fought against him in the hope of getting support from the americans.

No significant mass graves, or mass killings of any sort in Iraq had been committed in Iraq for close to a decade before the 2003 invasion and there was absolutely no reason to expect any more to be committed without external provocation.

Americans created mass graves in Iraq too.

To the best of my knowlege there was only the one reason ... WMD. Why would you assume that we were duped? We were mistaken, there's no doubt about it. Saddam took perverse pride in admitting that he intentionally misled the coalition forces about the existence of WMDs. I was fully convinced they were there too. I was wrong and I honestly believe that our Government was too.

I think you will be hard pressed to find actual evidence of Saddam admitting he intentionally misled the coalition forces. But even if he did, that's no excuse -- why should a tin-pot dictator be able to mislead the most powerful nation on earth? In fact, saddam did not mislead us, but the whitehouse did 935 times.

Ever stop to think that it's infinitely more effective to keep [bin Laden] contained than it is to create a martyr (sp?).

Possibly, but that point is moot because he is clearly not contained. He seems to be able to release videos at will and has directed thousands of al-quaeda to Iraq for training.

"There is no direct link to Osama and Iraq..."

I never said there was. I said that Iraq was a terrorist hotbed & you agreed ("They strap bombs to women and kids in the name of religion."). Thanks for supporting my point.

I'll dispute that Iraq WAS a terrorist hotbed. It clearly is NOW, but there is no evidence to suggest that it WAS prior to the 2003 invasion. Saddam and Al-quaeda were completely at odds with each other as his rule was primarily secular and tribal. I'm sure that Saddam had a few 'terrorist training programs' as part of his military, but so do we and so does most every other country, we just call them "special forces" when they are on our side.

"It's just Afghanastan dose not have the worlds richest oil reserve under it's heroin poppys."

That's paid out for us quite well now hasn't it.

It sure has for the oil companies, have you looked at their share prices recently?
Royal Dutch Shell is up over 50% since the invasion, Exxon is up about 150%, Chevron is up about 150%, BP is up over 50%, etc, etc.

[cyronman]

We've got enough problems at home to worry about fixing those outside our borders. The US should adopt an isolationist policy more extreme than that which we enjoyed prior to WWII and focus our energies internally, utilizing the military to secure our borders and coastlines. Once our economy and military stays here you'll see a radical shift in anti-US sentiment.

Will it happen? Will ANY change happen? Maybe after the next Revolution.

Joe,

IMO you hit it right on the head.
As a veteran of OIF 2 & 3, I'm tired of people (other vets) standing ground for "all the good we've accomplished for Iraqi civilians" i.e. building schools/organizing soccer leagues for their children/repairing power plants, roads, hospitals, irrigation equipment, etc...
I'm not saying that's not awfully thoughtful of us, but it's all just a show--
why can't we do that here on our own turf?

Cy