The Chimp's justification, 'we're winning the War on Terra', could be seen as a glasss half full/empty thing. We hadn't been attacked here and you were seeing new schools being built in Iraq and roads being built and little girls going to school in Afghanistan.
Those of us out here who have a pretty good grip on reality since giving up hard drugs years ago warned we were shortchanging the effort in Afghanistan to focus instead on Iraq, what we at the time called a complete waste of good resources; highly trained and motivated troops and their equipment.
We were laughed at and called traitors; 'undermining the troops', they said. We were all 'traitors' and 'unAmerican'. Those of us who have served, who've sacrificed regardless if they'd seen combat or not, were called 'defeatists', though we knew, especially our Vietnam-era brothers and sisters, what would happen as a result of constant deployments, the use of our National Guard and Reserve force as regulars, and the crazy tempo of operations; quoting Billmon "Vietnam on crack". Veterans, whose service and experience were supposed to be respected, men and women who spoke eloquently of impending failure thanks to the wisdom gained on the battlefield, were disregarded and disrespected.
Not to say we told ya so, but ...
WASHINGTON, Feb. 18 - Senior leaders of Al Qaeda operating from Pakistan have re-established significant control over their once-battered worldwide terror network and over the past year have set up a band of training camps in the tribal regions near the Afghan border, according to American intelligence and counterterrorism officials.
American officials said there was mounting evidence that Osama bin Laden and his deputy, Ayman al-Zawahri, had been steadily building an operations hub in the mountainous Pakistani tribal area of North Waziristan. Until recently, the Bush administration had described Mr. bin Laden and Mr. Zawahri as detached from their followers and cut off from operational control of Al Qaeda.
The United States has also identified several new Qaeda compounds in North Waziristan, including one that officials said might be training operatives for strikes against targets beyond Afghanistan.
...
27 years ago, almost to the minute as I write this, my father dropped me off at the Air Force recruiter's office in Bay Shore on Long Island. It was the beginning of a journey for me that would take me all over the world and immerse me in many different cultures. Yes, I had to kill people (I've paid my penance for that thanks to 5 years of dealing with PTSD and all that comes with it) but what I took away from my military experience has benefitted me throughout my life.
I learned most people, regardless of race or religion are more alike than different. I learned that force and violence must be a last resort. I learned others have valid reasons for hating us and what we stand for, and they certainly don't hate us for our freedoms. They love us for that. I learned a lot of things which made 'Bush's Folly' seem all the more insane.
I knew failure was the only option, so did a lot of people. Iraq was a failure from the start and Afghanistan has been going downhill at an ever-increasing rate. The failure, those of us 'who've been there' warned about, is at hand. We barely have enough troops for the 'surge' in Iraq, stop loss and tour extensions accounting for most of them, extra troops for Afghanistan is pure fantasy; the reason the Chimp is pushing NATO to increase their commitment. Add that to the fact Osama bin Laden is still walking around loose. Talk about taking your eye off the ball.
Failure is imminent, our military is breaking, and we're rattling our saber toward Iran. It's time to get these insane warmongers out before they destroy us completely. We aren't winning anything.
No comments:
Post a Comment