Listening to a local talk show?

Question

I'm listening to a local talk show about Iraq and, what a surprise, the majority of people DON'T support our invasion of Iraq! Several soldiers have been on and they said that very few of their comrades support their own mission! Don't you think that all of the war supporters need to go over there as soldiers or civilan contractors to 'show them the way'?

Answer 1

You are listening to the liberal hand picked few. I hear the opposite.

Answer 2

That's about right. I don't know why people think that the military is of one mind here.


People in the military are just like any other group of people. They have a wide variety of opinions and the fact that many soldiers don't think that the war is right and don't support the administration's policies should surprise no one.

Answer 3

you are incorrect , maybe the majority of that talk show doesn't support the invasion . Hillary even does or did depending on the latest poll , you should look up some actual facts

Answer 4

The majority of those hand picked for the show.

You do a survey of a thousand and discard the answers that disagree with you. You now have 100 who are 100% in agreement. Really?

Every talk show has screeners whose job it is to pick responders.

There are liars, damned liars and statisticians.
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Answer 5

Yep - those people in Congress that are still pushing the war don't have sons or daughter over there. You're exactly right. They need a taste of what's going on over there, rather that forming agendas at the kitchen table.

Answer 6

I don't agree with them being over there either. The fact that the soldiers don't even support their own mission should speak volumes. But no one's listening.

Answer 7

Wow aren't you the intelligent one? Do you accept everything the media dishes out to you?

Answer 8

Honestly, no person in their right mind would advocate war. It's ugly, bloody, damaging, haunting and inhumane.

SO IS...sitting on our butts and hoping the world will not bother us but support us in our efforts to provide security and economic opportunity for 300 million Americans.

Seriously, how do you think this nation was born? Through letters and tea parties and speeches? Hardly. This nation was born through sacrifice, guerilla warfare, spying, bribery, military acumen, willingness to defend our land when attacked, willingness to pursue freedom for ourselves and our offspring. SACRIFICE.

Did the soldiers at Valley Forge have doubts about their predicament and the outcome of the war? SURE!

Did soldiers at Antetam wonder "What the )#(@! am I doing here?" Absolutely!

Did our troops in the trenches of WWI ever stop and think "Why do I hate the Germans, they never really did anything to me?". You bet they did.

If you want the nation's economic, military and foreign affairs to be run by privates in the Army or environmentalists or talk-show hosts, you are hardly supporting the best interests of ALL Americans. You just want the couch cushion to be there, day in, day out, waiting for you when you get home.

There's a cost to that, and the troops abroad are paying that cost. When all US troops lay down their weapons and refuse to fight, that tells me the military doesn't believe in its mission and there is serious morale and authority erosion going on. That has not happened, nor will it.

When you you listen to a talk show host bring on callers, screened callers, to talk about their distaste for war, and then say "Well, the majority of people don't support our invasion of Iraq, therefore we should pull out", you are not telling the entire truth, just the facet that aligns with your personal belief. I concede that 2/3 of America is not satisfied with the war. That'd change if we actually reported positive developments (which are many) and if we actually took the handcuffs off of our military and fought a war, versus a police action. Trust me, the US military can clean out the problematic elements in Iraq swiftly, if given free reign to do so. The Iraqi public is tired of the insecurity, and so is the American public. The gloves must come off.

In 2003, a majority of people supported the invasion of Iraq. Why? They thought Saddam was a threat, was a despotic tyrant, and situated in a part of the world where his military and financial means could be leveraged to attack American targets.

The standard 'cry' is that WMD's were never found. You feel lied to. Let's be grown up about it. Saddam used WMD's on his own people, so the KNOW HOW was in his country and could be activated at anytime. That was a real threat.

Let's also be grown up about the fact that the U.N., EIGHTEEN TIMES, resolved and motioned for Saddam to disclose fully his weapons capabilities and programs. The U.N. did not feel compelled to use force, satisfied with paper warnings. WHY? Because France, Germany, Russia and others had circumvented UN restrictions on trade with Iraq to fatten their own coffers. And the US seems to be the only one with a financial interest in this nation? HARDLY!

You want smoking guns, but in the theater of war, that type of evidence doesn't just lay around for you to find. Not if you had years to secure the labs, shells and launch vehicles from a potential invasion.

Let's also be grown up about our personal consumption habits. We drive to work, or take trains and buses that use fossil fuels or energy made from fossil fuels. The computer you are reading this on is made of a A LOT of petroleum products. The clothes you wear right now didn't WALK to the store on their own, they were shipped, trucked, trained to the mall or shop you bought them from. The lunch you had today didn't materialize from your backyard farm. It was trucked or shipped to where you bought it, using fossil fuels to get it there. YOU need the oil, not the American government, but the American PEOPLE. Which is why a vast majority of us agreed that Saddam must go. It was the RIGHT thing to do.

Now, did we execute the war perfectly? No, no one has ever executed a war perfectly. Are we pursuing corrective actions? YES. We're facing Syrian and Iranian officials across a negotiation table, so we're making ALL KINDS of concessions to keep Iraq free and safe and democratic and allied with US interests....YOUR interests.

I owe my life to our soldiers and contractors in Iraq. I have no problem with saying that, believing that, supporting that with war bonds or special taxes to get Iraq on its feet. It's THAT important. If Iraq falls to Iranian influence, and Iran is not prohibited from developing nuclear weapons, we already know that Turkey, Saudi Arabia and Egypt will pursue nuclear weapons, and you can bet the US will support them in this because the US can't afford to let Iran push their radical agenda west to Arab lands. The alternative to the struggle in Iraq is not pretty. War is not pretty. Freedom is not free. The repercussions are IMMENSE. No one will kiss and make up if America leaves prematurely. They will, rather, be emboldened to strike, with deadly force, and that is a fact.

We are bellyaching about an upset stomach and we want to go home from school. We don't like the OBLIGATION of doing what is necessary, we just want recess to come, or the 3 o'clock bell that gives us our day back. We all know what happens when we're not diligent about our studies, our jobs, our families/relationships. We wither, we die, it's ugly.

Iraq is a price we are paying, to make sure our way of life continues, unfettered. It is a HEFTY price, in money and lives. But we have paid this price consistently, to keep our nation consistently free. You enjoy the forum to speak your mind, because someone is in a foxhole on the DMZ in Korea, or night patrol in Okinawa, or manning checkpoints in Baghdad. Our threats are abroad, for the most part, it's where our military needs to be.

I don't support war, but I don't deny its necessity in the equation of our freedom. Think about how this nation was born and evolved, the lives lost and the lives saved. Think about the freedom and luxury YOU enjoy in these United States, before you ask the U.S. to run from its obligations to Iraq, its allies in the region and the safety of every man, woman and child within our borders (legally or not). Think about what you'd be willing to support, to keep your loved ones from jumping out of burning buildings, or having to beat down a cockpit door to save their doomed lives. Think about your comforts, and what you would do if those comforts disappeared one day, because we failed to take steps to ensure our way of life.

This is not a game, but our nation's future. Unity is more important than individual opinion when the stakes are this high. And all the 70% who are ready to retreat can think of is not the unity required, but the unpleasantness of what is necessary. I mourn our dead, I honor them by honoring the cause to keep America free from attack and oppression. The battle was joined by millions of Americans in March 2003, abandoning it now serves only our personal convenience, and even that will be compromised if we continue to lose resolve and spine.

God Bless America.