stockingfull wrote:In candidate McCain's absence, all I can say is, "Whew! Sure is good to know there are more than enough enlistees to fight all the fronts I've got in mind to win the 'War on Terror.' "
On Greg's point, GI sentiment is hardly uniform (pun intended). In fact, I was making calls for Obama shortly before the Feb 5 primary in NY and happened to speak to the grandfather of a GI who came home in a box last summer. Far from being concerned that withdrawal would be the equivalent of "waving the white flag of surrender," or that his grandson's death would thereby have been "in vain," this man (himself a Korean vet) spoke of his grandson having been lied to by the recruiters and not wanting to go back after his last visit home, I think for the '06 Xmas holiday. He was much less sure of which Democrat he wanted to see elected than he was about making sure more of our boys aren't sacrificed over there. Put bluntly, he thought his grandson's loss was a waste.
I know nobody likes Micheal Moore here, but it's not easy to forget the GI mother in "Fahrenheit 9/11" who was transformed from being proud soldier's parent into anti-war protester by her son's death in Iraq. So, from my point of view, I'd rather see or hear the war support statistics of families whose loved ones have made the ultimate sacrifice over there than the naturally patriotic and hopeful sentiments of the families of GI's who are still, um, "vertical."
I do not personally understand what your quote means..."spoke of his grandson having been lied to by the recruiters and not wanting to go back after his last visit home,..."
Are you saying that his recruiters lied about his branch of service or his recruiters lied about his tours of duty? In other words are you saying that his recruiters told him he won't have to go back after Christmas '06? If that is the case...his recruiters have nothing to do with his deployment schedule.
If his recruiters lied about his branch of service to get him to sign on the dotted line to join...well, that's a no brainer...If anyone actually believes that every recruiter is going to be flat out honest with everything in the U.S. Armed Forces, well then I guess I would have to say...."Hey, I have this awesome bridge for sale out in the desert...want to buy it?"
There's 2 sets of family members that represent today's fighting members. On one side you have the family that hates this Administration and the Iraqi War and then there's the other that supports it. One side will go to the end of the earth condemning the administration and the war when their loved one comes home other than healthy. The other side will say they are proud because he/she did it for their Country! Take a guess to which side you talked to.
I know one thing...I wish I could have been there the day Grandfather saw Grandson for the first time in uniform....was his feelings strictly hate towards what could happen or was it straight Pride to see his Grandson in a U.S. Military uniform serving his country?
Another thing I know...there is nothing more demoralizing to the vast majority of Armed Forces Personnel than seeing America protest this war. People hide behind a saying "we are not protesting the Armed Forces, we are protesting the Administration and the War in Iraq." The Armed Forces see "protest". Although, there are members that are against this war but I don't see many Vets protesting. I don't know if I saw any Iraqi Freedom Vets protesting publicly. (not seeing any could be my own fault for not living in front of CNN or searching for it on the Web)
AND...YES..."Whew! Sure is good to know there are more than enough enlistees to fight all the fronts I've got in mind to win the 'War on Terror.' "
You should actually Thank God that we as Americans have volunteers STRONG enough and WILLING enough to do what some won't.
My wife's nephew left for Boot last Monday....his name is Jeff....his goals scare me....however....To him I say "Jeff, I salute you!"
