I think that there were very few people in the days immediately following 9/11 who did not feel that the United States going to war was a needful thing. When Pearl Harbor was attacked causing the country to enter into WWII, it was not a state, and therefore technically not a part yet of the homeland. New York City and Washington D.C. were without question the very embodiment of all that America represents. So as our troops boarded various methods of transportation and gathered to march in and occupy the place where it was determined that the terror operations had first been planned, and later orchestrated, we cheered. We cheered because we believed just as had happened in the Gulf War, we were going to make short work of two missions, delivering pay back, and ensuring that never again would we wake to the sights and sounds we did on September 11, 2001. We were going to take them out in short order, and eliminate the threat.
No one was excited about having to fly anywhere there for awhile, we were threatened, and I would venture, every citizen in this country knew it. Then the years began to pass, we entered Iraq in search of WMD, everyone for the most part believing that there was a critical threat in the tyrant of that country having those kinds of weapons, especially when he had executed an advance into Kuwait and its' occupation not that long ago. At the time of the invasion, Iraq possessed the fourth largest Army in the world, with over one million men and 850,000 reservists. They possessed around 5,500 tanks, 3,000 artillery pieces, and held 53 regular divisions, 20 special-forces brigades, and several regional militias. Along with those resources, they had 700 combat aircraft and helicopters, and a strong air defense system. I am continually amazed at how many people still feel the Gulf War was just about oil. Like magpies, their mantra exists, even when under Saddam, Iraq was such an aggressive nation that the United Nations sanctioned the war against the country and thirty four Coalition Nations sent resources to meet the threat of Iraq's war machine under the direction of a mad man. He had already taken Kuwait, and was threatening Saudi Arabia, who paid almost one half of the expenses of the conflict, realizing exactly what a threat Iraq was under the leadership of Saddam Hussein. No one believed that in the years following the Gulf War, Suddam had become a kinder gentler, less prone to global aggression kind of a guy. Murdering his own citizens was a hobby, and to me what more evidence is needed of mass destruction of innocent human lives than the graves of his own countrymen in the deserts of Iraq. He was believed to be developing WMD, which in fact he was, I don't care who makes an argument to the contrary. I know people of unquestionable authority who were literally and physically there. The recliner quarter backs of national policy of this country are deluded, and really never have availed themselves of enough information to comment. They just don't know enough people serving in our military, or who are residents of Iraq and possess first hand knowledge, and they aren't looking to. Their agendas are self serving and have to do with their own agendas, probably involving their tax schedule. I suspect that some are those persons who believe that all people are good, and if we just leave the vile ones alone, they will be content to torture and murder their own, and will not aggress against another nation. The warped mind of such tyrants is a treachery waiting to happen. I can see the mind of Hussein as he licked his chops at the attention diverted from his activities and saw the possibilities. Those who don't see that make fools of themselves by insisting that what the news media puts out, is always based in fact, and without error, and there were no WMD.
The opinion of those in error would be of little consequence to me if it were not now influencing national policy. (Many of them do vote, and career politicians listen to their uniformed opinions for their own reasons.) Their influence, along with many other factors is a driving part of the withdrawal of forces from two highly unstable countries. This brings questions to my mind. One of which is, do the present circumstances and influences present in these countries no longer pose a threat to the interests of the United States and other free nations of the world? Just as important to me are the questions of honor and integrity which pose the query; will leaving these nations too soon put at risk citizens of either nation who aligned their allegiance to the Coalition Forces, believing their own country would be liberated from ruthless control by dictators, terrorists, and tyrants who had long murdered, raped, robbed, and abused them? Most important in my mind is this burning thought; will those who have served so long, so faithfully, and borne so much for this country wind up being required to retake ground on which they have already left their blood? I am thinking about these issues, researching the opinions of leadership which I know to be honorable, viewing what academic experts have to say, and recording my thoughts. Again, forgive me, I know we have a financial crisis in this country, but I understand that the day we as a nation no longer place as our highest priority the defense of this country, I will no longer be free to make such considerations, and then freely express them.
No one was excited about having to fly anywhere there for awhile, we were threatened, and I would venture, every citizen in this country knew it. Then the years began to pass, we entered Iraq in search of WMD, everyone for the most part believing that there was a critical threat in the tyrant of that country having those kinds of weapons, especially when he had executed an advance into Kuwait and its' occupation not that long ago. At the time of the invasion, Iraq possessed the fourth largest Army in the world, with over one million men and 850,000 reservists. They possessed around 5,500 tanks, 3,000 artillery pieces, and held 53 regular divisions, 20 special-forces brigades, and several regional militias. Along with those resources, they had 700 combat aircraft and helicopters, and a strong air defense system. I am continually amazed at how many people still feel the Gulf War was just about oil. Like magpies, their mantra exists, even when under Saddam, Iraq was such an aggressive nation that the United Nations sanctioned the war against the country and thirty four Coalition Nations sent resources to meet the threat of Iraq's war machine under the direction of a mad man. He had already taken Kuwait, and was threatening Saudi Arabia, who paid almost one half of the expenses of the conflict, realizing exactly what a threat Iraq was under the leadership of Saddam Hussein. No one believed that in the years following the Gulf War, Suddam had become a kinder gentler, less prone to global aggression kind of a guy. Murdering his own citizens was a hobby, and to me what more evidence is needed of mass destruction of innocent human lives than the graves of his own countrymen in the deserts of Iraq. He was believed to be developing WMD, which in fact he was, I don't care who makes an argument to the contrary. I know people of unquestionable authority who were literally and physically there. The recliner quarter backs of national policy of this country are deluded, and really never have availed themselves of enough information to comment. They just don't know enough people serving in our military, or who are residents of Iraq and possess first hand knowledge, and they aren't looking to. Their agendas are self serving and have to do with their own agendas, probably involving their tax schedule. I suspect that some are those persons who believe that all people are good, and if we just leave the vile ones alone, they will be content to torture and murder their own, and will not aggress against another nation. The warped mind of such tyrants is a treachery waiting to happen. I can see the mind of Hussein as he licked his chops at the attention diverted from his activities and saw the possibilities. Those who don't see that make fools of themselves by insisting that what the news media puts out, is always based in fact, and without error, and there were no WMD.
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