Thanks all of you for the support, it really means a lot. I did not post to receive personal laurels for my job, only to present another point of view. In a Democracy, Soldiers are public servants; no one twisted my arm to take the oath.
Storch,
I completely agree with you about some views in American Politics weakening our conduct of this war. Make NO MISTAKE. The few truly bad guys out there ARE Evil Men with NO tolerance to live in peace. They are patient men who are willing to wait for us to drop our guard. They are intelligent men who will use the truth, albeit seen from their point of view, to weaken our resolve. They have no mercy nor do they differientiate between soldier or civilian. In their minds there are no innocents only those for and against.
However, It has been my experience that the vast majority of people are good folks who all want the same things out of life, a decent life and chance to see their children grow up happy. It is not the majority of people in the world that cause all the problems. Just like criminals it is a very small percentage that advance political ideologies that in the end destroy that which is human. Extremism, Intolerance, and Ignorance are the true enemies we are fighting.
To defeat them it is going to take money, blood, and time. We have on our side an indefatigable respect for human life both the physical and spiritual, celebration of diversity, and basic philosophy that defeats extremism hands down.
What our culture does appear to lack is the intestinal fortitude to invest the blood and the time necessary to defeat them. We are talking about transforming an entire region of the world. Removing the breeding ground of these dangerous philosophies and propelling the entire region into the 21st Century. Just as 60 years ago in Europe and Asia, we are once again vying for the philosophical direction an entire region of the world will take. Things will get worse before they get better. There is much work to be done yet.
Men like Kerry are a proven factor. They have already demonstrated the lack of resolve needed to win this sort of conflict.
On several occasions I have personally met Bush. He has impressed me with his intelligent questions, empathy, resolve, and Leadership. I say Leadership because many times I have seen Bush make decisions that are not good for BUSH but good for the country. Whatever his shortcomings Bush has risen to the challenge of 9/11 and done a much better job of leading than I believe Kerry is capable of doing. The last thing we need is a social chameleon whose makes decisions according to the popularity poles.
Crumpp
