Comments on: The War Isn’t Lost to CPL Rock

By: Don Bacon

Don Bacon — Wed, 02 May 2007 15:34:02 +0000

Max,
So it’s no more on General Butler’s ‘communist tripe’, now it’s Jimmy Carter made me a pot-head and the PLO ‘terrorists’ had tanks. Uh-huh.
Back on topic, Corporal Rock, a trained and motivated military soldier in the ranks, is no more qualified to judge whether the Iraq war is lost or not, or even to define what ‘winning’ is, then you were when you were a navy functionary. The point is that the current unsuccessful military occupations are being conducted for economic reasons and I wouldn’t expect Corporal Rock to understand that, although some soldiers do.

By: Don Bacon

Don Bacon — Wed, 02 May 2007 04:16:32 +0000

Max,
Weren’t you the brave one, enjoying three hots and a cot while the USS Virginia was lobbing explosive shells on Lebanese women and children in the 80s. Did you get a medal for that, big guy?

By: Grandjester

Grandjester — Tue, 01 May 2007 22:29:01 +0000

Max in Minn,
Whoa now! You jumped Mr. Bacon over quoting Gen Butler. I am suggesting you read his “War is a Racket”.
Signing up means getting shoved into the meat grinder for whatever whim of the king? I respectfully disagree.
Didn’t mean to touch a nerve with the tool thing but you’re incorporation of it in your response was quite good.
As for me, I tried to get into West Point, didn’t quite make it, now I’m too old (but only just under the new standard, shit, scary to think they’d prob take me now).

By: Grandjester

Grandjester — Tue, 01 May 2007 14:14:09 +0000

Max in Minn,
Perhaps if you read some of Maj Gen Butler’s writings you would see how COMPLETELY relevent his comments are to our situation today.
Instead you insult the poster and go off on a ME!ME!ME! tangent.
Don’t be a tool, learn something.

By: Max in Minnesota

Max in Minnesota — Tue, 01 May 2007 13:33:45 +0000

Way to go “Don Bacon”! Posting a quote from a soldier who lived and died long ago as if it had any relevance at all to the war in Iraq. Reducing the war against the Jihadis to such an asinine insinuation is typical of liberal thinking. Talk about unoriginal thinking!
As for me, I am very proud of our soldiers in Iraq and Afghanistan and wherever they may be serving today. I served six years as a squid during the early 80’s while my ship (the USS Virginia CGN-38) was lobbing 5-inch shells on the heads of the PLO in Lebanon. Only a few days later, the Marine barracks was blown up and we went to help them. As a sailor, frankly we never had much respect for the Army or the Marines. We jeered them as jarheads, groundpounders, Beetle Baileys, etc. Of course, that is par for the course for inter-service rivalry. But the truth that we have seen lived out before us for the last 4 years, and even back to the first Gulf war, is that our soldiers and marines are without a doubt the finest fighting men and women in the world today. In spite of the fact that Rumsfeld badly mismanaged the war in so many ways, they have still managed to do a magnificent job with what few troops and equipment they have over there. May God bless each and every one of them. I hope the next time you see a serviceman or woman, that you will go over to them and shake their hand, thanking them for their service and sacrifices to our country. We owe them a lot, and may their tribe increase.

By: Sheldon

Sheldon — Mon, 30 Apr 2007 16:00:25 +0000

I agree completley with this article. It's terrible to see these loses in American troops but it's going to happen if we have a troop surge. In my opinion we don't have near enough soldiers over there. Everybody always just blames the Bush administration for everything. That Virginia Tech incident which was a tradgedy got put on him. We have to let him and his generals solve the Iraq war. All we hear is the media side of things. The media has to stay out of the war if they haven't been there or if they've only stayed in the green zone. Since the Marshall Plan, America has been the "big bandade" in foreign policy so isn't kind of our responsibility to help out their country. Maybe we went into the war with the wrong mentality but lets finish something that we started. They obviously like democracy if they like coming to America if they get the oppurtunity. It's just a shame that there's radicals trying to put a damper on that. There's hope over their, so let the soldiers fight and lets support them for doing that!!!

By: The other other other Max

The other other other Max — Mon, 30 Apr 2007 08:57:26 +0000

Arthur, in ’84’s defense, referencing PNAC is hardly conspiracy-theory stuff.
http://www.newamericancentury.org/iraqmiddleeast2000-1997.htm
It’s all right there in plain sight.

By: Springbored

Springbored — Mon, 30 Apr 2007 02:00:10 +0000

Oh, I’ll get flack for this, but somebody’s gotta do it…Look Nobody–not ANYBODY–has made a case for why America has gotta “rebuild” Iraq. WHO CARES? I want my taxes spent here in the good old USA.
I want my tax money to go to me and mine. Not into what has become a dead-ender, un-American, political scam to royally screw the next administration.
Time to fix this screwup. If it means defunding, then fine by me.
Let the Iraqis, Kurds, Turks, Saudi, Iranians, Pakistan, etc., duke it out on their own. They’re going to shake it out anyway, so why not pull out and get about the sorry business of profiting off of their struggle, rather than ours.

By: Arthur

Arthur — Mon, 30 Apr 2007 00:02:02 +0000

sglover, did you even read my comment(s)? Where did I deny that Iraq is losing its most prosperous and educated people? Huh? Where? Perhaps you're referring to my comment directly under yours: "1984: "Some of course try to rebuild the country while others, 2 million have fled the country, especially the intellectuals who question the occupation...no wonder they flee because they have been especially targeted." Targeted by whom exactly? You seem to imply by coalition forces. You got anything to back that ridiculous claim, huh?" If that's what you're referring to, then you need to re-read that comment again. Where did I deny that over 2 million are fleeing? Rr that most of them are intellectuals? Take a closer look at 1984's comment, I'll highlight what my comment was referring to. "2 million have fled the country, especially the intellectuals who question the occupation..._no wonder they flee because they have been especially targeted_" Reading that sentence, one is pretty much led to the conclusion that what 1984 was trying to say was that they are being targeted _by_ coalition forces because they question the "occupation". That's why I asked him/her if that's what he/she meant, and if so, to provide some source. So, you see, sglover, no "kneejerk, reality-denying objections" here, just you're misunderstanding of what I said. Guess I'll go back to inside my tool box ;)

By: Arthur

Arthur — Sun, 29 Apr 2007 21:36:24 +0000

1984: “Some of course try to rebuild the country while others, 2 million have fled the country, especially the intellectuals who question the occupation…no wonder they flee because they have been especially targeted.“
Targeted by whom exactly? You seem to imply by coalition forces. You got anything to back that ridiculous claim, huh?