This article originally posted to Viewpointjournal.com on July 21, 2003:
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On September 11, 2001, a clear and beautiful day, trying times returned to the shores of these United States. For as long as live I'll remember the fear of that day, watching in disbelief as thousands of innocent people were ruthlessly slaughtered and two of the best known buildings in the world, the Twin Towers, crumbled to dust in what seemed to be the blink of an eye.
As I watched the carnage unfold on television, one clear thought emerged from all the chaotic thoughts and questions spinning wildly in my brain; "this is war," I thought. "Someone has just declared war on us." On that day, the world changed for us all.
As desperate as things were in late 2001, they were equally desperate, if not more so, for Americans living in the trying times of 1776. It was an interesting irony in that, the year which saw the creation of the stirring document called the Declaration of Independence, was the same year the American cause seemed destined to fail. In that year, as in 2001, the people of America were tossed into an uncertain future whose only promise was the certainty of bloodshed.
By late 1776, George Washington's army was running for its life. His first engagement with the British on Long Island in August was a disaster. Washington's troops were flanked by the British and thousands were slaughtered in the ensuing route. For the next three months, Washington and his army would not stop running.
Washington had originally hoped to field an army capable of fighting a European-style war, but had quickly learned that he had no hope of doing this with an army made up of inexperienced "citizen soldiers." It was during this period, in mid-December, that Thomas Paine, who was then traveling with Washington's troops, wrote "The American Crisis," in which these words were written:
These are the times that try men's souls. The summer soldier and the sunshine patriot will, in this crisis, shrink from the service of their country; but he that stands it now, deserves the love and thanks of man and woman. Tyranny, like hell, is not easily conquered; yet we have this consolation with us, that the harder the conflict, the more glorious the triumph. What we obtain too cheap, we esteem too lightly: it is dearness only that gives every thing its value. Heaven knows how to put a proper price upon its goods; and it would be strange indeed if so celestial an article as freedom should not be highly rated.
Uttered over 225 years ago, these words again speak to us during this present crisis. The key figure today is George W. Bush, who is laboring to bear the intense burden of this war on terror. The President knows that he will be held directly responsible for any and every failure in this war, and should we fail to win this war, the cost will be unimaginable. Our enemy has pledged to destroy us, and they will do everything in their power to carry out this threat. They will follow us across the globe, attack every democratic government they find, and will, as always, target the weakest and most innocent among us.
Article comments
1 - Shark
David, I prefer to think of myself as a "Teletubby Patriot"; I sit in front of the TV watching FOX News until my eyes glaze over, my mouth flops open, drool starts to run down my chin, and I believe every single lie President Bush and his cronies tell the American public.
Yeah, I'm big on that war on terrorism. I support invading... um... wait, oh, okay, it's Iraq... and I really think we should go after those Weapons of Mass Destruction!
I'm with the President all the way!
PS: Some background music would have gone GREAT with this post! I was sorta hearing "Pomp & Circumstance" in my mind, swear ta god!!!
Best,
Shark (not into the purple one)
2 - Ms. Tek
MIDI MUSIC ON PAGES MUST DIE!
3 - boomcrashbaby
Similarly, President Bush is dealing with the conflicting loyalties of political partisans who would rather put the well-being of their party before the well-being of the nation.
Not supporting the war in Iraq, is not necessarily a partisan issue and it would be inaccurate to portray it as such.
The question we now face is this; will you be a sunshine patriot, or will you stand firm in the face of adversity?
Very reminiscent of 'you either support us or you are a traitor', ala Ann Coulter.
4 - David Flanagan
Would you happen to be the Shark from "Finding Nemo"? Read this with an Aussie accent:
"We are Sharks. Fish are our friends, not food, we are not mindless eating machines."
My daughter loves that movie.
David
5 - David Flanagan
you either support us or you are a traitor
Those are not words that I would use, rather, I think it best to challenge this gruesome "body-count" mentality that we seem to have regarding Iraq, something which depersonalizes our troops and makes them more of a political strategy rather than the heroes that they are.
This is a REAL war, requiring REAL sacrifice, and if we cut and run, it means disaster for us all. It means, in no uncertain terms, that they'll be encouraged to do more of the same and to take the war again to our shores.
I too hate seeing our soldiers in harm's way, no less because some of those people over there are my friends! I have one friend who is a private contractor just as the four men guarding the food shipment were. When I heard of the deaths, I waited with a sick feeling in my stomach while the names were read off. He was not among the dead, but he is still in harm's way, convinced absolutely that doing in Iraq what we did for Germany and Japan was the right thing.
Unfortunately, Iraq has become a convenient "political football" as Richard Clarke would say, for this upcoming election. And in Iraq, the terrorists are desperately hoping that what they did a few days ago will produce the same result as in Mogadishu. Not a chance!
Thanks.
David
6 - boomcrashbaby
....something which depersonalizes our troops and makes them more of a political strategy rather than the heroes that they are.
It's possible to not support our administration and it's blunderous actions while still supporting our men and women who are doing what they are required to do. Example, you can disapprove of how the Walmart CEO's run their company but you can still support the cashier working her underappreciated ass off.
This is a REAL war, requiring REAL sacrifice, and if we cut and run, it means disaster for us all.
Not all of us who are against the war have suggested cutting and running. I for one haven't. I believe if one makes a mess, it is their responsibility to clean it up as best as possible. But that can be done while still holding the individual(s) accountable for making the unnecessary mess.
7 - David Flanagan
Well, as I say in my article above, removing Saddam from power in Iraq was completely necessary. The man had clear ties to terrorists, he remained defiant despite 17 UN resolutions, refusing to comply to the conditions he agreed to at the end of the Persian Gulf War, and after 9/11, we needed to either get out of Iraq completely or get Saddam out first.
The President made the hard choice to remove Saddam. It was also the right choice.
Thanks for your comments.
David
8 - boomcrashbaby
as I say in my article above, removing Saddam from power in Iraq was completely necessary.
Thanks for your comments.
I do realize that you are politely telling me that I am done posting on this thread, but let me add one more thing for others to consider, then I will leave this thread, having completely made my point effectively and accurately. :-)
I also never said that Saddam shouldn't be removed from power. It is the way it was done, by practically flipping the bird at the U.N. that was wrong and what created this quagmire and there needs to be accountability.
Thank you for your comments to my comments.
9 - Shark
DAVID: "...doing in Iraq what we did for Germany and Japan was the right thing.
Well, first, we killed probably 70% of males over 16 in Germany, and we bombed their country to smithereens.
Next, we dropped atomic bombs on two of Japan's largest cities.
Then we occupied them.
And Iraq - what's wrong with this picture?
10 - David Flanagan
Shark:
We also lost over 290,000 of our troops in WWII. In Korea we lost over 140,000, and in Viet Nam, a fight which we had won, but which politicians forced us to run from, we lost over 30,000 troops, I believe.
So what are you talking about? We've lost 600 in Iraq so far. Iraq is nothing like any of those wars.
Perhaps you don't remember, but after WWII, many began to claim that we were losing the peace over there. As a matter of fact, the January 6, 1946 edition of Life Magazine had this headline in it:
Americans Are Losing The Victory In Europe
Here's another headline for you:
Grim Europe Faces Winter of Misery
Thanks.
David
11 - David Flanagan
I do realize that you are politely telling me that I am done posting on this thread...
Boom,
I wasn't asking you to leave the thread, comment as often as you like. I prefer lots of debate and all I wanted to say was that I appreciate your thoughtful posts. I realize you might not be used to having people thank you for disagreeing, but I appreciate you taking the time to leave comments.
Finally, there is that word "quagmire" again. I don't know whether to laugh or sigh. All I'll say on the use of this word is that it is beloved by those who hate the WAY we removed Saddam from power.
I do think HOW Saddam was removed is a legitimate point of debate, but when you use the word "quagmire," it hurts your argument because, really, the ultimate quagmire was what we had BEFORE the war. For 12 years we were trying to contain a madman, with hundreds of thousands of military flyovers, watching while Saddam murdered his people and the people of Saudi Arabia grew ever more resentful of our presence in their country.
Qaugmire is sitting doing nothing for 12 years trying to keep a tyrant boxed in, spending billions a year just to "contain" a kook. What we have NOW, after 12 years, is progress, painful though that progress may at times be.
Thanks.
David
12 - Eric Olsen
Another element in the was-Iraq-really-optional discussion is, would we have rather waited to deal with Uday and Cusay, who were even more vile, debased, demented and insane than Saddam? Iraq was not going to go away or get better or get less expensive to contain?
And if any among us expected a ticker tape parade and dancing in the streets from among those elements who benefitted from the Baathist regime, and/or who despise rule of civil law and personal freedoms as explified by the US, then I guess it's time to snap out of it.
Do these difficulties make regime change wrong? Quite the opposite: they indicate the exact direction the country was heading in, and indicate that we didn't move a second too soon.
13 - Shark
David: "...in Viet Nam, a fight which we had won, but which politicians forced us to run from, we lost over 30,000 troops."
David, with all due respect, BOTH of the above statements are so far off that they rightfully bring into question your overall credibility.
American dead in Nam was closer to 58,000 plus.
And your statement that we 'won' the 'fight' in Vietnam is too absurd and deluded to be countered with reality.
ie. I SURRENDER!
(Hey, maybe we should send YOU to Iraq and you can 'debate' those bastards into submission! Worked with me!)
14 - boomcrashbaby
I realize you might not be used to having people thank you for disagreeing
Wow. Not only am I not used to it, I don't think I've ever experienced it in my life or even heard of it, both on the net and off. I stand corrected.
15 - David Flanagan
And your statement that we 'won' the 'fight' in Vietnam is too absurd and deluded to be countered with reality.
You are right, I was answering your post quickly this morning and did not find the Vietnam stats. We did lose over 58,000 in Vietnam and, unfortunately, our politicians led this war in such a way that we could only lose.
Why? Because we didn't try to win, intead, we tried to keep the status quo for as long as we could until, politically, we were worn down and had to withdraw troops. If we had done in Vietnam what we did in Iraq, it would have been a different story entirely.
You want to parallel Iraq and Vietname? Okay, lets look at the true Iraq quagmire, 12 years of sitting on our butts while Saddam laughed at us and did whatever he wanted, including taking potshots at our jets at various times.
How many billions were spent flying over 300,000 sortees over Iraq in the 12 years of "containment"? How many more billions keeping soldiers stationed in Kurdish territory, Saudi Arabia, and at various other places in the Middle East, again for containment? How many hundreds of thousands of Iraqi murdered or starved to death while Saddam built plush palaces? How many tens of thousands in the Middle East growing resentful of our presence in their territory during the 12 years of containment.
That is the ONLY comparison between Iraq and Vietnam because, just as in Vietnam, we were trying to contain a persistently aggressive regime but lacked the political will to make the final move against the aggressors. We defeated the Vietnam paradox by taking Saddam out of power and what we have now is progress.
Any comments on the other points that I made or is comparing Iraq and Vietnam the flavor of the month for those opposing Saddam's removal from power?
Thanks.
David
16 - Shark
David, seen Vietnam lately?
We left and it turned out to be a pretty decent place.
I firmly believe we won't conquer the world with armies, but with rampant feel-good capitalism.
We lost that 'war', but it's only a matter of time before they've got a Starbucks and a Wal-Mart on every corner.
Forget the bullets, man, give 'em Coke! *Before long, they'll be as materialistic and corrupt as we are!
*see Russia for more
17 - Mark Saleski
...and if that doesn't work we may have turn to Zappa's idea of employing Pork Aerosol Gas Bombs.
18 - David Flanagan
We left and it turned out to be a pretty decent place.
What, you mean after the North murdered 2 million people during their takeover of the South? Fact is, the place would be even more decent if they were a Democracy. They'd already have Starbucks and Wal Marts on every corner.
Thanks.
David