Friday, April 20, 2007

The war is lost

So says Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid. Here's the full quote, to make sure I have this right, from the StarTribune-

"I believe myself that the secretary of state, secretary of defense and -- you have to make your own decisions as to what the president knows -- [know] this war is lost and the surge is not accomplishing anything as indicated by the extreme violence in Iraq yesterday," said Reid.

This is the creme de la creme of what the Appeal For Courage is all about. The leader of the majority party of the United States Senate has proclaimed to the world that the war in Iraq is lost. Done. Over. So what the heck are we still doing here then? Why isn't he making plans to fly us home tomorrow?

Oh yeah, that's right, because we haven't lost the war. In point of fact, we are winning the war, though you would never know it from what the media reports. Here in my room, I have a small TV that stays perpetually on the AFN news channel. CNN, MSNBC, NBC, CBS, and Fox are all represented. Yet from none of these news sources have I heard even a peep about the fact that the Coalition yesterday announced the transfer of security responsibilities of the 4th Iraqi province to the Iraqi government. Instead we hear about the wave of bombings in Baghdad. Not one of the anchors that are interviewing the 'live from the Green Zone' reporters has apparently taken notice of the fact that the reporters are no longer wearing body armor.

So you might ask how we can be winning the war when all you see on TV news is reports of bombings and death squads and such. The answer is simple. All of those reports come out of Baghdad itself. There are no reporters out here in the provinces. In nearly 13 months, I have seen one reporter here at Al Asad, and that was a gentleman from 60 Minutes who has been following our brigade from training through deployment to Iraq.

The name of this blog comes from the oath I swore when I enlisted in the Army. I will support and defend the Constitution against all enemies, foreign and domestic. And though I don't consider Sen. Reid an enemy, he surely is not an ally. He is heading a group of politicians who are actively trying to undermine the war effort, and would prefer that we lose the war to further their own political ends. They want to set a timeline for military withdrawal to coincide with the 2008 elections. To further his political career, he is intentionally putting my soldiers and I more at risk.

According to Sen Reid's logic, we would have surrendered to the Germans in December of 1944. During the Battle of the Bulge, the German Army nearly broke the Allied front, and the US suffered one of the highest casualty counts for any battle of the war in Europe. Yet less than 6 months later, the war was over, with Germany surrendering unconditionally.

According to Sen Reid's logic, President Lincoln should have surrendered to the Confederacy in the spring of 1864. The battles of Cold Harbor and the Wilderness, on top of the costly victory at Gettysburg the summer before, were proportionally much worse than the recent suicide bombing campaign in Baghdad. Yet just a year after Cold Harbor, the Confederacy was a footnote in history.

I can only hope that the American people at home will trust the soldiers on the ground instead of the politicians trying to advance their careers. If we can hang on long enough to win the war, it will be a tough time to be a Democrat in America. Stabbing the troops in the back during a war will be hard to live down.

15 comments:

Richard G. Combs said...

Sergeant, thank you for a wonderful post and thank you for your service. Doing what I can to get it more widely read, I've quoted almost the whole thing in my post, Embracing defeat.

I'll repeat what I said there: Bless your noble heart, stay safe, and know that many here at home support you and your mission and have the utmost admiration for and confidence in our troops.

yeuvn said...

I totally agreed with what you wrote in "The War is lost". Because of all anti-war media & politicians, the South Vietnamese people had lost in the Vietnam War. Until now, many South Vietnameses still felt that we were betrayed by American government. I thought that after the Vietnam war, U.S. government should learn how to screen & control the media somewhat. However, with what I see on TV, there are many negatives things about our progress in Iraq. I hope that Americans would be patience in order to win the war. Don't let the history of Vietnam war repeat itself again. And the American soldiers died in vain. WE PRAY FOR YOU ALL EVERYDAY! THANK YOU!

Anonymous said...

Thank you for your service with both your rifle and your keyboard. What you've done here is vitally important. Thank you for getting your viewpoint out there to compete with those clowns in Congress, and know that you are in our thoughts and prayers as you continue the mission.

Anonymous said...

I've tried to sign the petition for redress, but always come up with a blank screen...maybe someone knows I'm not active duty military.

Do you have a petition for those of us who are family members of active duty military? I know that there _is_ one sponsored by a military families organization. I've signed that one. I guess I also want one signed by me - a citizen...even if I _don't_ have a military person in my immediate family.

Thank you for what you're doing and what you've done. I agree that getting the word out is important - the enemy knows that as well. If this link works, it will take you to an interesting article on what happens when the press _doesn't_ report on an enemy action. We need to be aware:
http://themiddleground.blogspot.com/2007/04/information-war-mass-murder-and-media.html

Anonymous said...

Ok...that didn't work well. This is the same link..;

http://tinyurl.com/2ejf3n

Anonymous said...

Very well said, Sgt. You folks have a lot of support from people who appreciate the hard work and sacrifice of you, the troops, and of your families. Like y'all, we just don't get the media coverage because we're not crying "All is lost"! Keep up the good work - and thanks!

FRLBJ said...

Yes, America has been the land of wimps for too long , now. As soon as someone's comfort is disturbed or perceived to be so, they buckle and go bananas. It is time to get back to that old time Christian religion of learning to accept sacrifice for the greater future good-both spiritual and physical.

Anne said...

To all you troops both overseas and at home. Thank you from the bottom of my heart. You are the best and the world in general and Americans are blessed to have you fighting and workig for what is right.
Harry Reid should be thrown out of the Senate-he does not represent the majority of Americans.
God Bless!

Anonymous said...

Joe H.

Harry Reid should be forced to resign, in disgrace, for giving aid and comfort to the enemy!

Unknown said...

What exactly is victory going to look like? Will the insurgents finally decide that they do not want to fight American occupiers anymore? I do not think so. I promise you that we are not over there to make life better for the Iraqi people but to install a friendly government at the cost of thousands of American lives and tens of thousands more wounded. Not to mention the hundreds of BILLIONS of $$$ this war is costing and going to continue to cost. I look forward to October 1 when the pullout can begin and we can invest the money, men, and materials into our own country rather than provide Iraqis who hate us with free and better social services than our poor receive here in the States. With that said please be safe.

Gramma Schol said...

I am proud that this country still has courageous people like you. You certainly don't see it in Congress, anymore, nor on network TV. But, rest assured, there are many people at home supporting you and your cause.

I am warmed by the interviews I catch on cable TV of Iraqi citizens gushing with appreciation for what our soldiers have done for them. Just the other night, I saw one family who was locked in their house, waiting for death, when the Americans came and freed them. They had to leave their house in fear for their lives, but the Americans relocated them to a safe place. The father was in tears because of his gratitude. Of course, you never see that on network TV, but if you surf around, you can find it.

Thank you all, for what you are doing.

Anonymous said...

God Bless You.
As bad as my congressional representation is (Massachusetts), at least I don't have to be embarrassed by being represented by a traitor.

Anonymous said...

The only way US can lose a war is when it does nothing about treasonous actions of its politicians. Last time I checked, treason and sedition were defined as giving aid and comfort to the enemy, especially in the time of war. If Harry Reid's statement that the Iraq War is lost is not "aid and comfort to the enemy", then we should re-define what treason is. Harry Reid should be forced to resign and apologise to every family that has lost someone in this war, US and Iraqi. If there's anything I am mad about with Bush is that he lost his will to fight for total victory abroad or at home. Having the bully pulpit and not using it is worse than not having it at all.
If anyone knows of a petition for oust Harry Reid, please post the link. I've looked for 45 minutes on the web and could not find any.

Anonymous said...

Two more defitists join losers like Reid.
From Yahoo! story this morning regarding the House War Funding bill: Two Republicans — Reps. Wayne Gilchrest of Maryland and Walter Jones of North Carolina — joined 216 Democrats in passing the bill. Voting no were 195 Republicans and 13 Democrats.
Remember what people do, and not just what they say.

Anonymous said...

People should read this.