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| Blogs > Skier0752 > Staring at my navel |
Broken Promises
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Broken Promises As I’m writing this my is on his way back to Iraq after having a very nice leave…… One of the things that happened while he was on leave was official word came down that his unit is being extended for three months in the sand box……Even my gung ho is bummed about this….having to spend another summer in extreme heat fighting a war that won’t make much difference in whatever we do…… When he gave me the word I started composing those letters I might send to our congressional delegation about treating our troops in a manner that makes any sense at all……What also came to my mind was the continued broken promises we get from this administration……and, the fact that they act like they never made the promise in the first place…… One of the traits I like to see is honesty in another human being……We certainly haven’t gotten that from this group…..and, I’m not sure that we ever get it, but these folks seem to have taken this to a level that we haven’t seen since Richard Nixon……and, in many respects it’s even worse than Nixon and is merry men……. I as the father of someone serving in the military would like to see our leaders at least apologize for breaking promises and working our troops to the breaking point……There are now national guard units who are being recalled for the third time…….I have to believe the danger for our troops is greatly increased as they held past their original deployment schedules…….A year is a long time, fifteen months just doesn’t feel safe to me at all….. One of the things I know is important to me is that If I need to change something, I also need to apologize for inconveniences this might cause…….and, I think that holding our troops over for another three months would cause more than a little inconvenience……in fact, it’s downright dangerous……I’m going to be interested in monitoring the change in deaths and injuries that our soldiers get with the increased deployment…… I’ve said this before and I’ll say it again…….the honest thing to do is to admit that we can’t get enough people to join the military……the honest answer to this problem is to reinstitute the draft……not the way it was done during Viet Nam….but a more equitable manner……. If we as a country decide it’s important for us to police the world, then we need to have the people power to do so……..This means conscription……If we don’t think we need to police the world (my particular viewpoint), then we probably don’t, but we do need to pull our troops out of Korea, Japan and Europe……So, I’m a little annoyed and feel that broken promises have become the mainstay of life…..Is it any wonder that integrity keeps slipping in our country……Our leaders are showing the way…… Oh, and WE, I tried to make it harder for you, but I just failed……Sorry you won’t have to think very hard about this. Thanks. |
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grins - nope, not hard at all as the duchess said to the duke i am so sorry that your son has to extend - and i agree wholeheartedly with your contention that the danger increases exponentially when this occurs. think of an intern forced to "doctor" for 36 hours straight and the potential for error as the hours drag on and on. the larger question of owning one's own shit - not with this administration - no way and policing the world - do we need to? no. and even if we decide to intercede, i would hope that the reasons had more to do with humane treatment than barrels of oil, or power. pulling our troops our of certain noncritical arenas just makes good sense. and in the end, if this country decides that it is our responsibility to offer military support and aid - then a draft is not only necessary it is practical. using up those already in the military only serves to weaken our troops and potentially put them in harm's way - beyond the harm inherent in serving.... god it's good to have you back - tight hugs we You cannot conceive the many without the one.
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4/29/2007 6:30 am |
Actually, the news of the extension had been rumored among the troops for the last four or five months.....so, although disappointing, it really wasn't any real news...... I would think that it's very difficult to get back into the swing of things after having two weeks of "civilization"......I also really feel badly for the troops who took their leave six months ago.....Those people will have had a year with no break at all....to me, that seems like a bit much..... I've been doing some thinking about the connection between promises and integrity.....we all have to break promises that we make.....the way we handle breaking those promises Speaker's volumes about who we are as people..... If we're thinking about ourselves, we tend to behave very badly.....If we still think about ourselves, which we all do....and we also think on a more global basis, I think our behavior would be very different.....This administration has done almost no thinking on a global level.....and, for me that is too bad.....I think I like this topic and might want to come back to explore a little more.....
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The honest thing to do is to admit that this war was a screw-up from the get-go and work on a realistic way to fix it. "Mission Accomplished!" four years ago today... Both you and your son are honorable men. I hope for both your sakes he returns home safely and with a minimum of psychic damage.
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5/2/2007 12:03 pm |
My issue about all of this is the lack of respect that all parties are showing our troops....if they had respect, they would realize that six to nine months is enough...and, that sending back soldiers for a third tour (which is happening with the Vt Guard) is completely out of control.... It's time for more to speak up and damn the entire establishment.....if the Dems don't have the guts to get us out, then let them pass legislation for a draft....then, at least we'll have enough people over there to do the job....or, we can have uprising here demanding that we bring the troops home.... Bush vetoes the bill to bring the troops homes and the Dems run with their tails between their legs....the proper response in my opinion is to pass the money, but add legislation for a draft and legislation for limiting the amount of time a soldier can be sent to this war zone....then, we'll see if the public supports this war enough to have their children go.... The real victims besides the Iraqis who have been put at least fifty years back is the families of the silent ones...those who have wives and children who are serving over there....and, that's a shame as well as making me angry.....
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War is a shitty thing! Flat-out. Nothing anyone can do to change that fact. However, this crap - of extending "wars", wherever they might be, at whatever point in time they might occur - is the epitome of stupidity, both on the part of the administration AND that of the people. If ANY war is to be waged, it should be with the intent on ENDING it, by winning it; not on prolonging it and then quiting it. Ending it doesn't mean quiting it. It means never starting it, in the first place... and if a war IS to be started, taking the stance "if it moves, KILL it!" Kill everything that even looks like it might carry a weapon, and kill it NOW! That should happen within the first few minutes of planning. But, it appears that strategy went the way of WWII - into the history books... and I am of the opinion there's a reason for that. I'm sorry for all of you, here, and everywhere, with offspring and spouses who are involved in this deadly charade. I pray all troops would come home safely. Solar...
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5/2/2007 1:43 pm |
Skier, I was linked over to your blog by Dee. My thanks and appreciation for your son's brave service to our nation. My thoughts and prayers will be with you and your family in the hopes that your son will return safely and that we will soon begin to succeed in Iraq. We have a mess on our hands to be sure, and it is difficult to see how we will eventually succeed! But, I suppose we all have concerns about the consequences of failure. I am praying that Gen. Petraeus is as good as they say he is, and I am praying that President Bush and our State Department will more aggressively pursue diplomatic and political solutions. Rather than get into all the pros and cons of U.S. involvement in Iraq, let me just say that I agree with your thinking regarding the supplemental appropriations bill that is currently being held up. Voluntary career service is very important to our country in this day and age of hi-tech military equipment and complex military operations. I don't know how we could do without the guys and gals who volunteer for service. But, I do agree with you that it is necessary to supplement our force with conscripts. I think we should consider some ongoing form of conscription where young men and women can choose between military service, Peace Corps service and perhaps some other form of national service. This would create a more "engaged and informed electorate" and it would serve to "spread the sacrifice". God bless your son and may he return safely to a greatful nation!
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5/2/2007 2:08 pm |
Here is the issue in my opinion....this war can't be won....period...There is no middle class left in Iraq....who is left to take over and run the country....they've all left.....so, we have broken Iraq past the point of no return..... Had we kept the Iraqi infrastructure in place, there might have been a chance...but, those who can leave have left....that's the upper and upper middle class.....My son was just going through a seventeen story apartment house with five families living there.....The rest of fled....where to I don't know, but those are the people who are supposed to run the country after we leave.....so, the question is who's to run the country.....and, it can't be us unless we start drafting....and, drafting big time..... There still are about 22 million people left in Iraq.....we can't control them with 140,000 troops.....so, those of you who think we need to finish this......how would you go about doing it?.....Just curious.
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5/2/2007 2:27 pm |
The sad fact is, the politicos can now stop even hiding their dishonesty. They can't be impeached for it; thus they don't care.
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5/3/2007 3:38 am |
I as the father of someone serving in the military would like to see our leaders at least apologize for breaking promises and working our troops to the breaking point……There are now national guard units who are being recalled for the third time…….I have to believe the danger for our troops is greatly increased as they held past their original deployment schedules…….A year is a long time, fifteen months just doesn’t feel safe to me at all… I hadn't really been thinking along these lines yet. At least not in the top portions of my mind but in lower sub regions I had aknowledged the obvious potential for it. You are absolutely right though. Troops who are worn into a state of terminal fatigue and disenthusiasm can become more of a hazard than a help. But most particularly to themselves. In the same fashion as sleep deprivation quite quickly lowers ones overall ability to perform well at nealry any task and with it's additonal potenial for creating mental states which can be considered "unstable " or "unhealthy", the troops are now being subjected to a situation which could , not just as individuals but collectively end up having quite similar effects on a mass scale. Which most likely is now creating an environment ripe for all sorts of additionally dangerous situations even more hazardous than what's already been happening over there. If you consider the totality of the influence the current adminstration has had in the evolution of the entire war itself from a managerial standpoint the old phrase " you can't polish a turd" well applies. That comment is aimed squarely at Bush and his cronies and is not in any way meant for the soldiers or the military at large. Bush is sunk so deeply into the quagmire of his own inabilitly to face how badly he's screwed the pooch that he only continues to dig himself in even deeper. Seemingly grasping all the executive authority he can possibly claim to continue doing more of the same. But to even more extreme of a degree. I feel for you and your son and for all of the people so deeply entreched and so vitally close to this situation. I'll be periodically visualizing things going well for the both of you and also for anyone closely connected to this.
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Skier, I can't think of anything to add that others haven't said better, but it still sucks out loud. Hopefully, we can get a real leader next year. Good luck to your son! KILL YOUR TELEVISION!!! 
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