Democrats & Liberals: Archives

I wonder if these guys will get a monument. Or will future Americans prefer not to remember this adventure.

I certainly hope so, Lee… what happened after Vietnam was horrible. Punishing the veterans of a war for the actions of the politicians who sent them there was a horrible thing for the American public to do, and I certainly hope it never happens again.

It is about time. It is now 700 plus dead and over 2000 plus wounded. As these numbers continue to grow, it is imperative that the American people witness the results of their vote. Without feedback, mistakes cannot be corrected, courses cannot be appropriately changed, and futures cannot be charted by informed consent.

I am so very pleased someone found a way to provide this kind of vital feedback to the American people. The news out of Iraq is still being whitewashed or to remove the color red, but this is a beginning. There is no question that the realities of war can make a difference in the minds of voters - and to hide those realities is as deceiptful as a regime can get - Saddam hid his works much as Bush’s administration is trying to hide theirs.

The truth will out. Amazing that so many politicians never seem to learn this lesson about America and its free press and freedom of information sharing.

I think the Bush administration needs to drop that policy. Nobody is being protected by it. The families have already been told, the identities of their loved ones is available to anybody who cares to take the trouble to head over to CNN’s site, and those damn casuality numbers speak for themselves. News footage of coffins coming off the plane in Dover is only confirmation of what people already know, and perhaps a clarification for some of the price being paid. In the end, the only protection this measure affords is for policy makers whose incompetence gets people killed.

If people feel the war is justified, the caskets will represent the solemn price paid. If not, it will represent the human price of bad foreign policy. If the powers that be don’t like it, that’s their problem, because is a democracy, and people deserve to know what the results of their election day decisions are.

A news story is breaking that former NFL football player Pat Tillman was killed in action in Afghanistan. Tillman gave up a $3.6 million contract with the Arizona Cardinals following September 11 so that he could become an Army Ranger. Today, he lost his life fighting for his country.

While I do agree with the U.S. motives for going into Afghanistan, hopefully this high profile death in action will open some eyes to the human cost of operations in Iraq and elsewhere.

Tillman died for a just cause and he enlisted with his eyes open to the possibilities. That makes him and all like him honorable and worthy of praise by all for his efforts to end the seedbed of terrorism against the U.S. that was Afghanistan. It is sad indeed to put a known name and face to one of America’s casualties.

Our troops in Iraq are just as honorable and worthy of praise for fulfilling their duty and doing the job they signed up to do. But, it is deeply sad to me that the Iraq war has not the justification or sense of urgency and importance that the war in Afghanistan has which makes such losses warranted and justified.

I actually think that this policy should be reversed, for two reasons… and one clarification.

First, the clarification. This policy was instituted in 1991 and was in force during the Clinton Administration. Bush and Karl Rove didn’t concoct this in Texas along with the war.

1. I think democrats should be allowed to use the dead American soldiers as political props if they so deem. I say let em photograph, video, protest, whatever.

…and to hide those realities is as deceiptful as a regime can get - Saddam hid his works much as Bush’s administration is trying to hide theirs.

It’s unfortunate that liberal progressives seem to be more motivated to liberate Americans from this administration than they were to liberate the Iraqi people from Saddam.

2. The photos are stirring and these troops deserve national respect and public memorial.

If people feel the war is justified, the caskets will represent the solemn price paid. If not, it will represent the human price of bad foreign policy.

On that we agree fully.

This policy was instituted in 1991 and was in force during the Clinton Administration. Bush and Karl Rove didn’t concoct this in Texas along with the war.

Eric, thank you for reminding us that Bush has apparently never had an original idea. I see now that Clinton is still President, and Bush is merely his sock-puppet.

Well, contrary to most of your comments, I believe the American people do not have a right to see crying families and flag drapped coffins. While yes, freedom of the press and freedom of speech are all well and good, a person’s personal privacy is also just as important. The politicians and the newspaper writers/photographers don’t have a right to make money or make a political point off the dead body of a honorable soldier. We do not have the right to make parents watch their sons caskets come home on the nightly television. If someone in your family was brutally raped and murdered, would you like the pictures of their body put on television? Without the families consent, we do not have the right to make a political point out of a brave man or woman’s dead body.

While I believe our purpose for entering Iraq was not a good one, I also believe we should finish what we started. Now that we have lost soldiers to trying to give Iraq their “independence”, we should make sure that those soldiers did not die in vain. Some want us to pull out of Iraq now. That would not only leave Iraq in a chaotic shambles, our valiant soldiers would have died in vain. While Vietnam was lost, it was not lost from lack of dedication from our soldiers. The politicians only allowed a “limited” fight. Now that we have committed ourselves to helping Iraq, we must succeed in our goal or our brave men and women who gave their lives or their limbs to those goals have done so in vain.

Sean, although I have no problem with the pictures being presented as news, you are right that their deaths should not be politicized. By either party.

I also agree we should stay in until the job is done. Unfortunately, it’s hard to know when the job is done if you don’t know what the objective is.

Is it regime change? Then we’re done. Is it to get Saddam’s WMDs? Finished before we started. Is it to sever al Qaeda ties with Saddam? Also finished before we started. Is it to democratize the entire Middle East? I don’t know.

I’d be interested in knowing what the objective is, so I know when we’re done. What specific goals need to be achieved and what is the exit strategy?

Has anyone read about the $180 million “bribery” scandal involving VP Cheney? Although it has been a major news story in many overseas newspapers, only THE DALLAS MORNING NEWS has reported on it.

REF: http://www.globalpolicy.org/nations/launder/regions/2003/1220heart.htm