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(AP Photos/Bebeto Matthews)
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Happy Veteran's Day. Thank you to the men and women who have fought and died for our country in past and present wars. A very special thank you to the soldiers who have died in our present wars: 350 in Afghanistan and the 2,820 in Iraq. God Bless their families as well.
We hope all veterans of past and present wars have a Happy Veterans Day. Hooah!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
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REUTERS/Kevin Lamarque
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Wednesday, the Prez announced the resignation of Donald Rumsfeld and his nomination for replacement, Robert Gates, former CIA director.
Bush said something to the effect that both he and Rumsfeld thought that the Iraq war "needed a fresh perspective."
I, for one, am surprised because last week the Prez indicated Rummy would be staying. More than likely, this decision was because the Dems took over Congress, but I give kudos to the Prez for reaching out of his comfort zone.
Most Americans, who think, feel pretty much that we have screwed up a "good war." Recently on a C-span question and answer segment, four conservative "think tank" guys gave their views. Most were worthless, but one guy was pretty intriguing. Basically he said that Rumsfeld chose to treat Iraq like a business project: do the job with the least amount of resources, bring the most to the bottom line. It may be OK to run business like this, but "you can't fight a war on the cheap." There are too many uncertainties.
The military must be given more than they need. This guy went on to say that Rumsfeld had compounded the problem by grossly mismanaging the war on every turn. That's a revelation. Right?
The best to Rumsfeld in retirement and let's hope that Robert Gates brings that "fresh perspective" to Iraq so we can bring our soldiers home sooner than later.
kt
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| Military Recruiters Are Lying?
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(AFP/Ahmad Al-Rubaye)
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I saw a news segment the other day reporting that military recruiters were misleading young men and women in an effort to get them to join up.
Recruiters are lying? Duh! Now, that is a revelation. What do we expect them to do? I don't think they are lying per se. Well, how can you half lie? How many of us always tell "the whole truth and nothing but the truth?" Not anyone I know.
Who has a tougher job in today's world than a military recruiter? He is constantly pressured. His career is on the line to bring in the numbers. But, beyond that, he is a recruiter. Part of his job is to put the best spin on the military that he can. And, he's doing a good job.
The fact that the news report was produced by a bunch of hack journalists ought to say something. The media is never after the truth, but a story. And, their story here is that "recruiters lie." They sent in some fake potential recruits with hidden cameras and the recruiters put the best "face" on selling the military and answering questions. Will I go to Iraq? Not everybody goes to Iraq. Did he tell the truth? Yes, not all recruits are going to Iraq. Will I be able to come home for Christmas? Will I meet any girls? Is the military easy or hard? The military's not hard. What do we expect the recruiter to say? Something that will keep him from signing soldiers up?
( AFP/File/Filippo Monteforte)
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The flip side of the coin is that a recruiter ought to spell it out like it is. The military is a wonderful opportunity for those who don't know what they want to do, don't have too many other prospects, and want to do something hard.
Will somebody be telling you what to do? Yes. Could you possibly end up in combat? Sure, it is the nature of the military. Can I know for sure? No, you cannot. None of us can predict what is going to happen in Iraq or any future engagement for that matter, but war is always a possibility. Afterall, it is why we have a military.
What we can tell you is that we are going to train you to be the best soldier you can possibly be. After your enlistment is up, you will have skills, feel confident that you have done something that others have not; and, above all, you have served your country. And, we have scores of options that we can give you if you have faced the competition and come out ahead.
Do most recruiters tell the truth? Yes, as much as any of us do. We need to thank these dedicated and often selfless soldiers for doing a difficult and thankless job. KT
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| SUPPORT THE TROOPS
The legacy of the Vietnam vet is the fact that no American will put the "bad mouth" on soldiers. Plain and simple, everyone at least says they support the troops.
The latest controversy has the Repubs after John Kerry for a gaft in mentioning Iraq ( John Kerry: "You know, education, if you make the most of it, you study hard, you do your homework and you make an effort to be smart, you can do well. If you don't, you get stuck in Iraq").
If you think about it, Kerry's statement, although he probably could have rephrased to sound better, rings true.
The voluntary military is a product, and a good one, I might add, of working class Americans.
The vast majority of members of the Armed Forces are not representative of the upper socioeconomic class by any stretch of the imagination. No one, least of all, Congress, wants to admit this. And, the Army surely will not; they equate numbers with success and nothing is further from the truth.
Poor kids are fighting our wars and we need to admit and face it. And, in a sense, it has always been this way, but more so now than every before.
The litmus test of our policy in Iraq, our "gone haywire policy", if there ever was one, is "Support the Troops". We do, everyone does, at least with words.
But, John Kerry, unwittingly, recognized the elephant in the room; supporting the troops is more than words. It is making hard decisions; it is having a policy that makes sense; it is having an exit strategy that is going to work.
Based on the chaos now in Iraq, we better have an exit strategy, i. e., remember the lasting picture of Vietnam and helicopters on the roof of the American embassy. Fall Of Saigon
(Photo Above: US soldiers stand on a roadside as they patrol the outskirts of Kabul. Italian photojournalist Gabriele Torsello has been released in southern Afghanistan after being held three weeks by abductors who demanded the withdrawal of Italian troops from the country.(AFP/Shah Marai) )
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