HONOR THE WARRIOR

The reality is that we have the greatest military in the history of mankind, and our military has always been our nation’s strength. Time and time again during our nation’s short history when diplomacy has failed, our military has been called upon to pick up the pieces and ensure our nations sovereignty. People talk as if this current war we're involved in is unique, it isn't really that much different from the Spanish American War or even the Mexican War, neither one of those wars were justified either. During our nation’s zeal for manifest destiny, we stepped on more than a few toes and took more than a few liberties that weren't necessarily consistent with the term "justice". From the start I recognized that the Iraq War was a mistake. Not just because I didn't believe all that bullshit about weapons of mass destruction. But because from the start I realized that our president was putting our troops in harms way for something that I believe will eventually be proven to have been counter productive in the first place. I believe that the only thing that we will succeed in doing there is destabilizing the Middle East and encouraging even more Arab youths to hate us on a massive scale. I don't honestly believe that there will be peace in Iraq anytime soon, and there probably won't be for a long time after we've left either. I wouldn't be surprised if Iraqi's were still killing one another long after my family shows up in the amen corner the day that they're laying me out.


Whenever I listen to people discuss the justification or the futility of the war, I always take exception if they don't take the time to honor our warriors. I think that no matter what happens, we should always honor the warriors that make up our armed forces. They deserve our loyalty and our respect. Whether we care to admit it or not, they ensure our country's freedom. Our military is an all volunteer military, and that is one of it's strengths. It's also the most highly sophisticated and highly educated military that the world has ever seen. Despite the high price that the US military is paying with rising casualties and longer deployments for our regular military as well as Reserve and Guard troops, Iraq is still far from stable. But this isn't because they haven't performed their jobs to the best of their abilities; on the contrary, they have defeated Saddam's forces and deposed him. What we are currently discovering in Iraq, is something that great nations have discovered for thousands of years, including the Romans and more recently the British. Who are we to decide how someone should govern themselves? And that is that it is virtually impossible to hold vast tracts of territory with tens, even hundreds of thousands of troops, if millions of people don't want you to be there and are tired of being occupied. In case our president didn't realize it, that's how our nation came to be.

There are those that feel that to speak out against the war is a slap in the face of our military forces serving there that is ridiculous. Whether the common soldier agrees with the war or not they aren't given the luxury of an opinion about it, they still have to follow the orders of the officers placed above them. This ensures that our nation endures. This type of vigilance also protects our nation's citizens and the many freedoms that they are guaranteed by our constitution. A constitution which is backed up by the force of our nation's military. Which gives me the luxury of having an opinion, an opinion that I never fail to exercise; and that's how I choose to honor the memory of our fallen soldiers.

By the way, this isn't a random picture that I picked up off of the Internet, this is a picture of my cousin Spike. He is a major in The United States Army and I have the utmost respect for him and the job that he does, along with all the other members of our nations military forces. He takes the responsibility of being a soldier very seriously and accepts the fact that there is a possibility that it might require the ultimate sacrifice. He has been deployed all over the world and he is fearless and faithful in his duties. Being my younger cousin, he looked up to me as we were growing up; it's seems ironic that now I look up to him. I am so proud of him and our military as well, and the sacrifice that they are prepared to make for the rest of us. As I've stated before in previous blogs, my family tree is full of military men and women. My father received his commission at Tuskegee on his way to The United States Air Force. I believe that our warriors deserve more respect than they've gotten, particularly from the imbecile that occupies our nations highest office. I truly believe that if our president really supported our nations military as much as he says that he does, that he wouldn't have put them in harms way for this foolishness that he has instigated in Iraq. I believe that our nation’s military deserves more than that.

Whether you should agree with the war or not, I believe that it is our responsibility as Americans to support our military and honor our warriors!!!



Reggie Saturday July 14, 2007

Dawn Wolf's old blog