So George Bush’s lowest moment was when some hip hop guy (and yes, I leave his name out on purpose because it seems to suggest something about the importance of the statement) said that Bush didn’t care about black people. Not when Muslims (who were obviously extremists, as if it is necessary to qualify the statement) flew airplanes into buildings. Not when he learned that soldiers, sailors, Marines and airmen had been killed in combat. Not when the wars continued and more American service members were killed or wounded.
Nope.
When some guy suggested that he didn’t care about black people.
When Bush said that major combat operations had ended, I was on active duty with the Army.
When Bush leaned on his podium, looked into the camera and asked our enemies in Iraq to "bring it on," I was standing in our Tactical Operations Center (TOC) in Baghdad... not overly thrilled with Bush daring them to attack us.
When Bush talked of sacrifice, I was in Iraq while he was in Washington, D.C., living in a mansion, eating three good meals a day, and not worrying about an enemy dropping a mortar on him or shooting him or blowing up his Humvee with a bomb.
But his lowest moment was when some guy said that Bush didn’t care about black people.
Geez, how detached can you get? Maybe I should have said something about how I missed the last family Christmas because I was in Iraq and my mother-in-law, who hosted them, died the September following my return.
Maybe I should have said something about how that 14 months on active duty wrecked what was left of my writing career. Nope, no one has called and suggested they would pay really big money for my memoirs. Instead I have to scratch around and try to convince a publisher to pay peanuts for my books (one of which is now a Kindle Book because no one else would pay for it).
Well, George, I’m sorry that Kanye West said you didn’t care about black people. How about this? I’m not so sure you care about the service members you sent In Harm’s Way. Think about that.
Utterly rediculous, You know I am an honestly a fan of yours. And no honestly I haven't served in any branch of the military. So you'll have to excuse my lack of service. However I do appreciate the service are men and women do for our Nation on a daily basis. But gimme a break Kevin. Cry me a river over your "wrecked writing career". For once I would like to see one UFOlogist that wasn't a raving denying left wing loon. If you didnt like the war in Iraq. You shouldn't have gone. Bitching about the President being in the White House being safe from Mortar Shells? Would you have rather him be over there with you? A Soldier's duty is to fight correct? My Grandfather was a Gunnery Sergeant in Korea and Vietnam and I never knew until after the war that he disagreed with BOTH. He never said anything except to my grandmother. All he said was the President asked him to fight. That's all he needed. And when President Bush told Al Qaeda to " Bring it on!". You said you weren't "overly thrilled" at the invitation. Who would you rather Al Qaeda attack? You in the Command Center....Or another building full of innocents? I'm trying really hard not to make this sound like an attack. And you'll have to just pardon me if you take it that way. But maybe he meant it was the lowest moment because he literally thought that we were past that. That when Al Qaeda and other Terror Organization abroad are plotting mass murder. That an influential person called him a racist. Maybe because he was worried about trying to prevent another September 11th style attack. That he had to answer the question of whether or not he was a racist. The President of The United States. Who at the time put into position 2 black people in positions of power that at the time no black person had ever been in. Yet, Somehow he "didn't like black people. Which was so idiotic that yes. It might possibly be his lowest point. Of all the things he had to deal with. Something as idiotic as that statement being said. Yes Kevin maybe it was.
ReplyDeleteLTC Randle,
ReplyDeleteI'm a fan of Seeds of War. And I clarify the Iraq issue, OIF's actual law-and-fact justification, at https://operationiraqifreedomfaq.blogspot.com.
President Bush's decision on Iraq is a poor candidate for his "lowest moment" in office because it demonstrably was decided correctly on the law and facts and justified on the policy. OIF was also essential in principle.
KRandle: "When Bush said that major combat operations had ended, I was on active duty with the Army."
To clarify, President Bush said, "Major combat operations in Iraq have ended. ... And now our coalition is engaged in securing and reconstructing that country."
In other words, Bush's 01MAY03 remarks on the USS Abraham Lincoln marked OIF's transition from major combat operations against Saddam's Iraq to peace operations with post-Saddam Iraq, which was technically correct and proper policy.
KRandle: "When Bush leaned on his podium, looked into the camera and asked our enemies in Iraq to "bring it on," I was standing in our Tactical Operations Center (TOC) in Baghdad... not overly thrilled with Bush daring them to attack us."
Do you really believe the insurgents attacked the Iraqi people and opposed the US-led international defense of post-Saddam Iraq because of "Bush daring them to attack us"? Or that the guerilla campaign against post-Saddam Iraq would not have happened absent Bush's words?
Recall that from Iraq in 1991, Somalia, and other episodes that followed the Vietnam War, the lesson learned by Saddam was that America and the West at large were casualty-averse and therefore the international commitment to Iraq was fragile and could be broken with sufficient casualties and complementary propaganda. In other words, Bush's words were not encouragement for the enemy to attack you, but rather sought to undermine the basic belief of the strategy to attack you in order to drive off nascent post-Saddam Iraq's international defenders. Not that the same Saddamists who radically violated the UNSCR 688 human rights mandates under the Saddam regime needed encouragement to attack the Iraqi people and their defenders.
KRandle: "When Bush talked of sacrifice, I was in Iraq while he was in Washington, D.C., living in a mansion, eating three good meals a day, and not worrying about an enemy dropping a mortar on him or shooting him or blowing up his Humvee with a bomb. ... I’m not so sure you care about the service members you sent In Harm’s Way."
In terms of a POTUS talking of sacrifice and caring for service members, I haven't seen any indication during or after Bush's time as President that sets him apart from any other POTUS who ordered soldiers into danger.
Your deployment to Iraq may not have been safe and pleasant, and it may have hurt your writing career. Nonetheless, your mission was correctly decided by the President and justified.