My post from yesterday got me to thinking about something an old friend of mine said to me when the invasion of Iraq started. He said, “I wish I was there with my men, but for me this war is not as clear cut as say WWII or Vietnam where the enemy was so clearly defined and our need so clearly recognized by all.” This old friend is someone I respect immensely, he was my first platoon Sergeant when I was assigned to C Troop 1/1 Cav many years ago, and we argued back and forth about the reasons for this war and because we respect each other we agreed to disagree on this topic. However, I feel the need to clarify this part for the public. In WWII the enemy was not as clearly defined as history would have us believe, there were many in our country then as now that were preaching isolationism as opposed to getting involved. To them, Hitler was a “madman that was terrorizing his own people,” not much unlike Saddam according to some today. His neighboring countries accepted him as someone to be dealt with and negotiated with; not attacked. It wasn’t until the treaties of WWI were violated by Germany’s attack into Belgium did France and Britain feel the need to step in and do something.
The sacrifices we made as Americans at that time are innumerably greater than we are making now in this war. It is my opinion that 60 years of success after WWII in Europe made the decision to get involved and stand up for what was right instead of retreating into our hole a whole lot easier to accept. Hundreds of troops died daily in the fields of Europe as they advanced from the beaches of Normandy towards Berlin. Current estimates put the number of US casualties on Utah and Omaha Beaches at 2197 and the Airborne contingents of the 82nd and 101st suffered an estimated 2499 casualties. Think about that for a minute; on one day alone, 24 hours, nearly 4500 US soldiers were killed or wounded. The most conservative estimates put the total numbers of casualties for the 6th of June at 9000 of which 3000 are probably fatalities [1], while in all of WWII the US Army suffered 314,407 casualties [2]. That is just one branch of service; the Navy, Marines and Coast Guard also suffered casualties.
Does this mean that the loss of life in Iraq by our Soldiers and Marines is somehow trivial? On the contrary every Soldier, Marine, Sailor and Airman that is injured or killed in this conflict is a terrible tragedy, just as every Soldier, Sailor, Marine and Airman that is lost in every conflict is a tragedy. Does this then mean that the cause is not as great? Those who oppose our actions in Iraq would have you believe just that; however we know that not to be true. Today for the first time in their lives the Iraqi people are voting for their future, they are better off and in their own words they are saying it.
My friends, yesterday MoveOn.org roamed the halls of Congress and passed out petitions asking that our representatives accept the policy of cut and run and overturn the 403-3 vote to stay until finished. I hope that our effort to counter this sneak attack has proven successful for to cut and run now would make the loss of everyone one of our service members lives a terribly tragic and trivial matter. We must stand united on this front just as our men and women in uniform are standing united on their front, we can not fail them here as they succeed for us there. As Sooni says in most recent post, “Mr. President you started something and yes you are responsible to go on and never stop until democracy is a worldwide spoken language and a way of life. And that will be the Total Victory.” Total Victory indeed!
No comments:
Post a Comment