Thinking of the troops...

[weed]

Weed...1st I must say it is extremely refreshing to find someone on this site who asks questions, admits when they do not know something, and states opinions that are devoid of rhetoric...THANK YOU!!!

On the 1st part, preparation: The concept of fighting "asymetric warfare", that is warfare without a traditional "enemy" has been around since time immemorial. However, we (especially the USMC and to a lesser extent the Navy) have been training for it and proving tactics since the mid 90's. The war our troops prepared for did in fact have a large amount of conventional preparation to it but the warplans all contained provisions for the assymetric threat. That being said, I think most of the commanders were surprised by the amount of initial resistance and a little surprised by the follow on resistance. None of them I think are surprised by what we are seeing today. Highly mobile small insurgents willing to sacrifice the many (2-4 of them) for high profile "victories" (1-2 of us). The nature of this place will dictate that we see many more killed b4 we leave (cases in point: Ireland, Bosnis, Chechnya).

For the global effort part: we have Canadian, Brit, German, Greek, Italian, and many other Nato partners participating. Granted we need more support but US Policy is dictating a lot around who is going to make the decisions. Like it or not, the politicians are reluctant to let those who stood by idly come in and reap the $$$ from the reconstruction (yes I'm talking about Germany and France). Besides, the French are more concerned about Liberia now...(a subject for another thread...). The global reconstruction will come. Right now we are trying to stabilize an unstable situation (and yes, trying to prevent the establishment of a Theocracy ala Iran of 20 years ago or Saudi Arabia of today)

All I can say is 1) Be patient, 2) Voice YOUR opinion, 3) Seek all sides of the story, and 4) try not to take life too seriously...we all die in the end...

and thank you once again for your support x 12

So, the US troops have been prepared for guerilla warfare? I had read that they were finding the attacks demoralizing. It didn't sound prepared to me. I have to agree...there will be more deaths.

Are we going to be reaping dollars from the reconstruction? I thought this was a nonprofit endeavor.

hah

Yes, we are trying to stabilize an unstable situation but are we adding to the stability or taking away from it?

Thanks for the kind words and pardon me if I sound a little cynical today.

 

[Guest]

 

[weed]

Cynicism is healthy...I'm a big fan of it

1) Being prepared does not = not finding it demoralizing. Being demoralized is a fact of war. It's up to the leaders (read 21-24 yo men and women on the front lines) to motivate the troops.

2) Like it or not, there's always a $$$ trail. The cause may be noble, but seldom are the reasons guiding our leaders black and white. Do you think we should have spent all these $$$ and then let countries who did not have a hand in the risk come in and take all the post war contracts? If so, then your cynicism comes with a health dose of naivete.

3) The instability has been there for thousands of years. It isn't going to be fixed overnight. Like I've said. This is going to take years. If you have not the stomach for it write your elected officials, take action. It's your right. Be glad you have it.

4) I still believe in my heart that it was the right thing to do. And so do most of my comrades in arms

How the frontline leaders (sargeants? lieutenants?) prepared for this moral boosting in training. If we've got babes guiding babes that haven't even had time to develop some of life's coping skills in the first place, it would seem to me they should have some training of how to deal the psychological stressors the troops are facing. That's not something the troops can learn in the field though. Not easily, I'd imagine.

I know there's always a dollar trail. US$ to pay for the rebuilding and maintenance of troops; in control the US is able to negotiate oil/rebuilding contracts with American corporations; American corporations reep profits from Iraqi oil industry; said profits are pocketed by the wealthiest of Americans. (must be time for another tax cut.)

Hey, there's bound to be business in it. I don't have a problem with that. But the way this is going has no benefit to the US in general, as far as I can see. Just a cost we're going to have to absorb.

It's moot as to whether it was right or not at this point. It's moot that they didn't plan better for the aftermath (imho).

But we are in the here and now with billions of dollars getting sucked into this and thousands of our men and women out there. We kicked ass to get in there. We need to kick ass to get out of there.

I vote. I sign petitions when I think it's the right thing.

And someday maybe I'll get riled up enough to make the time for writing a letter or two.

 

[weed]

You know they've spent more time over there now than the weapons inspectors did?


And soon there will be more 'post-combat' casualties than 'combat' casualties? Though it's really just fighting a war on someone else's terms at this point.


I hope they realize that they're being thought of. I can only imagine what it must be like to work each day such as they are with the end not yet in sight. Hopefully they'll get safely home like they deserve.

 

[bknight2602]

and what they must be thinking.

Some with adrenaline, pumped for a fight.

Some with brevity, aware of death looming ahead. Death at their hands, death threatening their own person.

Some with fear. Fear of the unknown. Fear of what they know.

Some with stoic readiness to fill their duties. Whether they agree with it or not.

Thinking of their families. Perhaps fearing for them while they are so far away and the threat of acts of hatred for Americans is about to be fueled.

I can only imagine what they must be going through.

I pray they find peace some how, some way....some day. Not just in their physical lives but in their souls.

Very nice. I think that they would smile if they read this.

 

[weed]

Damn...with what they're doing for their country I think the gov should provide them all with free Lit service.

Laptops, ya know?

 

[bknight2602]

Kinky war stuff.

 

[weed]

Lest we forget...

After the war, daily casualties

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Originally published Oct 26, 2003


Attacks against American soldiers in Iraq have been on the rise in the past three weeks, going from a daily average of 20 up to 25. One day, 35 attacks were reported.

"The enemy has evolved, a little bit more lethal, a little bit more complex, a little bit more sophisticated," Lt. Gen. Ricardo Sanchez, the commander of U.S. ground forces in Iraq, said last week. "As long as we are here, the coalition needs to be prepared to take casualties."

Since March, 345 U.S. troops have died in Iraq, 223 of them from hostile fire. Of those, 207 have died since May 1, when President Bush declared major combat operations over. About 1,620 have been wounded since March as a result of hostile engagements, and 338 others have been injured in accidents.

The British military has reported 50 deaths; Denmark, one; and Ukraine, one.

Iraq has become dangerous for Iraqi civilians, too, including those working for Americans. Iraqi deaths have not been counted as carefully. The Associated Press has reported an estimated 3,240 civilian Iraqi deaths between March 20 and April 20, basing that on records from only half of Iraq's hospitals. The real toll probably is much higher.

Following is a list of Americans killed over the past month as the number of attacks have increased.


http://www.sunspot.net/news/nationw...0,7810630.column?coll=bal-nationworld-utility

 

[weed]

A friend at work asked me what I was reading last night when I was checking this article out.

I offered to show it to her.

She declined.

It hit too close to home.

 

[tulip2lipservice]

Hugs Weed

I understand your friends feelings. Again thank you to the troops that serve.

Peace,
Tulip

 

[Ladybird]

A friend at work asked me what I was reading last night when I was checking this article out.

I offered to show it to her.

She declined.

It hit too close to home.

I understand how she feels.

Combat turns ordinary people into heros.

And their loved ones age with worry.

 

[weed]

to you ladies.


Sometimes the ones at homes who hold things together are unsung heroes.

 

[weed]

A Soldiers Poem...

TWAS THE NIGHT BEFORE CHRISTMAS,
THEY LIVED ALL ALONE,
IN A ONE BEDROOM HOUSE MADE OF
PLASTER AND STONE.

I HAD COME DOWN THE CHIMNEY
WITH PRESENTS TO GIVE,
AND TO SEE JUST WHO
IN THIS HOME DID LIVE.

I LOOKED ALL ABOUT,
A STRANGE SIGHT I DID SEE,
NO TINSEL, NO PRESENTS,
NOT EVEN A TREE.

NO STOCKING BY MANTLE,
JUST BOOTS FILLED WITH SAND,
ON THE WALL HUNG PICTURES
OF FAR DISTANT LANDS.

WITH MEDALS AND BADGES,
AWARDS OF ALL KINDS,
A SOBER THOUGHT
CAME THROUGH MY MIND.

FOR THIS HOUSE WAS DIFFERENT,
IT WAS DARK AND DREARY,
I FOUND THE HOME OF A SOLDIER,
ONCE I COULD SEE CLEARLY.

THE SOLDIER LAY SLEEPING,
SILENT, ALONE,
CURLED UP ON THE FLOOR
IN THIS ONE BEDROOM HOME.

THE FACE WAS SO GENTLE,
THE ROOM IN SUCH DISORDER,
NOT HOW I PICTURED
A UNITED STATES SOLDIER.

WAS THIS THE HERO
OF WHOM I'D JUST READ?
CURLED UP ON A PONCHO,
THE FLOOR FOR A BED?

I REALIZED THE FAMILIES
THAT I SAW THIS NIGHT,
OWED THEIR LIVES TO THESE SOLDIERS
WHO WERE WILLING TO FIGHT.

SOON ROUND THE WORLD,
THE CHILDREN WOULD PLAY,
AND GROWNUPS WOULD CELEBRATE
A BRIGHT CHRISTMAS DAY.

THEY ALL ENJOYED FREEDOM
EACH MONTH OF THE YEAR,
BECAUSE OF THE SOLDIERS,
LIKE THE ONE LYING HERE.

I COULDN'T HELP WONDER
HOW MANY LAY ALONE,
ON A COLD CHRISTMAS EVE
IN A LAND FAR FROM HOME.

THE VERY THOUGHT
BROUGHT A TEAR TO MY EYE,
I DROPPED TO MY KNEES
AND STARTED TO CRY.

THE SOLDIER AWAKENED
AND I HEARD A ROUGH VOICE,
"SANTA DON'T CRY,
THIS LIFE IS MY CHOICE;

I FIGHT FOR FREEDOM,
I DON'T ASK FOR MORE,
MY LIFE IS MY GOD,
MY COUNTRY, MY CORPS."

THE SOLDIER ROLLED OVER
AND DRIFTED TO SLEEP,
I COULDN'T CONTROL IT,
I CONTINUED TO WEEP.

I KEPT WATCH FOR HOURS,
SO SILENT AND STILL
AND WE BOTH SHIVERED
FROM THE COLD NIGHT'S CHILL.

I DIDN'T WANT TO LEAVE
ON THAT COLD, DARK, NIGHT,
THIS GUARDIAN OF HONOR
SO WILLING TO FIGHT.

THEN THE SOLDIER ROLLED OVER,
WITH A VOICE SOFT AND PURE,
WHISPERED, "CARRY ON SANTA,
IT'S CHRISTMAS DAY, ALL IS SECURE."

ONE LOOK AT MY WATCH,
AND I KNEW HE WAS RIGHT.
"MERRY CHRISTMAS MY FRIEND,
AND TO ALL A GOOD NIGHT,"


Please check out the link as well....


http://holidays.blastcomm.com/

 

[tulip2lipservice]

To think that it is

another Christmas/Holiday where so many will not be able to be home with loved ones.

How easy it is for us living our daily routines can forget that there are people fighting. May they have a speedy return home.

Peace,
Tulip

 

[Mae13]

weed, I have read the poem you posted for many years now, but I got a new one this year and thought this would be a good place to post it...
~~~
The embers glowed softly, and in their dim light,
I gazed round the room and I cherished the sight.

My wife was asleep, her head on my chest,
my daughter beside me, angelic in rest.
Outside the snow fell, a blanket of white,
Transforming the yard to a winter delight.

The sparkling lights in the tree, I believe,
Completed the magic that was Christmas Eve.
My eyelids were heavy, my breathing was deep,
Secure and surrounded by love I would sleep

in perfect contentment, or so it would seem.
So I slumbered, perhaps I started to dream.
The sound wasn't loud, and it wasn't too near,
But I opened my eye when it tickled my ear.

Perhaps just a cough, I didn't quite know,
Then the sure sound of footsteps outside in the snow.
My soul gave a tremble, I struggled to hear,
and I crept to the door just to see who was near.

Standing out in the cold and the dark of the night,
A lone figure stood, his face weary and tight.
A soldier, I puzzled, some twenty years old
perhaps a Marine, huddled here in the cold.

Alone in the dark, he looked up and smiled,
standing watch over me, and my wife and my child.
"What are you doing?" I asked without fear
"Come in this moment, it's freezing out here!

Put down your pack, brush the snow from your sleeve,
you should be at home on a cold Christmas Eve!"

For barely a moment I saw his eyes shift,
away from the cold and the snow blown in drifts,
to the window that danced with a warm fire's light
then he sighed and he said "Its really all right,
I'm out here by choice. I'm here every night"

"Its my duty to stand at the front of the line,
that separates you from the darkest of times.
No one had to ask or beg or implore me,
I'm proud to stand here like my fathers before me.

My Gramps died at 'Pearl on a day in December,"
then he sighed, "That's a Christmas 'Gram always remembers."

My dad stood his watch in the jungles of 'Nam
and now it is my turn and so, here I am.

I've not seen my own son in more than a while,
but my wife sends me pictures, he's sure got her smile.
Then he bent and he carefully pulled from his bag,
the red white and blue... an American flag.

I can live through the cold and the being alone,
away from my family, my house and my home,
I can stand at my post through the rain and the sleet,
I can sleep in a foxhole with little to eat,

I can carry the weight of killing another
or lay down my life with my sisters and brothers
who stand at the front against any and all,
to insure for all time that this flag will not fall."

"So go back inside," he said, "harbor no fright
Your family is waiting and I'll be all right."
"But isn't there something I can do, at the least,
"Give you money," I asked, "or prepare you a feast?

It seems all too little for all that you've done,
For being away from your wife and your son."
Then his eye welled a tear that held no regret,
"Just tell us you love us, and never forget
to fight for our rights back at home while we're gone.
To stand your own watch, no matter how long.

For when we come home, either standing or dead,
to know you remember we fought and we bled
is payment enough, and with that we will trust.
That we mattered to you as you mattered to us.
~~~
Thank you for not forgetting. That fact is awfully important to so many of them.

 

[tulip2lipservice]

Mae thank you

for sharing that poem.



Peace,
Tulip

 

[weed]

I think of state descent
and of money spent
but what's spent is men
of mothers and lovers
fathers and friends

If we are to be proud
it's of this crowd
yet to be cowed
by thunder and lightning
striking from an acid cloud

Uncovered by the chapparal
which repeats its pastoral
like a grand mal
spasmed without reason
that avails us all

How many players
sent to chaotic terror
How many prayers
wrenched from the hearts
of split pairs

How soon a freeze
sends them over the seas
to the cover of trees
with yellow ribbons
dancing in a breeze

Or the sweet breath
of unity refreshed
brings to the press
a firmer footing
to stomp out death

Time alone tells such tales
and counts the coffin nails
but while it ticks we can hale
those who uphold
with and without fail

 

[weed]

1000

More than just a number.


Lives that are never again
Proud families mourning
with only the words
'remember back when...'

 

[miles]

Weed is one together chica.

 

[weed]

Thanks, hon

Though I'm feeling a little more scattered tonight.

 

[JinXed]

Your first post started my tears rolling.


My exuberance of yesterday is starting to fade.. and the worry has nestled it's way back into the home it's made in my heart.

Two emails in the past year and he's still over "there".


I miss him so much. I cannot even begin to do it justice by attempting to describe it.