'You ain't gonna like losing.' Author unknown.

[Warph]

 
President Bush did make a bad mistake in the war on terrorism. But the mistake was not his decision to go to war in Iraq.   
 
President Bush's mistake came in his belief that this country is the same one his father fought for in WWII. It is not. 
 
Back then, they had just come out of a vicious depression. The country was steeled by the hardship of that depression, but they still believed fervently in this country.  They knew that the people had elected their leaders, so it was the people's duty to back those leaders. 
 
Therefore, when the war broke out the people came together, rallied behind, and stuck with their leaders, whether they had voted for them or not or whether the war was going badly or not.
 
And war was just as distasteful and the anguish just as great then as it is today.  Often there were more casualties in one day in WWII than we have had in the entire Iraq war. But that did not matter.   The people stuck with the President because it was their patriotic duty.   Americans put aside their differences in WWII and worked together to win  that war. 
 
Everyone from every strata of society, from young to old pitched in.  Small children pulled little wagons around to gather scrap metal for the war effort.   Grade school students saved their pennies to buy stamps for war bonds to help the effort. 
 
Men who were too old or medically 4F lied about their age or condition trying their best to join the military.  Women doubled their work to keep things going at home.  Harsh rationing of everything from gasoline to soap, to butter was imposed, yet there was very little complaining. 
 
You never  heard prominent people on the radio belittling the President.   Interestingly enough in those days there were no fat cat actors and entertainers who ran off to visit and fawn over dictators of hostile countries and complain to them about our President.  Instead, they made upbeat films and entertained our troops to help the troops' morale.  And a bunch even enlisted. 
 
And imagine  this: Teachers in schools actually started the day off with a Pledge of Allegiance, and with prayers for our country and our troops! 
 
Back then, no newspaper would have dared point out certain weak spots in our cities where bombs could be set off to cause the maximum damage.  No newspaper would have dared complain about what we were doing to catch spies. 
 
A newspaper would have been laughed out of existence if it had complained that German or Japanese soldiers were being 'tortured' by being forced to wear women's underwear, or subjected to interrogation by a woman, or being scared by a dog or did not have air conditioning. 
 
There were a lot of things different back then.  We were not subjected to a constant bombardment of pornography, perversion and promiscuity in movies or on radio.   We did not have legions of crack heads, dope pushers and armed gangs roaming our streets. 
 
No, President  Bush did not make a mistake in his handling of terrorism.  He made the mistake of believing that we still had the courage and fortitude of our fathers.  He believed that this was still the country that our fathers fought so dearly to preserve. 
 
It is not the same country.  It is now a cross between Sodom and Gomorra and the land of Oz.  We did unite for a short while after 9/11, but our attitude changed when we found out that defending our country would require some sacrifices. 
 
We are in great danger.  The terrorists are fanatic Muslims. They believe that it is okay, even their duty, to kill anyone who will not convert to Islam. It has been estimated that about one third or over three hundred million Muslims are sympathetic to the terrorists cause. Hitler and Tojo combined did not have nearly that many potential recruits.  So we either win it - or lose it - and you ain't gonna like losing. 
 
America is not at war.  The military is at war.   America is at the mall.

[pam]

Y'know Warph, I really don't think it's as bad as all this. Yeah, people gripe about the president and the war but if it comes down to it, those same people will be right there in front.

This war is not the same as WWII, we could have avenged 9/11 without goin into Iraq. We could have avenged 9/11 by catchin Bin Laden but for whatever reason that didn't happen. This war is more like Vietnam than WWII. The fact remains that young men enlist EVERY day knowin that is where they are goin. Young people fight and die in old mens pet wars.

Islam is a BIG problem and we probably would have had to take em on sooner or later, but George took a stick and poked a sleepin tiger and now we got it by the tail, and don't know EXACTLY what to do with it now that we caught it.

As for the protesters etc. people have ALWAYS protested wars, every one that has ever been fought, it's just that with the world-wide media it is more noticable in this day and age. People have always sat at home and second guessed the government and called them idiots. That's the privilege you get when you vote for them and they do what they said they weren't goin to do.

There have been gangs, dope pushers, and drug addicts ever since there have been people. The problem just spread as the country grew, from the cities on the coasts to the cities all over. Same with the porn and crap like that. Where you have money and people you're goin to have that crap. Most parents are like me tho and teach their kids to leave it alone.

Every class my daughter has been in since this war started has either sent Christmas or letters or socks or whatever to the soldiers overseas. Ladies have made up toiletry kits for em, sent phone cards, letters, thank you notes.

The great American ain't gone, they are still alive and well in this neck of the woods anyway. And as for what George expected from the people, he forgot about the peoples talent for pickin out a BS artist when they see one. Whoever wrote this is underestimating the people resolve once they start somthin, may bitch about it while you're doin it but you'll still get it done.

[indygal]

Thank you, Pam.

Immediately following 9/11, if you recall, we had the sympathy and support of most nations around the world. No one could fault the U.S. for going into Afghanistan to hunt down bin Laden and bring him to justice. If we had followed through, we would have avoided a lot of the mess we're in now. We had no business going into Iraq, and for whatever reasons Bush may have had for doing so, they were transparently dishonorable and the rest of the world saw through it. Why it took us Americans so long to see it is beyond me. Well, except those who did see it and spoke out were considered traitors to the cause (Cindy Sheehan comes to mind).

I don't think it's the difference between patriotism and apathy; it's the difference between what is a just war (there are no "good" wars) and those waged under false pretenses and justified as "liberating" and bringing "democracy" to other nations. I've not done the research and so cannot speak with authority, but I'd be interested in knowing how many of our WWII leaders profited (monetarily) from that war compared to those who are blatantly doing so with this war.

[Judy Harder]

The great American ain't gone, they are still alive and well in this neck of the woods anyway. And as for what George expected from the people, he forgot about the peoples talent for pickin out a BS artist when they see one. Whoever wrote this is underestimating the people resolve once they start somthin, may bitch about it while you're doin it but you'll still get it done.

Pam,

Thank you for putting into words what I could not.
War is a nasty thing/being. I know that since Cain and Abel people have been fighting someone or something.

I know the American people WILL stand up and take over.......but, it would be nice if it were sooner rather than later.
I just keep praying that the lessons we all learn will be worth it.

I mean the grief and agony of war and the loss (OH, THE LOSS)

[sixdogsmom]

Pam, Indygal, Judy, thank you and God Bless all of you. This war sucks!

[Teresa]

I know everyone has a different opinion on the war and our current President. But, these comments from an unknown author make a lot of sense, and I think we all should give it some thought.
Recently I was talking to a friend about the upcoming election and the candidates. As we ended our discussion he said "the only decision you have to make is who you want sitting in that seat in the White House when, not if -- we get hit again and millions of American lives are put at risk!"

[pam]

Oh, I agree 100% that now we got to win, there is no other alternative now that we started it. What I said about havin a tiger by the tail is true and we got to skin him now or else.

[Catwoman]

I so agree with all of you...and I'm also grateful that there have been no more attacks on American soil since 9/11.  Say what you will about our current leadership but at least we have not suffered another tragedy like that one, so far...I really fear the day when our efforts to keep the wars off of our lands fail and the fanatics bring the war to our doorsteps.  And, from the sounds of everything I've watched and read, there's nothing they'd like better than to lower us all to their level.

[Teresa]

Well they sure are hitting our economy .. and they want to drive us to our knees and that is the way to do it here.
Most people are city people. They cannot survive without their stuff and the only way they eat is what they buy in resterants and grocery stores.
I'd bet you that when a REAL HUGE depression crunch hits.. country small town people like us will be the ones who will be bucking up and making do with a little bit of nothing. We have what it takes to make it.. .

[pam]

Yes we do