Felicia (Fee) BenamonIn the past, I've advocated that we support the President in his request for funding for military operations in Iraq. I supported the President's view of having no attachments to the Iraq Funding bill...as it should have been. I was under the impression that after getting the war funding needed, that we would go on the offense with a vengeance. I haven't seen it. Thus, my view of the Iraq war has taken a new direction.
For the sake of bipartisanship and for the sake of the precious lives of our troops in battle, I would hope that President Bush would at least sit down and meet with concerned Republican lawmakers in Washington who represent a growing consensus among their constituents who want to see an end to the Iraq war. President Bush has been plunging ahead full force with a troop surge, but that has left many unnerved. Why commit more troops to Iraq without showing the full brunt of our military's might?
The reason President Bush has advisors is so they can tell him the best course to take in fighting terrorism and the war in Iraq. It would be best if the President lent an ear to all who have concerns. He can't go about making decisions on Iraq on his own, or from a select few.
President Bush is losing Republican support left and right and it doesn't seem to faze him. He is going about things his own way.
A lot of times, when I hear President Bush speak to the American people as he tells us to expect heavier fighting (as if casualties on our side expect to rise)...I wonder, why are we thinking in that mentality? When we go on an offensive operation, shouldn't we have the mentality that it is our enemy that will suffer the consequences of heavy losses? The American people need not worry, right?
We have the capability of causing heavy losses on our enemies and we won't do it. Never in the history of the world have we seen a desire by our enemies to control, dominate, or wipe us out and our way of life. But it seems we are not taking that scenario serious enough.
We got rid of one tyrant, Saddam Hussein. The US has sophisticated means of collecting intelligence, no doubt aided by satellites. We can pinpoint a wanted terrorist in no time. Once we have established that we have in sight the enemy, why not take him out? I am still waiting to see Osama Bin Laden caught or wiped out. We certainly are able to find who we need to find. This question needs to be asked...why are we limiting ourselves in this global fight on terror?
Something else that has bothered me...the fact that we are charging our troops with supposed "war crimes" against civilians. No war will be painless...we've been more brutal in the past and civilians caught in the heat of battle have suffered far greater. Today, our military is fighting with the utmost care they possibly could to avoid any civilian casualties; it's changing even how we fight wars.
A soldier is trained to kill. He is to identify the enemy and go after them to kill. This war has seen terrorists use, time and again, women and children as human shields. If the enemy wishes to use that tactic, then they are putting their own citizens at peril. It is not the fault of American troops and our allies to hold back because civilians get caught up in the war strategy of the enemy. Why is there no outcry from humanitarian groups to terrorists to cease using women and children? No, the fault always lies with our troops. It's a disgrace!
War is necessary to remove the threat of evil, to confront and defeat evil. We must not play around with evil. We should never treat terrorism as if it were some law enforcement issue. Defeat it and move on.
Considering the position I am now taking, I am not protesting war for the sake of it; I truly feel we need our troops home to protect against any future attacks against this country and to fortify, increase, and strengthen our troops. Some of them have done a number of tours in Iraq and Afghanistan and are no doubt weary.
I do not advocate that we make our troops abandon their presence in Iraq right now; I really believe we need to employ a different strategy so we CAN exit sometime in the future. I really hope that we step up offensively and with a vengeance; the way we are going now seems to drag on.
I just wrote an article only hours ago and mentioned an amendment backed by Senator Lamar Alexander of Tennessee that would seek the help of our allies more and would see us eventually leaving Iraq. But if we do not go on the offensive, then the strategy that the amendment offers seems the wiser choice.
Iraq needs to step up and govern their country, same for Afghanistan. We came to help in those countries (and in other countries throughout the globe) and that's all. Now we need help back at home. The border situation seems to be out of control (our border to the South); the US Border Patrol is needing help. No one terrorist should even come CLOSE in succeeding in another attack on America! I say this because it was reported today that US intelligence suggests Al-Qaeda is looking to execute more attacks on American soil by infiltration or by agents already on American soil.
The President needs to think of Americans here at home. And no, I don't think regular law enforcement can handle a terrorist intent on inflicting mass causalities. Our troops can help here.
Most Americans want an end to our role in Iraq; we need to be fortified at home. Defending our beloved homeland takes more importance over any other matters right now. We may not know what to expect in the future. Iran is said to be focused in getting nuclear material; Iranian President Mahmood Ahmadinejad wants an end to the West and our way of life, China is rapidly increasing their military for a reason. America must not be vulnerable militarily.
Let's think of our troops and their families, and move to see an end to US presence in Iraq and Afghanistan. We can use our full might of the military if only our military were allowed to. President Bush used to talk tough (as he should) on "taking it to the enemy" so if he is going to talk that way, he should deliver. The US doesn't bluff.
C'mon! Let's kick butt, let our troops do their jobs!
Felicia (Fee) Benamon is a political columnist who writes for various conservative sites including RenewAmerica.us, Michnews.com, Daley-Times Post, Renaissance Women ( http://www.rwnetwork.net/ ), Capitolhillcoffeehouse.com, TheConservativeVoice.com, Mensnewsdaily.com, ConservativeCrusader.com, and other news sites like AmericanChronicle.com. She is a columnist and a reporter for the Mid-South Patriot ( www.freewebs.com/midsouth-patriot ) in Memphis, TN. Felicia hails from a military background, and has been politically active since the 2000 elections. She has been a guest speaker on KYAL2K, conservative talk radio (www.k-talk.com), Salt Lake City, UT, America Talks, conservative internet talk radio, with David Zublick (www.americatalks.com), and KFNX News talk radio in Arizona with Clancy Jayne ( www.insidepoliticswithclancyjayne.com ).
1 comment:
As a 1971 West Point graduate and a Lt. Colonel, USA [retired], I served in hot and cold war areas worldwide for more than twenty years [71-93]. With five sons, two who have completed their service, and my two youngest still serving as an Army Major and a Captain respectively, allow me a moment or two to offer some humble observations as to the state of support for our troops:
1. Our men and women are greatly under-equipped largely because our nation's industry is not on a wartime footing to support our troops first and foremost. There are only small sectors providing specialty products normally from the lowest bidder or in some case, the only bidder. We lack war-making capacity. We did not, and still have not, mobilized. We can't even agree to build more oil refineries, drill for more oil, or develop our bountiful Uranium resources into cheap, safe, nuclear-reactor-supplied electricity. We, as a nation, have not even spoken of a return to some form of universal service for all young citizens. These shortcomings are a pox upon our nation and the Congress will exact a steep price that we will all pay some day due to their arrogance and lack of seriousness.
2. There is no shared sacrifice by the American People. This war against Islamic Fascism is not a bumper sticker slogan. Yet, I see very little real concern by the population in general. Who is doing without one single material thing for the benefit of our men and women in uniform? Why are there not public service ads on radio and television promoting them and the cause of freedom that they serve. Have ATT, VERIZON, and others supplied free calling cards to our service men and women. Have Lions, Rotary, Kiwanis, et al., established scholarship funds for spouses and children of deceased or severely disabled warriors. There are a few noble business captains, and media people who step forward but not nearly enough. It is primarily we who serve or who have served that take care of our own. Do school children send packages to soldiers on holidays? Not many. There are millions of school children, thousands of schools with ample budgets and fund raising capabilities, there are endless School Board and PTO meetings... so what is up? A lot of lip service is given to supporting service families in our communities, but it is not what it could be believe me. Couple with this all with an overwhelmingly self-centered and materialist existence in American Society, at large, and it all comes into clearer focus.
3. Our warriors are not at all well served by this raucous partisan squabble for raw power while they are eating desert dust and dodging bullets and IEDs. Someone needs to put knots in the heads of so-called leaders like Reid and Pelosi who denigrate morale by constantly threatening mission funding and by denigrating our Commander in Chief if front of the world [however ill-equipped he might be for the job]. This may win them instant popularity points with left-wing American-haters in Europe and elsewhere, but it leaves a sour taste in the mouth of those in uniform. The politicians fiddle with polls while Iraq and Afghanistan burn. It makes us warriors wonder, "Whose side are these folks on anyway?" This war has not been directed well from the top: Force Protection has suffered due to unrealistic and political Rules of Engagement and limited objective with no clear definition of success that will lead to a long vision plan for a transitional exit strategy. Too many politicians think of themselves as military geniuses. The war has also sadly been politicized by the Anarchists, the organized Left and the Mainstream Media. The Media seems delighted to give only a tightly edited view of the war that serves their own liberal political sensitivities and their urges to "bug out." This bias has existed since the early Viet Nam War days. "Offense" seems to be a word relegated to football these days. Do the media moguls ever wonder, even minimally, why warriors almost exclusively watch Fox News, and like Bill O'Reilly and Geraldo Rivera and Oliver North? I don't know about you, but I tend to avoid having anything to do with those who look down their nose at me. I love hanging out with people who respect my me and my mission, what I do.
4. Children today have little concept of military service. There are ROTC Scholarships and financial aid for students that "goes begging" each year. Young people are oriented towards money and not service. I know this from running a Senior ROTC program at Illinois State University in my last posting. Recruiting was difficult and this was right AFTER the fall of the Berlin Wall and the USSR. I have taught in High Schools, a Community College, and in a University since retirement and 95% of young people seem to think that the Military is a place for those who can't find a job because they are "losers." [I have had more than a few state this to me openly]. Supporting the troops means educating our children as to the duties of all citizens to protect this Republic either directly or indirectly, especially during a time of war. Most educators earn an "F" in this regard. Where they do talk to kids about it, it is invariably slanted against the war but "supporting our troops"... whatever the hell that can possibly mean!
5. My Major goes back to Iraq for his second 15 month tour shortly [he also served a tour in Kosovo under Clinton], his Captain brother [my youngest] will be soon to follow. I pray every day for them. It's funny, I never gave a thought to it when it was me being sent to some distant land to be on "freedom's front lines" as we used to say during the Cold War. Now I sweat out every one of their deployments; my hair is grayer to prove it, and my spirit flies a little lower these years. This is different than service in West Germany, Korea, East Berlin, Grenada, Panama or GW-I. This war is a fight, a clash of Western Civilization against barbarism and religious fascism. We had better be up to this task. If we do not get serious, if this nation does not mobilize as it ought against these Jihadists and other dangerous enemies elsewhere in the world then we are headed down a long and deadly road without a turn, and we "aint seen nothin' yet."
6. For John Edwards: "Support the Troops" is more than a bumper sticker too!
Thanks for your time. I wish more Americans had sensibilities about this issue rather than the knee jerk reactions of the Left. I would have guessed your service connection without even seeing it at the bottom of your column in MichNews.com just by the love you demonstrate for our service people.
But despite it all, I hold out hope. I served overseas for much of my career and people never clapped for me in airports, or offered to buy me a beer, or gave me a ride, or... you name it. I am overjoyed to see the numbers of folks who will do this today. The rest will just have to answer to God someday when He asks, "And what did you do during the war against civilization?"
Best Regards
William R. Mann
LTC, USA Retired
USMA BS '71, Naval Postgraduate School MA-NSA '82
HOOAH.... Go Army - Beat Navy!
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