Troops in Iraq have a sense of humor.

[Army_of_One]

John has some new fans?

[wordsmythe]

Did that fix it for you?

]

[wordsmythe]

In reality we are ALL stuck in Iraq because the president doesn't seem to be able to do ANYTHING right.

Well unless it screws the middle class.

[Dodgegal]

Glad you posted the picture here. I loved it when I saw it on Drudge.

[TexKan]

Originally Posted by wordsmythe

In reality we are ALL stuck in Iraq because the president doesn't seem to be able to do ANYTHING right.

Well unless it screws the middle class.

I know you may feel like that but the folks dodgin the bullets, IED's, and puttin on the armor everyday would disagree with ya!..... Nice to think ya know what it's like but truth is - unless ya been there and done that....... you are just talkin....... that ain't the same as walkin....... I know you are concerned about the troops but I fear your concern is more centered around who is president......... cause that's what I read most the time. It was nice of ya to post the picture for him tho........ nice job Wordie!

[Bubba]

Originally Posted by TexKan

I know you may feel like that but the folks dodgin the bullets, IED's, and puttin on the armor everyday would disagree with ya!.....

I found a whole website full of Iraq war veterans who would disagree with that statement. It's Iraq Veterans Against the War
Here is a story that I found particularly interesting on that website.

The other night I was at an open candidates forum for a congressional race in the Midwest. The democratic candidate was asked if he supported bringing our troops home, and what was the best way to get them home. He responded that we should bring our troops home as soon as possible; then he laid out a sensible step-by-step plan to do so. Naturally I agreed with him, as did the vast majority of the crowd; but not everyone agreed. Actually there was a group of middle-aged men behind me who didn’t agree at all; not only did they not agree but they were very vocal and obnoxious in their disagreement.

“So he thinks we should just cut and run!”

“The terrorists will take over and all our boys will have died for nothing!”

“If we don’t fight them over there, then we’ll have to fight them here at home!”

We’ve all heard these ridiculous arguments before, it’s just regurgitated crap that they heard on Rush Limbaugh or Fox News. Now normally I can just ignore this shit; but for some reason this time it really got to me. They just wouldn’t shut up, and they were intimidating all these other people around me; I couldn’t let this one go, I had to do something

So I turned around and said to this guy:

“Hey! I spent a year on the ground there, and I agree with everything this candidate is saying, we do need to get out of Iraq”

He responded:

“Oh yeah? Well guess what? I don’t care that you spent a year there!”

So I turned back around and tried to ignore the rage that was growing inside me, tried to control my PTSD, tried to let it go. But he just kept on pushing, trying my patience, and seeing what it would take to set me off. Then he found it…

He whispered into my ear. “If you didn’t want to go to war why did you sign up in the first place, huh?”

Like many of my brothers and sisters in IVAW I signed up before Iraq, before Afghanistan, and before September 11th. There was no way we could have known that the government was going to launch us into a illegal and immoral war with no clear objectives and no end in sight. There’s no way we could have known that they would poison us with experimental vaccines, larium, depleted uranium, and lies. There’s no way we could have known that we would be used and abused on the battlefield, wounded, traumatized, and then dumped back into society without any counseling or reintegration training. How could we have known that we would have to fend for ourselves in the job market, with health care, with PTSD, with substance abuse, and with trying to reclaim a semblance of the life we had before all this mess started. There is NO WAY anyone can know what war is like until you have been there, until you have smelled the stench and seen the bodies; until you feel death following you wherever you go.

So I stood up and got right into this guys face, looked straight into his eyes and asked him:

“Have you ever been to combat?”

“No.”

“Have you ever served?”

“No.”

“Then you’re about to have one pissed off Veteran on you’re f#ckin hands!”

That’s when I saw the fear in his eyes…

He looked at me and he realized that I had been to the other side; I had seen shit that he could never comprehend; and I had done shit that he would never, in a million years, have the courage to do.

A part of me died in Iraq, it will forever be buried with the men we lost and the people we killed.

That’s why this man was afraid, because he looked into my eyes and he saw death.

After a moment the guy backed down; the candidates left the stage and the forum was over. Before leaving the room I stared the guy down one last time, but he didn’t even have the courage to meet my gaze. He just sat there with his good ol’ boy buddies, trying to regain some reassurance of manhood, some sense that he could have done what I’d done if he’d wanted to, but I know he’ll never find it. Because deep in my heart I know he’s a coward; and deep in his heart, at the very center of his being, he knows it too.

[Bubba]

Also, on that website....10 reasons they are against the war.

1. The Iraq war is based on lies and deception.

2. The Iraq war violates international law.

3. Corporate profiteering is driving the war in Iraq.

4. Overwhelming civilian casualties are a daily occurrence in Iraq.

5. Soldiers have the right to refuse illegal war.

6. Service members are facing serious health consequences due to our Government's negligence.

7. The war in Iraq is tearing our families apart.

8. The Iraq war is robbing us of funding sorely needed here at home.

9. The military uses racism and discrimination as tools.

10. Today's youth face aggressive recruitment tactics that don't tell the whole story.


Why we're against the war | Iraq Veterans Against the War

[TexKan]

I can find pink flamingos and there are websites devoted to pink flamingos........ what's the point? You can find anything you want to find on the internet. If you are gonna represent a vets opinion......... ya otta be a vet.......... from the current war........ anyone can post, anyone can create numbers, anyone can say they know........ ask a vet -

No one is stuck in Iraq except our children wearing the uniform. If ya aren't there......... ya don't know. Just think it's smarter to determine up front that not everyone feels they are stuck in Iraq........ there are thousands that would appreciate the support of thier countrymen. This is part of the how we lost VietNam......... civil unrest........ I think we owe the servicemen more than that. That's my opinion....... not the opinion of servicemen and women...... just my opinion....... I'm not askin for debate or statistics or websites....... it don't matter....... it's non negotiable.

[K C Muffin]

I just think that no matter what you personally think of the war, you absolutely have to morally support the kids over there. They are in harm's way 100% of the time. I remember the Viet Nam war at the end. People were having sit-ins and parades and all kinds o' sh*t. I'm with Texie - it's just egging the enemy on. I personally don't like the war. I think it sucks that we can't all find a way to get along in the world. We do, however, have a moral obligation to stand up for our fellow men. And we are. Do I want my sons over there fighting? Do ya think Kodiak was glad to ship his son off? Absolutely not. But we do not ever want to let the enemy think the kids are over there all alone. We want them to think we're all behind them 100%. Otherwise, we may as well fold our tent now and get it done and over with. Let's hate the war and all the hurt that comes with it, but keep it to ourselves and support the troops with everything we have inside of us.

[Tee]