Thomas L. Knapp shows REAL support for the troops in this posting (and I concur with his analysis of the situation).
Commenting chickenhawks do the exact opposite in this thread at The Agitator. Here is my response to one such idiot:
As a former Marine and Gulf War veteran, I have to say that your statement “his actions taint his service” is more than a little off. And its offensive on more levels than just the fact that you didn’t serve yourself.
He, like I, enlisted to defend our nation, not be misused in pre-emptive wars and nationbuilding exercises that turn the concepts of our founders on their heads. Volunteering to defend one’s nation is not the same as volunteering to be used in wars we started for reasons that constantly shift or vanish overnight. He gave of himself, and in return he was lied to.
He hasn’t tainted his service in the slightest, and he isn’t the only one with a valid complaint. He was sent in on snipe hunt. His government used him not in self-defense, but in a liberalesque nation-building exercise.
The only thing tainted here is the office of the commander-in-chief, who sent a volunteer military, created for self-defense, to pick a fight with a has-been and petty dictator who didn’t want a fight in the first place.
As I have some idea of the mindset it takes to serve, I’m not going to spit in his face by downgrading his service for partisan political purposes.
He was sent in for all the wrong reasons. He, like a lot of men and women, has a right to be angry. And vocal.
Being a volunteer is one thing, being used and lied to is quite another.
Sgt James Landrith
USMC and USMCR
1988 – 2001
Wanna guess who wanted the war in Iraq and who didn't?