While the Republicans Say The Democrats Are Turning Their Backs On the Troops...

   Ever since Harry Reid came out and said that the war in Iraq is " lost ", we've heard nothing from the Republicans except how Reid's comments have hurt the troops with his comments  .

Senate GOP leader Mitch McConnell said,  " I can't begin to imagine how our troops in the field, who are risking their lives every day, are going to react when they get back to base and hear that the Democrat leader of the United States Senate has declared the war is lost.''

     Whenever the troops heard the comments from Reid, I'd bet that most said that they already know the war is a lost, so now get us out of here!

    If you wish to hear what many of the military veteran's and families have to say about this mess in Iraq, then go to here to Video Vets Project and have a listen. While you are at it, why don't you send a link or copy to the White House?

   Here is a sample of what a few had to say.

California Gold Star Mom:

I used to lay in bed at about 11 o'clock at night an imagine somebody would be knocking on my door. And I would visualize how I would respond to that, and lay in bed, "Go away, don't come here for that." And so every minute you just expected to get the knock at the door - I just worried so much that somebody would come to my house and ultimately that's what happened.  I wrote this letter to Ken on the one year anniversary of his death..."I'm so proud that you chose to serve your country.  And in the same thought I am so unbearably offended that this Administration used your good will, your patriotism, and your values to send you to fight their illegal, immoral, war of choice."

 

Pennsylvania Iraq Veteran:

It never seemed to me that we were fighting Al Quaeda, Bin Laden, or the people who were responsible for attacking us on 9/11.  The mission was so confusing, and it seemed as if everybody in the community disliked us. To keep American soldiers in Iraq for an indefinite period of time being attacked by an unidentifiable enemy is wrong, immoral, and irresponsible...I feel used and I feel misled by the Administration. I feel that my patriotism has been used and exploited, my willingness to fight for this country has been used and exploited. I'm very proud of my military service, but I'm very disappointed in the civilian leadership and the Administration for sending us needlessly into combat.

Indiana Iraq Veteran:

When I was deployed to Iraq, we lacked crucial and necessary equipment and supplies...When I was in Iraq, I drove a pickup truck that you could buy off the lot anywhere at any Chevrolet dealership, and that was our means of transportation - that was the vehicle that we ought out of. We modified our pick-up truck to try to become a war fighting machine. We put a stand in the back of it so we could mount a machine gun in the back of the truck...It's important to end this war...we have our young men and women caught up in a religious and civil war, and we're doing more harm than good."

      August 21,2006

WASHINGTON - August 21 - Calling President Bush’s “hard line” policies on Iraq and Iran failures that have undermined national security and made America less safe, General Joseph Hoar (USMC ret.), Lt. General Robert Gard (USA ret.), and Morton Halperin, former National Security Council staff, released an open letter signed by twenty-one colleagues urging the Administration to reverse course

 

Think Progress

Former U.S. Secretary of State Henry Kissinger, who helped engineer the U.S. withdrawal from Vietnam, said Sunday the problems in Iraq are more complex than that conflict, and military victory is no longer possible. […]

Reid’s remarks also echo senior military officials. Retired Gen. Wiliam Odom, head of Army intelligence and director of the National Security Agency under Ronald Reagan, published an essay in February titled “Victory Is Not An Option.” Also, via TPM Cafe, here’s Gen. Tony McPeak, who served on the Joint Chiefs of Staff during the first Gulf War:

The war in Iraq isn’t over yet, but — surge or no surge — the United States has already lost. That’s the grim consensus of a panel of experts assembled by Rolling Stone to assess the future of Iraq. “Even if we had a million men to go in, it’s too late now,” says retired four-star Gen. Tony McPeak, who served on the Joint Chiefs of Staff during the Gulf War. “Humpty Dumpty can’t be put back together again.“

 

Senator Carl Levin (D-MI): Mr. Gates, do you believe that we are currently winning in Iraq?
Secretary of Defense Robert Gates: No, sir.
(Armed Services Committee Hearing, 12/4/07)

Editorial: President Has Lost the War and His Honor. "The president might win this battle, but he already has lost the war in Iraq -- and the one for his honor." [Editorial, Santa Fe New Mexican, 3/24/07]

Reagan NSA Director See Similarities to Vietnam in Iraq Conflict. General William Odom, who served as President Reagan's head of the National Security Agency, said the Iraqi insurgency parallels Vietnam. "I see a lot of similarities to Vietnam. It seems to me the persons who have the greatest interest in the U.S. being in Iraq are Osama bin Laden, Iranians and other radical movements in the Middle East. We made Iraq now safe for those kinds of movements and they're breeding them rapidly." [NPR "Morning Edition," 4/15/04]

       Any questions?

 

Tags: Mitch McConnell General William Odom Carl Levin General Tony McPeak Henry Kissinger Iraq Democrats