Demoralized Troops

Interesting speculation on a Kerry Administration's
effect on our troops and Iraq. Kerry is counting on
Germany and France sending troops if he is elected,
but France has already said 'no way' to going into
Iraq no matter who the president of the USA is.
If Kerry pulls out like he wants to, without other
support in Iraq, there will be a bloodbath.
Just like in Vietnam, Kerry wanted an immediate
pullout. Kerry miscalculated the pullout of
Vietnam and claimed that 'only' 5,000 or so
would die. It ended up being millions died in
the killing fields.


*************************************
www.nationalreview.com...

National On Line Review
September 27, 2004
Jed Babbin

Excerpt -

September 27, 2004, 8:27 a.m.
Troops Demoralized?
Not yet, but they will be if Kerry has his way.

President George W. Bush says that Senator John Kerry is demoralizing our troops by sending mixed signals and flip-flopping on the war. In response, Kerry says that the president is "living in a make-believe world, unwilling to tell the truth or understand the situation in Iraq." President Bush has � by far � the better half of the argument, but he misses the point about why what Kerry says is damaging.

The problem with Kerry's speeches is not that he's sending mixed signals on Iraq. Of course he is, and by now most of us have lost count of them. The problem is in his sole point of constancy: Kerry says, over and over, that we need to make the Iraq war someone else's problem, and begin pulling out. Nothing in his formulation requires that the war be won � and Iraq and Afghanistan be stable and free � before we leave. That one unshakeable position is sending a precise, consistent, and damaging message to the troops.

You might be surprised to hear how well-informed and thoughtful the grunts are. From the army private standing guard to the Marine lance corporal riding a Humvee on patrol, these men and women probably follow the news more closely than the average civilian voter. They read whatever they can get their hands on, listen to American broadcasts on the Armed Forces Radio Network, and thousands see television news broadcasts on a regular basis. They get letters from home and talk to the reporters who pass through their units. And they talk among themselves, all the time. Not just about what they're doing, their families, and their comrades who have been wounded and killed: They discuss what's going on at home, and how it will affect them. When they hear Kerry talking � as he did earlier this week � they hear defeatism.

In his New York University speech, Senator Kerry said we are failing to gain and keep the trust of the Iraqi people because we're not rebuilding Iraq quickly enough, and because we're failing to provide them security by not training Iraqi forces fast enough for them to have an election. He said that if we fixed these problems, and brought more troops in from allied nations, "...we could begin to withdraw U.S. forces starting next summer and realistically aim to bring all our troops home within the next four years." When the grunts hear this, they hear echoes of Somalia and Vietnam.



[edit on 9/27/2004 by FlyersFan]

What angers me about this is that you would think Kerry would be more sensitive considering his time spent in Vietnam. As a matter of fact, two weeks before we went into Iraq he vowed to refrain from speaking negatively about Bush or the decision to go into Iraq out of respect to the soldiers who were fighting, saying that he knew what it was like to be in their shoes and hear how those at home were talking negatively while they were risking thier lives. He didn't bother to honor his word (as usual) and being the hypocrite that he is it is clear that he cares more about saying whatever he thinks voters want to hear than he does about a)keeping his word and b)the morale of the troops.

Jemison

Originally posted by Jemison
What angers me about this is that you would think Kerry would be more sensitive considering his time spent in Vietnam. As a matter of fact, two weeks before we went into Iraq he vowed to refrain from speaking negatively about Bush or the decision to go into Iraq out of respect to the soldiers who were fighting, saying that he knew what it was like to be in their shoes and hear how those at home were talking negatively while they were risking thier lives. He didn't bother to honor his word (as usual) and being the hypocrite that he is it is clear that he cares more about saying whatever he thinks voters want to hear than he does about a)keeping his word and b)the morale of the troops.

Jemison

Jemison, Kerry's problem is that he does not care about our troops or anyone else. He is only concerned about his self and his goals. He is not a very good manager, even his own aides say that he agonizes over every little decision, trying to decide which way will make him look good. He may be a nice person, but he is no way ready to be the ceo of our country. We need someone who makes the tough descision. There's only one man for the Job, George Bush. I don't agree with him on everything, but I know where he stands. Can't say that about Kerry.

Originally posted by jrsdls
he agonizes over every little decision, trying to decide which way will make him look good.

Well then, Kerry fails at decision making too. Every decision he
makes and everything he says just makes him look worse and
worse. Every time he speaks he digs himself deeper and deeper
into the hole he made for himself.