Veterans Day

To all Americans, and especially to fellow vets, have a safe and happy Veterans Day. For once, this post has nothing to do with OpenBSD. Just been doing a lot of thinking, especially since the election results and Mr Rumsfeld's unceremonious removal. I know he could've been a little more flexible, but I remember too, what it seems a lot have either forgotten or never knew to begin with; not only are we at war, but we've been in it for one hell of a long time now, way way before Desert Storm. I guess Mr Rumsfeld's answer to a question from the audience after his speech in Kansas is mostly what finally set me off. The guy had asked him about how to get the average American to show more of an "investment" in the war. How could you get Joe Dokes who comes home from work, showers, eats, watches American Idol, then goes to bed, more involved, committed, interested, more something! (I injected some into that last). Mr Rumsfeld talked about how he remembered the rationing of WWII, the sacrifices those who stayed at home made, buying bonds, showing support for the troops, doing without some things for the war effort, and so forth. I remember my folks talking about it. I was born in 1947, but everything stayed pretty fresh in everyone's mind for quite some time after the war. The guy had also mentioned how we are basically not even inconvenienced by the war, for the most part. It's mostly just the men and women who are over there putting their butts on the line every day, and their families, who are bearing the brunt. Now I'm reading the news online, saying they want to cut back on the troops there. Wow, there's a great idea! First they say we didn't send enough over there to do the job, and now they want to leave even less! Why don't we really cut back and see if we can match the debacle of Dien Bien Phu? Let's just let them be surrounded and overrun! What a great strategy! Either we fight, or we get our guys and gals the hell out of there! We tell the Iraqis we freed them and helped them setup a democratic government, and it's time for them to to get off the pot and do the deed! We're not going to stay there and be police for them while they carry on their age old infighting. I've heard so many people run down President Bush, Mr Rumsfeld, and all the rest over the war. Are we supposed to wait until they hit us here again, right in our own backyard? I'd lots rather see the enemy get the hell kicked out of them over there in their own frontyard! I always thought and said so, to my family and friends, that President Bush made a good military decision and a bad political one, when he set everything in motion. You choose the the killing ground yourself, you don't wait for the enemy to do it. Then you draw them out, engage them, and kill them. Oh my God, how politically incorrect I am! Sorry folks, that's war. My generation had great teachers, the VC and NVA. I hate to quote from a certain movie, but hey, it holds true. They did draw first blood! Whether you're Republican, Democrat, or whatever, those are our kids over there fighting those animals. And yep, they are animals! They don't qualify to be included in humanity. People who hide inside and set ambushes from, the very mosques they accuse us of descecrating. People who saw innocent victims' heads off on the internet. They hate us, they are out to destroy us, it's been going on for a hell of a long time, and they're not going to go away. We can't wish them away! Get used to it! Chamberlain tried placating Hitler. Peace in our time, right? Didn't work, did it? I can't quote it word for word, but everyone surely must've heard the old adage, "he who fails to learn from history's mistakes is bound to repeat them". Like Forrest Gump, that's all I have to say about that! Really, the only thing left to say is, God bless our folks over there in harm's way, and God bless the good old USA!

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