First off a million thanks to everyone!!!
You helped me formulate thoughts I already had.
I took the liberty to "copy and paste" some of you sentences. Please forgive me but they were so good.
you guys rock!
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What's demoralizing?
The part where Moore made a film about the reasons we shouldn't have trusted Bush or the fact that every day we find more evidence that Fahrenheit 911 wasn't such a far fetched piece of Hollywood after all?
I believe it is never OK to disrespect the troops especially before they head into battle. I believe that's the worst form of troop disrespect, and therefore the biggest knock to the US, is to lie in order to send them to die.
I believe that the most demoralizing thing to a combat troop has to be the idea that the person in charge of your ultimate fate on this earth has no clue what it is to be involved in the situation he so gleefully drops you into.
Sending the troops with no exit strategy and without equipment is demoralizing. The troops may think their government could care less about them when they are sent into a war zone that was badly planned, badly executed with no sight in end. Why would they think the government cares about them when they don't have the right equipment that could save their lives? Why would they think they care when they have to see to their own equipment through outside sources?
If that isn't demoralizing, I don't know what is.
I don't buy into your suggestion that speaking out against the war is somehow against the troops.
Many troops disagree with this President.
http://optruth.org/If you can find one rational anti-war protester that doesn't wish for the safe return of our soldiers, regardless of when that is, I will help you kick their ass. It is a fallacy, they don't exist.
This 'war' was and is based on bogus intel.
Bush/Cheney witheld crucial intel that didn't fit their plan to attack. They deceived the American public and Congress in their haste to invade.
These facts are now and will be coming out more and more. Many of us had suspected this already. They had plans for this as soon as they took office and before. 9/11 gave them cover.
Bush himself said in Sept 2003, "We have no evidence that Saddam Hussein was involved with the Sept. 11." Even though they hyped the bogus Al Qaeda link in the run up to war.
Harry Reid called a closed session of Congress today and forced the Republicans to uphold their promise to start Phase II of the investigation of the intel that led up to war. We are going to find out if real intel backed their speeches or not...finally.
The truth is starting to come out and the Plame leak was their critical mistake. You don't undermine the CIA and get away with it. The CIA asked the DOJ to investigate the leak as soon as Novak's column went out. This administration thought they could intimidate the CIA by leaking one of their agents. They fucked up. You don't do that to the CIA or our country.
It would take 400,000 troops, 3 years and an estimated 15,000 dead to just 'secure' Iraq.
Bush/Cheney/Rumsfield have 'knocked' and 'demoralized' our troops by sending them into a conflict with NO PLANS to secure the peace. They told the troops they would be welcomed with candy and flowers.
It's impossible to invade another country, kill thousands, many of them civilians, and then force our form of government on them. An occupying force will always be fought. It unifies them against us just like an armed foriegn government here would do to us.
I know a Marine there. He has confided in me that since the enlistment requirments were lowered, by Bush, to meet sagging recruitment goals, the morale has never been lower.
He wonders why he is there but does his job.
It is worse than the media lets on.
When you understand the hatred Osama bin Laden had for the secular Saddam Hussein, you understand that OBL was thrilled that we invaded Iraq. This broke Saddam's hold and now Osama and his religious fanatics, along with Iran, have a much broader influence over the region plus they use the occupation as a recruitment tool for the fanatics.
This President and this administration have demoralized our troops by sending them to their needless deaths and maimings.
The insanity that drove us to this war was created by a power-drunk greedy bunch of bastards.