US News & Comment

Tonight the Demorcatic candidates are busy spouting numbers about the Iraq war to illustrate why we need to quit the war.  Time was when citizens of the United States of America would simply not admit defeat–even when the there were setbacks and failures.  I have been studying World War II lately and I am amazed at the difference all around between the last world war and the current war on terror.

3,895 American soldiers have been killed in 4 years of Iraq.  In 4 years of war against Germany and Japan the Unites States lost 407,300 soldiers.  This is more than 100 times the number that have been killed and wounded in Iraq. 

Some soldiers have served 3 and 4 tours of duty in Iraq.  These men are serving as long as 18 months at a time.    Many of the veterans in World War II were drafted for “the duration.”  These men left their homes and families for an unspecified amount of time.  They were gone, sometimes for years, before they were able to come home.

Civilians were drafted into the service for World War II.  No one has been drafted for the Iraq conflict.  All soldiers in the military now have volunteered for service.  Most of them are proud to serve and want nothing more than to secure the saftey of our country.

The people at home in the U.S. in the 1940s had to ration commodities and industry was converted to war time production.  Many people sacrificed comfort and time to ensure the success of the war.  Today we are asked to sacrifice nothing as a people.  People may moan about the price of gas but there is disagreement about whether this has anything to do with the Iraq war.

After four grueling years the United States was victorious, with its allies, on both fronts.  There was never any talk that we might lose.  The people only knew that we must win or pay the consequences.

Today, we must win in Iraq or pay the consequences.  Each soldier who has given his life or been wounded in Iraq is important and I do not want to minimize what they have done.  But it will be worse for soldiers and civillians if we decide to quit before we are done.

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Today Pete Stark (D-CA) offered an apology for his inflammatory remarks made about President Bush and the troops on the floor of the House last week.

While his remarks were indeed filled with offensive hyperbole, his premise is merely an echo of the arguments of other Democrat Congressmen, including Speaker Nancy Pelosi and Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid. This is particularly unsettling considering that the President submitted a supplemental spending bill of $196.4 billion to Congress to fund the war on terror during 2008. And Democrats want to behave like my 3 year old and refuse to give him any money, because he didn’t give them any money.

http://thehill.com/leading-the-news/bush-sends-updated-iraq-supplemental-to-congress-2007-10-22.html

It is time that people, and political leaders, in this country remember why the government was established in the first place. A little read and often ignored document from our nations history begins with a statement of exactly why the founders felt that a national government was necessary. It states:

“We the People of the United States, in Order to form a more perfect Union, establish Justice, insure domestic Tranquility, provide for the common defence, promote the general Welfare, and secure the Blessings of Liberty to ourselves and our posterity, do ordain and establish this Constitution for the United States of America.”

No where in this preamble does it mention funding health care for anyone–even children. It does not mention social security, food stamps, medicare or prescription drug benefits. In fact, it does not commit government to provide any individual need besides liberty and justice.

It does, however, reference the general welfare and common defence. These are items that concern every citizen of this nation. And this includes defending all citizens from random and savage attacks of radical, hate-filled terrorists.

This same document names the President of the United States the Commander-in-Chief of the military. He is charged with the protection of the entire country from foreign threats. Whether the Democrats like it or not George W. Bush is the elected President of our country and endowed with these constitutional powers. And no matter who wishes to deny it, our country faces a threat from terrorists of various organizations who wish only for our complete destruction.

Most of President Bush’s two terms has been spent guarding against any further attacks on our soil. He has made tough decisions that have included putting our military in harm’s way so that all children here can play, learn and grow without the fear that they will be blown up. Perhaps he, and other Republicans, can be forgiven for feeling that this is a cause less open to partisan debate than insuring 10 million children whose need is questionable.

Comparing money for the S-CHIP program, which is not even a legitimate function of the government, to money needed for national defense, which is one of the primary functions of the federal government is ridiculous. And withholding money from the men and women who are protecting our security and liberty for political revenge is outrageous and irresponsible. Not to mention, it does no good for anybody’s children.

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