Tuesday, June 20, 2006

The right debate at the wrong time

The current debate in Congress about whether and when to remove troops from Iraq is an important one; it’s altogether proper in our democracy for the legislative branch to make its opinion known for the American voters. But with the grisly discovery of the bodies of two American soldiers, I fear that the timing will serve to reinforce the “Black Hawk Down” effect and embolden our enemies.

Here’s Osama Bin Laden deriding America’s fortitude and capacity for sacrifice after we pulled out of Somalia in 1992:

When the Marines landed in the last days of 1992, bin Laden sent in his own soldiers, armed with AK-47's and rocket launchers. Soon, using the techniques they had perfected against the Russians, they were shooting down American helicopters. The gruesome pictures of the body of a young army ranger being dragged naked through the streets by cheering crowds flashed around the world. The yearlong American rescue mission for starving Somalians went from humanitarian effort to quagmire in just three weeks. Another superpower humiliated. Another bin Laden victory.

"After leaving Afghanistan, the Muslim fighters headed for Somalia and prepared for a long battle, thinking that the Americans were like the Russians," bin Laden said. "The youth were surprised at the low morale of the American soldiers and realized more than before that the American soldier was a paper tiger and after a few blows ran in defeat. And America forgot all the hoopla and media propaganda ... about being the world leader and the leader of the New World Order, and after a few blows they forgot about this title and left, dragging their corpses and their shameful defeat."
Al Qaeda is watching to see what Congress does. What kind of message do we want to send to both the Iraqi people and the insurgency?

25 comments:

Robert said...

We never should have invaded Iraq. Bush and the neo-confidence men are to blame, not Muslim spooks like Al Qaeda.

Anonymous said...

Robert is right. We should have let Saddam and his insane sons kill tens of thousands a year, bribe UN officials and officials of governments in France, Germany and Russia with OFF money, wait out the UN sanctions and eventually build nuclear weapons with which to wake up their neighbors in the Middle East.

In fact, we should also pull all police forces from anywhere near robert and trust to the good nature of all those who live around him to leave him alone. Also, we should forget about using government to protect robert or those like him at all. We should never invade criminal gangs or bank robbers or drug cartels.

I suggest robert move to Palestine or Iran or Libya immediately to enjoy the wonderful pleasures of life under *real* governments.

Anonymous said...

As a wise man once said about Osama Bin Laden, "I truly am not that concerned about him."

What kind of message do we want to send to the Iraqi people and the insurgency? A farewell message will do.

Anonymous said...

Anonymous, that is astoundingly pathetic. This war is about more than your hatred of George Bush.

Remember, these same people who are blowing up innocent civilians are, by and large, the same people who ruled Iraq a few years ago, and they weren't shy about making life hell for everyone around them.

There was a human cost for those people to be in power, and there would be a cost if they came into power again. Do you ever take that into account? Your image of Saddam Hussein is much too idealistic.

Anonymous said...

All ya need to know about Iraq:

1) Murtha was CHEERED by the troops and their families back in his district. They largely agree with his position and think he is speaking for them.

http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20060621/ap_on_go_co/murtha_hometown_troops;_ylt=AgHm1SKfl72Esm.A4cWA6I2yFz4D;_ylu=X3oDMTA2Z2szazkxBHNlYwN0bQ--


2) Our Iraqi "friends" are now murdering US GIs and the Pentagon is trying to cover it up. 2 US soldiers said originally to have been killed in an ambush were in fact gunned down by their Iraq patrol partners!

http://www.foxnews.com/story/0,2933,200413,00.html

Anonymous said...

Murtha wasn't cheered by "the" troops -- he was cheered by "some" troops. That story is anecdotal, anyway. If you think the military wants to give up and leave, that's just delusional on its face. Everyone in the armed forces wants to come home, but when the job is done, and evidence abounds that we are making solid progress in that direction.

And the new Iraqi government has been infiltrated by terrorists since Day One -- that is not news. Pvt. Thomas Tucker enlisted voluntarily, well after the war was underway, and accepted the risks, for which we honor him. If you are making the point that war is hell, we already knew that. More evidence that lefties can't be trusted to follow through when a job becomes boring or tedious.

Anonymous said...

The other soldier, Kristian Menchaca, also enlisted in 2005, BTW.

Anonymous said...

The Somalia invasion is such a bad comparison... First of all, most of the troops there felt we shouldn't be there, that's why morality was low. This was BEFORE the Black Hawk down incident, while a majority of Americans still supported us being there, including Democrats. It was actually conservative Republicans who publicly railed against our presence there and demanded our withdrawal as soon as Black Hawk Down happened... it was Republicans who blocked giving our troops the necessary equipment to fight there.... So... were Republicans against our troops in 1993?

And tgk, lefties can't follow through? How about the one time the US has EVER given in to terrorists, when Reagan pulled out of Lebanon after our barracks were bombed there?

And where were the Republicans caring about human lives when Democrats were forcing the Serbs to stop killing Kosovars and Bosnians? Where were the Republicans caring about human lives when we were set to drive the brutal coup-created dictators from Haiti? Where were the Republicans caring about humanity then? You weren't there. All you could say is that we had little or no national interest there. All you could say is we must leave immediately. Yes, you demanded we cut and run! Hell, Republican congressmen even SUED to try to end our bombing in Yugoslavia, WHILE OUR TROOPS WERE IN HARM'S WAY!

Very convenient to say you care now and we don't.... Very convenient...

Anonymous said...

OH, SNAP! Sam just took pwnership of tgk, and kicked his rebut! One of you true believers had better type "tinfoil" or "moonbat" or "Nancy Pelosi," fast!

Anonymous said...

Sam, if Republicans have been weak-willed in dealing with terrorists in the past, that doesn't mean it's OK for you to be, too.

Also, what about those major terrorist attacks that took place during the 90's (about every two years or so), and were never substantively responded to? WTC '93, Khobar Towers, African embassies, etc. Both parties have been guilty of taking a limp-wristed approach to terrorism, but one of the parties has wised up since then.

Re: Bosnia, I supported that operation, and the majority of Republicans did, too. That wasn't directly analogous to Iraq (in one case, we were peacekeepers; in the other, we are the subject of direct attack), but again, if some Repubs have been knock-kneed, then that doesn't mean you should be, too.

Anonymous said...

ativan without prescription how can i order ativan from india - 1mg lorazepam compared 1 mg xanax

Anonymous said...

buy xanax online overnight delivery xanax and alcohol and memory loss - pass hair drug test xanax

Anonymous said...

diazepam no prescription needed diazepam for dogs seizures - valium drug test urine

Anonymous said...

buy alprazolam online without prescription will one xanax show up drug test - best site buy xanax online

Anonymous said...

diazepam for dogs diazepam 2mg what is it used for - what is diazepam 10 mg

Anonymous said...

xanax xanax benefits anxiety - what type of drug is alprazolam (xanax)

Anonymous said...

lorazepam online ativan vs xanax panic disorder - ativan withdrawal chest pain

Anonymous said...

diazepam 10mg buy diazepam usa no prescription - whats the max dose of diazepam

Anonymous said...

buy xanax online no prescription cheap best site buy alprazolam - xanax bars 1 mg

Anonymous said...

buy xanax xanax 1 mg snort - drug interactions tramadol xanax

Anonymous said...

buy soma soma drug history - how to order soma

Anonymous said...

buy soma online somanabolic muscle maximizer mac - soma online texas

Anonymous said...

carisoprodol 350 mg carisoprodol 350 mg sleep - can you buy tickets soma

Anonymous said...

buy soma online no prescription order somatropin online - buy soma legally

Anonymous said...

buy ambien online without prescription ambien side effects migraine - ambien side effects pregnancy