There is a reason why Democrats are not weaker on national security, but in fact are our only hope of improving the rapidly diminishing foreign security situation we face now. There is and on-going tragedy that illustrates this. And then there's Bin-Laden
I am a 43 year old ex-11B. I write this through tear stained eyes, having stared into the abyss in the form of a report on the News Hour on PBS. You think your life sucks? Can you look at the face of a beautiful 9 year old girl or boy who was slowly starving to death? Whose parents were killed in the Packistan earthquake, who is trying his or her best to protect their two year old sibling? Only the sibling is racked with pnumonia, and even a lay person can tell they will die in a few days? I know there has been tragedy in all the years we have inhabitad the planet, but this is all so damn preventable.
I am so close to pulling up from here, and go there and do what ever I can to save as many of those people as I possibly can. But I command no resources. Thanks to my countries piss-pore foreign relations ability, I might not be accepted or might even be killed. All I can do I think is keep going with what I am doing, trying to improve my situation beyond living from paycheck to paycheck. I live like a Spartan with very little excess. I am hoping to improve my situation so I can make a difference.
But imagine what could have been accomplished if the US would have spent 1/100 of what we spend in Iraq each day on relief missions in that region. Imagine the good that 150,000 soldiers with full MASH units and logistical support. How much are they going to get behind Bin Laden when a US infantry unit just saved their whole damn village. Not shot it all to hell, but saved it?
Now here's where a tough hopped-up chickenhawk Republican will think those wacky idealistic librals. Thats why Republicans can't win this war on terror. Having never served, they can't imagine the awsome capibility of our military for good, as well as its more traditional role of killing our fellow man. I am not passing judgement , I am just describing the reality of what is.
Because Republicans are not big picture guys, they can not be trusted to run an extended war on terror. The big picture is this;
If we had held our troops in reserve, and just kept enforcing the no fly zone, while launching a few pot luck missles at Saddem from time to time to pacify the Tom Clancy crowd, they could have beeen used in Afghanistan to secure most of that country, probably in fairly short order. There would have been a lot of money and resources to save that little girl/boy. Can you imagine the intelligence bonanza that would have been. Can you imagine the inroads we could have made in that region. Not the crappy intelligance you get by pulling off fingernails or whatever we do, but good actionable stuff. With expanded presence, we could have run some serious operations instead of the steady depletion of number three guys.
And we would have been the good guys. The world would have known it, those people would have known it, and way down in his dark cave, Ossama would have known it.
Thats called win-win.
As in hearts and minds. Republicans can talk it, but only people capable of empathy can do it. Does this mean Democrats? I would like to think so, but I do know all we can do is try to throw a big-assed wrench into this machine before it grinds us all into dust.
If the current crop isn't wrench enough, then we better get bigger wrenches.
This is not written in attempt to garner any attention. If it gets read by one kossack, then I have my witness. Because I swear before this comunity that I love and respect that I have a new mission, and new reason to be. As long as I live those haunted faces I gazed into tonight will live. And I dedicate all that I am and am destined to be to prevant anything like this tragedy in the greatest degree that I can.
I believe a progressive-driven goverment not beholden to robber-barrons is the best hope to achieve the greatest good. A country that can make Bin-Laden irrelevent by actually being that shining light on the hill. But if I have to pick-up a weapon and defend the innocents with my blood and all that I am, so be it.
Russel Crows charactor in Gladiator, Maximus says it best.
"What we do in life, echos in eternity."