**UPDATE**: I think people misunderstand what I am saying. I have no criticism of what Kossaks say; I have trouble reading about the evils of conservatives that are described here. I don't like to hate, but I am starting to hate the conservatives. And it is because of how they use the military to advance their evil agenda, and see everything through their prism of politics.
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I've been a daily viewer and frequent contributor to Daily Kos. I've tried to contribute information from what I believe is an unusual perspective -- former member of the Army Special Forces Operational Detachment-Alpha 585 and a current police officer dealing with sex crimes against children. I've enjoyed conversations and debates with those who take this site seriously.
But -- I think I've been broken. People here know everything about what the conservatives do, and have been superb about chronicling their hatefulness. I have had so much trouble over the years watching the conservatives spew their hatred for those who disagree with them, use false patriotism as a weapon, treat the poor and needy and uneducated like so much sh*t on their shoes, and proclaim the need for endless, endless tax cuts for those least deserve it.
Then, we kill Bin Laden, one of those moments that should have unified the nation. There should have been congratulations to Obama and his national security team for getting it done. Instead, it devolved rapidly into a despicable "he didn't do anything, we deserve the credit" chant from the conservatives. And it broke my heart.
I don't think I can come here anymore, because if I don't, I won't be confronted so often by conservatives's lies and and selfishness. The MSM ignores it; I can stop the emerging hatred I have for them. I can go back to my wife and kids, without railing about the latest conservative outrage of the day chronicled here.
I don't want to leave... but I don't know if I can take reading about the evil of conservatives anymore.
When my team -- known as an ODA or A-Team -- was inserted in Dasht-e Qaleh in late October, 2001, there were no conservatives and liberals. We knew we had different political beliefs and we did not care. Nor do we now. There weren't many of us, but we all shared a love for this country, one that extended to a love for its citizens -- black and brown, white and Asian, men and women, gay and straight -- even among those who didn't always understand these multitudinous differences. And we had a love for each other. Each of us would have sacrificed ourselves to save another member of the team.
We worked hard to win over the local Northern Alliance commander who we were there to help. We were at the front lines with the Taliban and eventually overran them, giving us the ability to move forward toward the critical town of Konduz.
Every day, all of us knew we could die. But that was our job. For all of us, the goal was the same -- cripple the Taliban, destroy al Qaeda and kill Bin Laden. People like Yoo and company may come out lying that somehow Obama ordered for Bin Laden to be killed out of some liberal conspiracy, but they are either lying or stupid. All of us were operating under orders to kill Bin Laden, even if he appeared unarmed. We had the intelligence that he was booby-trapped -- either himself or his area -- and that he always had to be considered a threat, unless he was incapacitated beyond dispute. Protecting our lives was issue one, not some political gamesmanship.
We never heard what was going on back in the United States -- those things that were supposedly going to destroy our morale. I'm not sure how I would have felt at the time, but I know that, in the aftermath, I was proud to hear both the criticism of tactics and of the war, and ashamed to hear that our "morale" was used as an excuse to shut down criticism. I didn't agree with the criticism -- unlike in Iraq, I think the initial strategy for Afghanistan was correct, and I believed, and still believe, in the original justification for that conflict. But I also knew that, in Americawe were fighting for a unique country, one that celebrated differences of opinion and the ability to express it. And the conservatives wanted everyone to shut up.
Plus, no one ever criticized us. No matter how deep the anger at the war, critics would always add their statements complimenting us. And we didn't need to hear any more than that. Whatever the critics said, we knew that these were statements given not out of "hatred" of America, but for a love by those who wanted the country to stand for the best.
Had we killed Bin Laden, we -- and the Bush Administration -- would have deserved every plaudit sent our way. Even though I never voted for the man, I would have been proud of my president.
But Bush got lost along the way. What should have been a war on al Qaeda somehow became a war on terrorism; what should have been a commitment of all resources to Afghanistan became an almost after-thought as they built up in Kuwait. We could have gotten Bin Laden at Tora Bora (I wasn't there, but I know folks who were.) They had him nailed down within a five mile radius. All we needed was a Ranger battalion near the Pakistani border. But Washington wouldn't do it. They took their eye off the ball. They were focusing on Saddam.
When Obama came into office (based on what i have read...I was out of the military by then) he returned the focus to al Qaeda, where it should have always been. He exhibited strength by saying that he would go into Pakistan to get him, while the Repubs fumbled around, saying they would not.
The attack he executed was exactly correct. A small unit of Navy Seals (or, if not, an A-Team) was the only way to attack. A large force -- and I'm not even sure what the conservative critics who say there should have been a large force are talking about, the problem that exists when people who know nothing about the military talk about strategy -- would have been a disaster. An aerial strike would have killed indiscriminately. Obama did it right, got the bad guys, and didn't lost a single man.
Then, the republicans attack and attack and attack. He should have done it differently, he didn't do anything, Bush did it, he made it too much about him and -- oh yeah, thanks to the troops for getting Bin Laden.
As someone who helped hunt for Bin Laden, I've go to say -- you are crushing my morale. So many soldiers gave up their lives to accomplish what Obama has just accomplished. And none of these conservative critics care. They don't think about the blood we shed, the horrors we saw. They don't think about the pride we have in our president. Because...They. Just. Don't. Care.
And I read the next outrageous criticism and the next and the next on Daily Kos. And at night, I give a call to my best friend from our division. And we talk about how ugly it all is, the disservice being done to our nation and our fighting men and women. And it crushes me.
So, I ask. Please help me. Tell me why I should stay. I cannot read evil after evil spewed by the Republicans, without my heart breaking.
I just don't know if I can do this anymore.