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Our American message on Nov. 7th should be change the course instead of ‘stay the course’

by Open-Publishing - Sunday 29 October 2006

Wars and conflicts International Governments USA Mary MacElveen

Our American message on Nov. 7th should be change the course instead of ‘stay the course’

By Mary MacElveen

October 29, 2006

In reading this article in which Bush takes on Dems over Iraq, security, one is reminded of Warner Wolf (former CBS sportscaster) whose famous line was “Let’s go to the video tape” Please pay attention to this video tape in which former General Wesley Clarke speaks on behalf of Ned Lamont His words are not to be taken lightly since he has seen what war can do and how it can undermine our very security.

I want you also to pay close attention to this video in which Wesley Clarke endorses Ned Lamont over Lieberman in which he states of Lieberman that he failed “in asking the tough questions” which brought about our invasion of Iraq. Clarke also states that Lieberman that he “can’t seem to say that we should change the course” He also states, “re-elect, Joe Lieberman, well there is a word for it, mistake”

So, who are we to believe? George W. Bush who has never seen a battlefield, knows nothing of fighting a war on the front lines or a man like retired General Wesley Clarke?

If you need further evidence of who will make us safe and secure, one only has to read the words coming from two retired generals in this Salon.com article. Both Maj. Gen. John Batiste and Maj. Gen. Paul Eaton “told Salon in separate interviews that they believe a Democratic victory will help reverse course from what they consider to be a disastrous Bush administration policy in Iraq.” They even called for the resignation of Donald Rumsfeld who Bush stubbornly keeps on in his ‘stay the course’ strategy in Iraq.

Batiste also stated "The best thing that can happen right now is for one or both of our houses to go Democratic so we can have some oversight," Now that is something we haven’t had for quite sometime as this current GOP led congress has rubberstamped Bush’s failed Iraq policy. In this republic, congress is given equal say of how our government operates. They are supposed to be a body of checks and balances. This GOP led congress has failed at checking Bush and acting as a balance when it comes to not only this failed ‘stay the course’ policy, but others that do affect us. Batiste as reported by Salon is a “lifelong Republican” who believes "It is time for a change."

Eaton had this to add "The way out that I see is to hand the House and the Senate to the Democrats and get this thing turned around," He even warned if the GOP stays in power that we will see “two more years of the same if the Republicans stay in power,"

Salon also reports that “100 current members of the military have now joined a campaign formally appealing to Congress to immediately withdraw U.S. forces from Iraq.” These current members are seeing the death and destruction first hand as Bush makes his way to various campaign fundraisers. With the U.S. casualty rate now over 2,800 should the GOP maintain control that count will go even higher. We must not forget that it is the men and women in our armed services that are doing the sacrificing and not the GOP leaders back here in the United States.

Bush stated in a high school gymnasium of a possible Democratic takeover “they will leave before the job is done, and we will not let them." Let’s address this in Bush’s failure to capture Osama bin Laden, he did not finish the job in the correct response to 9/11. Instead of taking on Al Qaeda, he ‘cut and run’ and deployed our troops to Iraq based on lies.

When one looks at the casualty rate of our soldiers Bush continues to use our military as a campaign prop when one reads “Later Saturday in South Carolina, Bush spoke to troops on a tarmac at Charleston Air Force Base, repeating his full-throated defense of his Iraq policy in a speech that was stripped of its earlier partisan jabs. But the appearance created potent images, as Bush, surrounded by troops in camouflage, strode into his audience’s view from between hulking C-17 cargo planes as soaring music blared.” But, has he ever attended one single funeral of a felled soldier? No, he has not. How can he face a family member that has lost a loved one forever?

For those soldiers who will come home forever changed, it is this quote by former Senator Bob Kerry best sums it up “I thought dying for your country was the worst thing that could happen to you. I think killing for your country can be a lot worse. Because that’s the memory that haunts.” How many of our soldiers will come home haunted by nightmares of acts done based upon lies? Many have gone into deep depressions and have taken their lives. How do we as a country help these soldiers? We do so by changing the course.

When Bush said "And we’ve got a lot of brave citizens of ours in the midst of the fight. But we have a plan for victory." Bush knows nothing of bravery since he never entered the battlefield; he stayed home while enlisted in the Texas Air National Guard. There has been some question as to his service in it which I will not go into at this point. What is his plan of victory? Oh yes, ‘stay the course’ Even Rumsfeld has stated in the past we shall be fighting this war on terror for the next 20 years and at this point, I wonder if the citizens of the United States are not suffering from depression and fatigue when it has been only three years since our invasion of Iraq. One does wonder how our country will fair if we ‘stay the course’ for 20 years?

After seeing how our use of depleted uranium affects the most innocent of them all, children, it burned me to read that Bush “cuddled babies” Does ‘stay the course’ mean that more Iraqi children will succumb to the affects of DU?

When Bush stated "Five years after September the 11th, too many Democrats still do not get it," Well this Democrats does get it and has been screaming for five years now of your failure to capture Osama bin Laden. You, Bush promised to capture him “dead or alive” which turned into, “I do not know where he is, he is not important and is not our priority” and I like others are so sick and tired of bringing that up. But, we must. We get the fact that your whole strategy on fighting this war on terrorism has been a complete failure right from the start.

The deaths of over 2,800 members of the armed services is being felt in all 50 states, so this is not a blue state versus red state issue, but an American issue. I think it high time that the electorate in all 50 states sends Bush a message come November 7th, that America craves a new course, instead of ‘stay the course’.

*This column is dedicated to all members of our armed services who have died and continue to serve.

http://www.marymacelveen.com/blog/_archives/2006/10/29/2456861.html

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