Post #8

I read the news the other day about another American soldier killed in Iraq. What caught my eye was that this soldier left behind a two-week-old daughter, a daughter he will obviously never know. Will George W. Bush have the decency to escort the girl down the aisle on her wedding day? What would he say?

The answer to the first question is, I’d think, a BIG “no.” But I’m sure that many “Bushies” would object that the first question is unfair, that no President should be asked to do that. Oh, really?

Toward the end of WW II, as President Franklin D. Roosevelt was touring Army hospitals full of amputees and other disabled soldiers, he appeared in his wheelchair – his handicap was a carefully guarded secret – to let the soldiers know that their lives weren’t over, there were still contributions to be made. Ronald Reagan was well-known for his personal, hand-written notes in times of tragedy. I doubt that Bush has that much character.

But suppose a frail Bush in his 80s did escort the soldier’s daughter down the aisle on her wedding day? What would he say? The girl’s father missed her first steps, her first day of school, her prom, her graduation. How could Bush justify her father’s death as not being in vain?

The obvious first justification is that there were no major terror attacks on American soil – until Democrats started sniping. Well, that’s assuming that there will be a major attack sometime in the future. But let’s look at what has worked in the war on terror:
1. Intelligence. By the very nature of intelligence work, we will never know for sure the hard work and the brain-power that went into our safety – of course, some of it no doubt has been pure luck. But, considering human nature, as we get farther away from 9/11, the focus will lesson. In many ways, the war on terror is a race against time. Can we convince those who want to do us harm that there is a better way BEFORE they do us more harm?
2. Fighting “over there” in the hills of Afghanistan. Our successes have yielded much valuable information. Al-Qaeda, as a terrorist organization capable of harming us “over here,” is finished. However, by not cutting the head off the snake, we have insured that Al-Qaeda’s spirit will live on. Indeed, our next big threat, according to the Pentagon, is home-grown terrorists who sympathize with Al-Qaeda.

What has not worked is our diversion into Iraq. We didn’t finish in Afghanistan, and we set up a new breeding ground for terrorists.

Perhaps Bush can convince the girl that just being a soldier and providing for his family is honorable thing. But Damn… that Iraq mess….