Democratic response part 2 - 1.24.2007.2

Continued from part 1

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Moving on, Senator Webb makes an interesting statement. Senator Webb discusses how his father, his sons, and he were all military men. The Senator served in the Marines during Viet Nam. I respect the service that he and his family have given this nation. The Senator may well have served with my own father. I or others in my family may have served with his children. That has nothing to do with what the President has decided. His patriotic decisions are not in question, nor those of his family. It added no value to his later statements. I say that with respect, as I do respect those decisions.

But the Senator goes on to mention how the American people had leaders that made wise, informed decisions. That our past leaders placed our troops in harm’s way after careful consideration. I have to ask how this is different than what President Bush has done? And I must ask Senator Webb where that trust was during the Viet Nam war, when the liberals of the nation wanted to cut support of the troops and had daily protests, and called our returning soldiers ‘baby killers.’ Perhaps Senator Webb never encountered the massive attacks against our troops and our leader then, but I know for a fact too many others did. How is the position of the Democratic Party today different than the beginnings of what happened during the Viet Nam War? And where is the trust for our leader today?

The Senator further draws on the action in Korea. How that war was ended ‘positively’ as an example of what to do today. Perhaps I view this differently, but what some viewed as a draw then is a huge loss some 50 years later, today. We left Korea, a stalemate. We never finished the war; we had a cease fire and have been there since. Korea is divided into a north and south, there is a huge DMZ, manned by tens of thousands of troops, mines and strategic missiles. How much has that cost our economy? Added to that fact is that North Korea has never stopped preparing to continue to finish the war with America. That has lead to the nuclear weapon test and potential nuclear arsenal, in a nation that hates us and will support anyone that would fight us. This is the positive reaction that Senator Webb referred to as ‘positive’ and seems to state we should emulate.

Senator Webb stated that diplomacy should guide our actions in Iraq, that we should move out soldiers off the streets, but we should not rush to leave. Yet there has been rampant talk by Democrats to cut funding (which I feel is not supporting the troops) and/or to cap the number of troops, and to create a timetable that has our troops home in a year. All of that before the President even mentioned his new plan. That is not trust in our leader. That is not supporting troops. That is leaving, that is what I call running away.

Continued in part 3...