In the Wise Words of Twisted Sister - We're Not Gonna take it!

After months (well, a few years, actually) of listening to and enduring the opinions of politicians, editorial writers, news pundits, bloggers, and various and sundry other people express their opinions about the war, I have decided to express MY thoughts for a change. I guess I have earned the right to do so, given the fact I have actually been to some of the places all these so called experts are talking about.

I assume that I will be expressing my views to people that are largely sympathetic to my point of view. So, if you are offended by politically incorrect sentiments, now is your chance to tune this blog out (at least for the day). First off, this is my opinion, and does NOT reflect any official position of the US Army, DOD, or CJTF-HOA. So here we go…..

As all of you might have guessed, I am a supporter of our missions in Afghanistan, Iraq and the Horn of Africa. I truly believe that our cause is a noble and just one, and that this current war represents the biggest struggle our nation has faced since World War II and the Cold War. I have grown sick and tired of politicians on both sides of the aisle bending and twisting the facts of the current world situation to support whatever agenda that they might be pushing. Then of course every somewhat successful actor, reality show star, sports figure or other self appointed expert parrots the arguments they overheard from other equally obtuse anti war pundits. I have a few words of advice for them: SHUT UP. No, really. Please, just SHUT UP. We have heard all the inane, pointless, “America is bad and imperialist…they are only terrorists because of us” argument a thousand times over. I have some advice for you: before you run off at the mouth because you think that your opposition to this war makes you some how super intellectual or makes you feel less guilty about being an American, do a little research (unbiased, please) about the roots of this war before you start talking or writing your opinions.

I have a bit of unsettling news for you politicians out there: This war, will continue on regardless of which group of politicians manages to get their hands on power this upcoming election. And guess what: WE ARE IN IRAQ, SO THE DEBATE ABOUT HOW WE GOT THERE IS COMPLETELY IDIOTIC AND A WASTE OF TIME. The only thing that matters at this point is pulling together and winning this war. Quit sayings it’s unwinnable because you have NO idea what you are talking about. It is such an easy thing to critique this war with a slick, prepared, press release from your PR advisor from the safety of a cushy office in Washington DC as opposed to actually talking with the soldiers, marines, airmen, and sailors who are actually downrange. Just because this war is no easy thing isn’t any reason to give up and leave those who support us in Iraq and Afghanistan to whims and mercy of the radical islamists. Make no mistake, our enemy in this war is willing to strap bombs on their women and children to kill us…they make no distinction between civilian and military targets, and THEY WILL NOT STOP if we withdraw from Iraq and go home. This is not a problem we can negotiate away. Our only option is to defeat the enemy. Period.


I also have strong words for our so called “unbiased media” : I don’t CARE what your opinion is, or if you hate the war and your own country. The whole idea of being a reporter is to completely COVER the story without the interference of the lens that is your opinion. At least take the time to actually research things before you put them into print. All I ask is to report both sides of a story, or at least turn a critical eye toward the press releases of the enemy. You know, the terrorists are pretty good at using you media types as a mouth piece for their propaganda. I suppose that reporting facts, even if they don’t support your particular point of view, is something that modern journalists don’t want to be bothered with. I find it ironic that now that the surge is going full swing and the military’s offensive against the terrorists seems to be making gain, all we get to read about is the daily body count, the contractor scandal, the expense of the war, anything but the tactical success on the battlefield. Why is that, I wonder?

To quote General Sanchez, former Commander in Iraq:

"For some it seems that as long as you get a front-page story, there is little or no regard for the collateral damage that will be caused. Personal reputations sometimes have no value. They report with total impunity, and are rarely held accountable for unethical conduct. Given the near instantaneous ability to report actions on the ground, the responsibility to accurately and truthfully report takes on an unprecedented importance. The speculative and often uninformed initial reporting that characterizes our media appears to be rapidly becoming the standard of the industry.

"Once reported, your assessments become conventional wisdom and nearly impossible to change. Your unwillingness to accurately and prominently correct your mistakes and your agenda-driven biases sometimes contributes to this corrosive environment. All these challenges combined create a media environment that does a tremendous disservice to America, in some instances. Over the course of this war, tactically insignificant events have become strategic defeats for our country because of the tremendous power and impact of the media -- and by extension, you individually, the journalists.

"My assessment is that your profession, to some extent, has strayed from these worthy ethical standards and has allowed external agendas to manipulate what the American public sees on TV, what they read in our newspapers, and what they see and read on the Web. For some of you, just like some of our politicians, the truth is of little to no value if it does not fit your own preconceived notions, biases, or agendas."

We have got to understand that despite what we have been told over the past twenty years or so by the politically correct media, that the US, and indeed Western Civilization, is, in fact, worth defending. I know this because I have seen it firsthand. True, we do in fact have problems in the West. But we got a lot right- and I am convinced beyond any reasonable doubt that the United States and our western allies represent a much brighter future than the alternative presented by radical Islam.