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Afghanistan War

Thank The Troops By Bringing Them Home

Nov 28th, 2009
by Tom.
1 comment

Re:  Jon Soltz: Thanks… Again And Again And Again, Posted by Jon Soltz, Co-Founder of VoteVets.org, served as a Captain in Operation Iraqi Freedom, Posted: November 26, 2009 08:22 AM

End the wars

Jon was speaking of the many TV commercials Thursday, Thanksgiving day that thanked the troops.

At the same time, I can’t help but think that some young grunt is watching these videos for maybe the fourth or fifth time from a TV that the USO set up in the warzone. And, while he’ll strap on his rifle and go whenever called, part of him is thinking “How many more Thanksgivings am I going to have to watch these videos from over here? If you want to thank me, let me eat some turkey at home. Let me see my girlfriend and parents and friends for more than just short stints at home. Don’t you have someone who can rotate in here for me so I can stop doing these tours for a while?”

This is my point in my previous post, It’s President Obama, Not McCain, or McMorris Rodgers, I stated:

We have been undulated with calls to help military families since Bush led the invasion of Afghanistan back in 2001, and then turned the nation toward a straw bogy-man, illegally, in Iraq. I support helping military families being a veteran myself, an Army retiree, and with a service member in our family who completed a tour in Iraq a short time ago. But, this smacks of wrapping a political agenda inside the flag. She says nothing about the deep scars that may be left for decades to come inside our military and their families due to continual wars that were began by the right-wing and the repetitive rotations in and out of the theater of operations. Yes, let’s support them while they are called up once again and let’s enable them to be called over and over because of that support.

The point is that it is starting to sound more like McCarthyism-type raving and not as sincere as in years past. It is almost like a futuristic movie where “Big Brother” propaganda continually plays on huge TV screens at city street intersections, “Thank the Troops, Thank the Troops”. What is really meant is “Support the War, Support the War”.

This propaganda campaign is very effective at delaying the end and subsequently ensuring more profits for arms manufacturers. The more we support and thank the troops publically, the more we propel the propaganda and enable even more war. There should be commercials on TV during Thanksgiving Day football that states, let’s really help the troops and end the war. Soltz was appreciative of the good wishes for the troops, but added, “But at a certain point, for those there for yet another holiday, the thanks start to ring a bit more hollow.”

We need to hurry and get to an end state that can be an acceptable/tolerable status quo, then leave both Afghanistan and Iraq for good. It is time we get fed up with war.

Get hold of your State’s Congressional delegation and tell them to bring our boys and girls home. Give them some rest and relaxation. Our forces are stretched to the breaking point. If something happened on our mainland, there would not be sufficient forces to deal with that contingency. Let them defend our country from here – a strategic military maneuver.

If you really want to thank the troops, then end the war.

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A Second Look | Jon Soltz: Obama Got Afghanistan/Pakistan Right

Mar 28th, 2009
by Tom.
No comments yet

via Jon Soltz: Obama Got Afghanistan/Pakistan Right.

John Soltz, Co-Founder of VoteVets.org, served as a Captain in Operation Iraqi Freedom

For those of us who fought in Afghanistan and Iraq, it was extremely important that the new president get the situation in Afghanistan right. Not just for America’s security, but for those troops still in Afghanistan, and those heading to Afghanistan to put their lives on the line in the war. With today’s announcement, President Obama has shown that he “gets it.” That’s why we at VoteVets.org are supporting the plan with a petition, which you can sign on to, right here.

There’s a lot to like about the plan. But, there are three key things I’m particularly focused on, that represent a stark departure from the previous administration. They show that this president not only has reasonable goals in the region, but a good idea of what it will take to get there.

Read his three key things here.

If John Soltz is happy with this then forget how you feel about escalation and trust the plan. Soltz has been there and seen first hand on the ground how a multifaceted plan that includes local diplomacy can succeed. We all saw it in Iraq in Anbar Province when the Army took it on themselves to negotiate with the locals. We called it the Anbar Awakening, but it was closer to the Anbar Payoff. What worked there was not the “surge”, but a steady influx of cash. Poverty is the friend of the anarchists and Obama gets it that the Afghan solution has to have an economic part to it. So I salute John Soltz, again, and wish him, and our great President all the best.

President Obama:

“There is an uncompromising core of the Taliban. They must be met with force, and they must be defeated. But there are also those who have taken up arms because of coercion, or simply for a price. These Afghans must have the option to choose a different course. That is why we will work with local leaders, the Afghan government, and international partners to have a reconciliation process in every province. As their ranks dwindle, an enemy that has nothing to offer the Afghan people but terror and repression must be further isolated. And we will continue to support the basic human rights of all Afghans – including women and girls.”

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