For the sake of a good race for our presidency, I hope she doesn't drop out. I'm not a Edwards fan at all. As long as she doesn't try to get back into the race with dirty politics she will still be my #2 choice. Its hard to believe her money is drying up though...
This message has been edited. Last edited by: Medical_SGT,
Soldiers may doubt what you say, but they will believe what you do.
Posts: 181 | Location: FT. Rucker, AL | Registered: 14 November 2006
Now I remember why I don't go back home to NY much. She came to my college years ago and could not even say the names of the surrounding cities, let alone the name of the college she was at correct!! OH and she did not know how to say Albany, it was Albeany. Guess you have to be from NY to know how to say it and I mean it was not even close...
Hillary wasn't from New York just wanted the NY block vote. Anyone can vote for anyone, their right, but Hillary would be my last choice. If anyone was around during the Bill Clinton years then you can remember little operational budgets, few spare parts, and little too no money for training/NCOES/specialized schools. My amphibious assault battalion we had 25 tracks but only had 15 operational because we had no spare parts and had to strip other tracks to get the parts. Yeah I want to go back to those days. Buy your assault weapons, extra capacity magazines, and specialized ammo, because if the Democrats take the seat then prepare for severe weapons ban. Gun show last week was selling new AK47s in the box, brand new, with 2 magazines, for less than $350.00. People were buying these things as fast as the guy could put them on the table. Not only as a weapon but as a potential investment.
Posts: 213 | Location: 513th MI BDE, Fort Gordon, GA | Registered: 06 July 2006
Any thoughts on Obama saying he plans on pulling out of Iraq in 16 months, granted he wins office? I can't help but feel as if we didn't accomplish much of anything over there. A lot of people died, but when the time comes to pack up and bring our boys back home what will we have to show for it? More over who do we hold accountable for the condition of Iraq when we leave? The Iraqis or the U.S.? It's hard to determine if we did more harm than good over there, as the old saying goes "the road to hell is paved with good intentions." My only regret in knowing that a democrat will almost certainly win office, is that the military will eventually take more of a back seat to what Dem's consider to be "more pressing" issues. Obama just seems like such a nice guy though, don't you all agree? He strikes me as the type of neighbor that cuts the grass between his house and your own so that you don't have to cut so much, you gotta love that.
Obama is a likeable, he has that type character, but his political experience and actual foreign policy and domestic plan is still in doubt? I would rather have a person who lays out their entire ideas than skirting past certain hot topic issues. Obama is seeking the younger voting block, anyone under the age of 50 is his current target audience. But what is his overall plan in the Middle East? All he has stated that he didn't vote for the Iraq situation and he would want to pull out troops as soon as possible. Iraq is a double edge sword, it is far easy to place blame on why, who, what, we are doing over there, but the real question is what will happen when the US troops pull out? Can the U.S. reduce troop strength without causing a internal melt-down of the Iraqi countryside? Whatever President is elected in office, the current and after effects on Iraq will ripple throughout the Middle Eastern region. It is not as simple as give the return orders for US troops and tell the Iraqi people, "hope for the best for you." You do that and you ensure that we will be returning to Iraq again. Your question on if the loss of US servicemembers was worth it? Ask that question and you could get a thousand different answers. My own opinion (merely SFC Mac's voice and no one else), is that the cost of an American life is tragic, but we need to look at what we will loose and what the potential gains would be if we stick it out or just quit. Those who paid the price deserves some kind of resolution. The mission isn't finished and we are still going to be needed over there, the problem won't go away anytime soon. No elected President can afford to just call it quits and let the chips fall. If you do that, then prepare for gas going into the $6 plus a gallon, a sympathetic pro-Iranian supported Iraq, seperation by the Kurds in the Northen region with a bid to secure either by political pressure or force the Mosul, Kirkuk oilfields, Syrian/Saudi Arabia backed influence by the Sunni sect, and a heavily armed Turkish military presence on the Turkey/Iraq border. Things could go from bad to worse in a matter of hours. That is just one of the many "what if's" scenarios I am looking at. But I tend to over-analyze due to the job, but I would rather be completely wrong on this one than right. Much easier to pull the troops home and Iraq lived happy ever after, but having been there twice I think that idea went out the door after we witnessed the mass looting and destruction of Baghdad by Iraqi people. Our fault is not what we did or did not do, but the lack of really understanding the Islamic culture as we crossed the border. Sit down at a tribal meeting with tribal leaders and you'll understand where I am coming from. Frustration and disappointment.
Posts: 213 | Location: 513th MI BDE, Fort Gordon, GA | Registered: 06 July 2006
True indeed, I just never could understand why the burden of the conflict in Iraq falls on the U.S. In retrospect, President Bush and his adminstration seem to have bitten off more than they could chew (too bad for the next President), but we did have supporting nations that played a role in the grand scheme of things. I agree completely with your comment about the not having a firm grasp on the islamic culture before crossing the border. I think if we would have had a better understanding of who these people are and their way of life, a lot of problems could've been avoided. My question at this point is what is our mission? What are we actually trying to accomplish. I've heard so many times, "the job isn't finished" or "we haven't accomplished the mission", what is the mission? Iraqi freedom is becoming an oxymoron, in the sense that the Iraqi people don't seem to want it or that they aren't willing to pay the cost for it. It's like forcing a child to take medicine that you know will make them better, but they refuse because the taste seems worse than being sick. If Iraqi freedom is truely our mission, how long are we expected to fight for it? It strikes a cord with me that the next Commander in Cheif will be left with the mess that our current President is unable to, or perhaps will not remedy. Billions of dollar spent at a rate so rapid that the national deficit has nearly if not quadrupled in a matter of 7 years!!! The next man (or woman)has got more work ahead of them than they can do in two terms. One could imagine the first two years in office are to set plans and solutions in motion, the next two years are for working on a campaign for re-election, if re-elected that President has four years to make something happen! "Now we play the waiting game" : Stewie Griffin of Family Guy.
I am sure that there were many Soldiers asking those type same questions in every conflict where someone had to leave their country, shoulder a weapon, and head into harms way. I spoke to countless WW2, Korea, and Vietnam veterans and heard the same type stories. Especially when it comes to Korea and Vietnam. On the broad geo-political scale anyone can look at the bigger picture and say "what if we did this instead of this." But when the first round goes down range the well organized plan is thrown into the trash can and then it falls on the shoulders of your Senior NCOs, Staff NCOs, NCOs, and front line Officers and Warrants to get back in one piece. A servicemember may have those "why am I here?" questions when you are deployed but then it is much easier to look at your own level and think, "I am here to ensure my Soldiers get back alive and in one piece." That is your mission, that is your goal, that is the final outcome of your deployment. Iraq may go into the toliet, we could face serious fall-back from the whole scence, but as far as what is our overall mission? My mission is getting joes back home.
Posts: 213 | Location: 513th MI BDE, Fort Gordon, GA | Registered: 06 July 2006
Originally posted by 96B40: Hillary wasn't from New York just wanted the NY block vote. Anyone can vote for anyone, their right, but Hillary would be my last choice. If anyone was around during the Bill Clinton years then you can remember little operational budgets, few spare parts, and little too no money for training/NCOES/specialized schools. My amphibious assault battalion we had 25 tracks but only had 15 operational because we had no spare parts and had to strip other tracks to get the parts. Yeah I want to go back to those days.
Some misplaced blame here. The majority of those cuts were initially proposed by then-Secretary of Defense Cheney in the early 90's and then passed by a Republican Congress in the mid-90's.
"What we see from our tower is for us to know and for you to find out."--The S-2
Posts: 304 | Location: Minnesota | Registered: 21 September 2004
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