[El Blanco]

Originally Posted by mburbank

I disagree. Dieing defending your country is one thing. Dieing in a war of agression is something altogether different.

We're going to have to disagree on that.

By whom?

The country as a whole.

Her goal is to make an attempt to bring the war home to him.

Ya, because all the thousands of prtotestors outside his home and office and around the world, the thousands of hate letters, the TV commentary really don't cover it.

I think forcing him to look her in the eye and acknowledge real tragedy, real people, real blood spilt OR make him refuse might move more give force to the growing anti war sentiment,

I don't want desiscions like this made on emotion.

it might get us out of Iraq faster and maybe a few more kids, both ours and theirs wouldn't die. I think what she wants is for other mothers not to go through what she's going through. It's a protest, and I think it's working.

"here is a crying hysterical woman outside, and I'm goign to let her dictate our foreign policy."

That about sum up what you hope she accomplishes?

And unlike her kids trip to Iraq which once he joined the army he had no choice about,

He chose to join the army. Its no secret they can be deployed to God-knows-where at a moments notice. Do you get to decide everything you do at work?

White guys who think affirmative action cost them their jobs don't have dead kids.

So sending your kids to bed hungry because you can't afford dinner is no big deal. Gotcha.

Relatives of drug dealers doing prison time might get to watch their kids grow up.

And relatives of soldiers already got to see their kids grow up.

Of course, the prisoner may be killed in prison or come out after the few decades a shell of their former self.

Families of all the soldiers who died over seas in a conflict they didn't vote for... I think maybe they can ask. I don't think asking is very big compared to never having grandchildren.

Ask for what? A special privalege that has never been granted. And with damn good reason.

So you see, it's not such a long list.

Sure, when you refuse to acknowledge them.

Just people who've suffered the very worst loss imaginable. I would much rather die than see my kids die. I think most parents would feel the same, even if they think dieing in Iraq is noble. I think Cyndi Sheehan is trying to make the raw horror of war come home in a viceral way to as many people as she possibly can, starting with the commander in cheif.

You think people don't know that war involves death? You think I'm not worried about my cousins over there?

I am, but I know what shit like this is going to do.

Its going to appeal to people's fear and make us weekkneed. Thats going to cause us to half ass these operations and get more people killed in more places. More people like my cousins and more people like her son.

You know whats worse than starting a fight?

Not finishing it.

Like it or not, this fight is on and we are there. By leaving early before there is stability there, we are only going to make the situation worse.

I don't think you want us to just pull up stakes and leave a nice big power vacuum there. Or are you too worried that people will die today?

And yeah. I think it's good that one American Citizen in their suffering has a bully pulpit for a week. She didn't go to Yale, she wasn't born rich, her dad was never president, she's not even Jennifer Anniston and yet through chance and timing she's got the countries ear. If she was selling Amway on her fifteen minutes of fame, I wouldn't think it was so great. But she's not. She's doing what she can to make this war more real to people, hoping against hope it might bring a few more kids home alive than if she did nothing. I think it's better than good. I think it's wonderful.

If she was pissed about why we are there or how we are going about things, ya. But she seems to be pissed because her son died. Thats when she started showing up to protests.

As I said, she has my sympathy and I won't spit a bullshit line like I know how she sfeels, but this is simply the wrong course of action.