5 Years On, And What Is The Only Subject They Got?

Posted By The Wolf

...a body count.  That's the sum total of most of the articles posted this last week.

Seems that they cannot get past this- and no, I'm not counting the 'grateful' articles that seem to be written just to say 'thanks' to those that have given the ultimate sacrifice in their service.  But I will say they have a nice write-up on Maj Olmstead.

No, given the sum total of the articles, all they can do is talk about ''its 5 years, we got 4,000 dead, and we are stuck in Iraq...''. 

For example: The only articles on Monday in my local RMN are about those that have died in the Iraq war.  Coincidence?  I think not- seeing as how the Denver Post, which is run by the same agency, was posting editorials like this one.  It is sad beyond belief when a father equates military service with becoming a drug dealer (and himself being a veteran.)  Yeah, I posted to both of them.  Seems no one around here wants to take me up on my free speaking engagements. 

In the NYT (MTRIH) their blog has been busy trying to make up 'lost time' and coverage in the rest of the rag by posting up numerous stories, again most are melancholy pieces decrying the tragedy of Iraq and service there.  None that I could find, outside FOX, were detailing the changes over time that have occurred that SHOULD be outlined.  Ones that who the evolving nature of this beast of a burden; comparing it say, to the changes from Pearl Harbor to the battle of Midway, just to make a point.  We've got a surprise for our blogging friends over there.  Stay tuned for this one.  Very tuned.

Others have pointed out that every time our press makes such statements, the insurgent media and online campaigns heat up and gain more readership and leverage.  Do you think Jihad Daily News has links to Huffington Post and the NYT?

We cannot give up; we cannot lose faith in those who've sacrificed so much will not have done so in vain.  My wife, who's seen far more horror in her short life than 99.999% of Americans could ever stand, vehemently stands behind the fight, and she's Buddhist, for goodness sake.  (and according to this article, has married very very well, I might add.)  Later this week, I'm off to meet the Marines and SEALs of San Diego, and get an update and some excellent footage on their training.  This, I'm stoked about.  (I'll blog it next week.) 

I cannot say it enough- we are in for one ugly 8 months.  Take this week as but a primer.  But the news is not all bad-  take a look at this one: our friends in the USAF cyber unit are being copied, it seems.

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Comments

[Kath]

Although, of course, we all knew this number was coming, why is it a milestone? Is number 4,000 any more important or any less important than number 399 or number 2,999? What about them? Is there one less heart-wrenching than another? Is there one we don't care about?

No. It just means our suffering is 4,000 times greater.

I hate that any one of them is gone, I hate that all of them are gone. I hate that I can't bring any one of them back.
(I copied my own post, bec. this is what I told Lt. Nixon, too.)

[defendusa]

This kind od BS really pisses me off. It is going to be a shittty eight months. At least we readers know where to go to get the good stuff. (Where can I read about Maj.Olmsted?)

[ooogaboooga]

Less you forget, the war was going to be a "SLAM DUNK".

oh and $40bln was all it was going to cost.

5yrs later, nowhere near done and bazillions down the drain.. yea let's talk about the good.

[Deltabravo]

Yes, oogerbooger, you know the saying... life is what happens while you're planning your future. Wish we could have had an existential trade off there and been able to cart you up the side of the al-Qaeda volcano and throw you into its gaping maw to appease the bastards in exchange for the lives of 4,000 good men and women.

And that bazillions down the drain isn't really down the drain. Do you know anything about money? It got recirculated back into the economy in the form of salaries, material, and taxes. It's only money. But if that's your god, I can see why it matters so much to you when weighed against the suffering caused by terror and extremist violence.

The Saddam part WAS a slam dunk. The rest of it... verified the reason we're there. Ignoring them won't make them go away. Will ignoring you make you go away? Thought not.....

[ooogaboooga]

Ahhh my good friend bravo.. your circular logic fails you.

"They are there" is why we are there. Well of course they are there. WE are there. And if we were in Saudi, they'd be there too. And if we go into Iran, they'll show up there too. You see, our presence drives these forces. Simple as that.

As for the economic boom brought forth by the war. .you've got to be kidding me. Record defecits, declining dollar, roaring oil prices.
But hey, I do own stock in ATK so I've made some nice coin.

[Miss Ladybug]

Guess what the big front-page story is on the Austin American-Statesman today??? Three guesses and the first two don't count :-|

[Deltabravo]

oogieboy, I hate to break the news to you... AQ was in Saudi and Iran and all other kinds of places before 2003. Yes, Iran too. Look it up. They were busy for years while ol Bill used our so-called peace dividend for midnight basketball programs.

Nowhere did I mention an economic boom. I just said the money didn't disappear down your rabbit hole. And I criticized those who make the dollar their god at the expense of more important values. By the way, how much DID 9-11 cost our economy in the end analysis?

My logic isn't circular. But yours is a closed system that does not allow in any information that interferes with your foregone conclusions. I'm done trying to put some sense into you.

[Doninsocal]

At least our brave men and women in uniform have made a choice and are doing a job that is desperately needed and worthwhile.

While every death is a tragedy and I cannot wait for the day we are no longer dependant on oil so we can make that part of the world utterly irrelevant, the media really needs to place the number of lives lost in its proper context.

This is particularly true here in Southern California with the recent murder of Jamiel Shaw (http://michellemalkin.com/2008/03/24/another-illegal-alien-gang-member-doing-the-killing/).

Here are some numbers that you will not hear not see in the mainstream media:

Homicides in LA County since 2001: Over 8,000
Homicides in LA County since 2003: Over 5,500

It would seem as if it is safer in Iraq and Afghanistan then in LA County.

DS

[Cincinnati_Bob]

Deltabravo. No doubt about feeding the Monkeys, let alone sloppin the ooogy hog.

So, how do we measure success in Iraq? Stable government plus self security is how it's been defined I guess. Here are my questions then.
Does the USA have a stable government? Hardly, and it's getting more unstable all the time. What has the federal government accomplished for this country domestically in the last 16 years.
Is the US capable of self security? Yes, but that certainly doesn't mean mass homicide can't happen here, since it has happened multiple times recently in safe shooting zones called colleges and high schools.

So, based on a comparison definition of terms, Iraq is already a success.

We will have a presence there. Smack dab in the middle of the ME. That's an accomplishment. I wonder how long it will take for the robots to figure out that by Al Queerda attacking us on 9-11, under the watch of someone with more than his pecker and bank account on his mind, that their attack resulted in a much larger American presence in the ME. As will any similar future endeavours on their part.

Unless we end up with Obama the white hating, jew hating, American hating half black half white guy who only made about a million last year - the poor little oppressed bastid, or the hildebeast, that pathological lying sociopath from the beautiful hills of Arkansas.

But to the point of the post, I mean honestly, isn't it damn sad that the media do their best impression of Tokyo Rose 365/24 ?
What are they Really upset about? Like if we gave them the power, and the 12.5 trillion GDP of America, what would they actually propose doing with it. What would Ooogy do with the 12.5 trillion a year? Where does money in the USA need to flow from the federal level that it's not flowing? Need to pay some more single mothers to pop out some more kids into fatherless, family-less, unsupervised environments?

Bottom line is they are stupid. You don't need to write a novel or get into any clever explanations or submissions of evidence. They are stupid, and as a bonus, could give a crap less about anyone more than 12 inches away... probably 4 in ooogy's case

[aminnesotamom]

Thank you for a great post! What a shame that people have reduced America's finest to a number, a statistic! They are so much more than that, and more than those people could ever hope to be!

Thank God for our military!

[aminnesotamom]

Here is a link to an article on Maj. Olmstead.

http://www.rockymountainnews.com/news/2008/jan/07/olmsteds-compassion-a-factor-in-his-death/

[stan68ar]

It is sad beyond belief when a father equates military service with becoming a drug dealer (and himself being a veteran.)

As an OIF veteran 2004-2005 I am also a father. My Daughter departs this week with her Reserve unit for OIF. The comment that was made in the editorial regarding a father offering even the notion of a lawless and destructive career choice as a drug dealer underscores the fundamental failing of our society to come to grips with what service to country is all about.