veteran's day (usa)

I thank all the veterans and currently active service people who have taken a step that most people in this country have not. There is a need for defense of our country and its' principals. We need to step up to the plate when there is a need. I feel like there was definitely a need to go to war and hunt down Osama Bin Laden in Afghanistan. He was directly related to the attack on the twin towers and Pentagon.



I will qualify this also by saying I am a veteran. I put in 13 years of duty between active Army and nine years of reserve time. My father was in the Air Force for 30 plus years, and my Uncle was career Army. We are a patriotic family. I am tired of being labeled unpatriotic by some factions, simply because I do not support Bush's war in IRAQ. I think the way he got us into that war was illegal and that he will leave office and the war will be a legacy that future presidents will be left to try and clean up.



The reasons for us being in IRAQ are totally revamped on a regular basis. Are we there because they were somehow linked to the terror attacks? Remember the 'war on terror'? Are we there because of weapons of mass destruction? Are we there because Bush wanted revenge for his father not being able to capture Sadam in the first Gulf War? Are we there because of oil? (nudge nudge) If so, why are oil prices constantly rising since we invaded IRAQ? Is it a co-incidence that the administration is completely tied in to oil companies?



There are too many factors in this war that make no sense to me. I don't want to join the conspiracy theorists. History may unravel the connections and we may someday know 'the truth' of what really is going on, but history is written by those who win wars and dominate society, so we may never know.



I hope that future deaths (murders) in Iraq are limited and that somehow we get out of there soon. I don't know how that is going to happen, and I know that the government is also at a loss for what path to take. I hope and pray that our troops come home. I support them wholeheartedly, but can't support the 'why' of the war, since there seems to be no consensus on that anyway.



Happy Veteran's day. Everyone needs to back the troops and know that that doesn't mean you back the war or the reasoning behind it. It is not anti-patriotic to be against the war. Remember the same anti-patriot cries were voiced against the founders of our country as they spoke out about what they felt was the road that we needed to travel.

Love to all,

Rob