I Love a Man in a Uniform

Brief update, then a rant.

This weekend I'm going to go fishing on the Choptank in Maryland with my Dad for Father's Day. Should be a blast. He doesn't know about the new truck yet, so, he's expecting to drive. I'm going to surprise him with the truck, and then do the driving for a change. He'll be the one to get to sleep on the ride.

The old boy needs his sleep.

Now, the rant. I was just thinking about the US involvement in Iraq and the people screaming to pull the troops out and them equating it to Vietnam. I'm not bringing politics into this, or the reasons for the wars, just looking at the current events and the responsibilities of the US.

1. Iraq - The US invaded. We removed the existing government from power. In Vietnam, the US entered into an existing warzone to assist an existing government.


2. When the US pulled out of Vietnam, it was left in the hands of the existing government to continue the war. There was a standing local military. There was an established local government. In Iraq, neither of these exist. The government is a fledgling affair. The military was dismembered and is in the process of being rebuilt.


3. Vietnam was a fight between ideologies. Communism versus Capitalism. Dictatorship versus Democracy. In Iraq, now, it's Order versus Chaos. If the US withdrew now, there is no order of any kind, other than Mob Rule. The presense of foreign troops in Iraq, at this point in time, is the only thing preventing an all out civil war, resulting in who knows how much human misery and death.

Now, as I said, I'm not getting into politics here and I'm not playing the blame game. The reasons for getting into Iraq have absolutely nothing to do with if we should remain there anymore! We are the authority there. We are the occupying force. Its not so much a political mission, anymore, as it is a humanitarian mission.

I'm sure someone will point out the thousands of Iraqi's who have been killed during the unrest and the 2000+ US soldiers killed since the beginning of hostilities and say "Does this look like its not a civil war?"

Imagine if foreign troops weren't there? At least they are there to try to keep a lid on the turmoil. If they left, how many shiites will be killed by sunnis? How many sunnis will be killed by shiites? How about the kurds?

It is my opinion that the US should remain in Iraq until a standing military is built with a stable government. That is the mandate. That's the "official" reason for us being there. Remove Saddam Hussein. Install a democratically elected government. Ensure stability.

I expect the US to be there for several years.

For those who are screaming for peace, many are blinded by their own grief for killed and maimed US soldiers. Perhaps the US shouldn't have been there in the first place, but you can't change the past. The US is there. It's a fact. We're the Law of the Land.

Think of the families of Iraqis that are being protected by our troops. Think of the humanitarian cause that they are fulfilling.

The most precious thing to a soldier is peace. They're willing to fight for it.