IN MY OPINION Isaac Staley

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MidasKnight

MidasKnight

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Apr 24, 2004
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The Oregonian

IN MY OPINION Isaac Staley
Thursday, November 04, 2004

HERE IN IRAQ WE HAVE STARTED THE PROCESS OF FREEDOM. BLOOD HAS BEEN SHED, SWEAT AND TEARS HAVE FALLEN INTO THE SAND, SETTING THE FOUNDATION FOR A NEWLY FREE PEOPLE.

Rembering who we are and what we're fighting for in Iraq


To the schoolchildren of Oregon:

Home feels far away over here in Iraq, and with the day-in-and-day-out grind we sometimes lose sight of what we are doing and why.

Soldiers in my unit have received thousands of letters from children all across Oregon, and we greatly appreciate their time and the consideration that they've shown to all of us serving abroad. The letters do wonders for my morale, as they do for all who read them. They bring back into focus who we are and what we are doing, and that there are people who appreciate our service.

I wish all of America could be as innocently devoted to us as you children are. For this, I thank you.

Many Americans have lost sight of how we became such a great country. Many people suffered great hardships to come to America to be free. Free to worship God. Free to have opinions. Free to live and work wherever they felt inside the borders of our great land.

But this did not come without a price. The price was the sweat and blood of the ones who thought it worth giving their own lives and property, their own freedom for someone else's, especially their children's.

Our freedom has not been asked for or granted. It has been won. But not all people are willing or able to fight for their own freedom. Every day there are very real threats to the people of America and to others who fight for them. Most of these threats you will never know about, thanks to the military and other security personnel who give up their lives so that we can be free.

Now here in Iraq we have started the process of freedom. Blood has been shed, sweat and tears have fallen into the sand, setting the foundation for a newly free people. Will America free the whole world? Probably not. But for the people who cry out "free us," we will listen and gather together the strong, the brave and the willing. We will unite in arms giving back to what our creator gave us -- freedom.

So when you look around and see people buying and selling, reading and writing, coming and going, polling and voting, serving and protesting, remember that freedom isn't free.

Pfc. Isaac Staley of Springfield is stationed in Baghdad with the Oregon Army National Guard's 2nd Battalion, 162nd Infantry from Eugene.


:beer:
 
C

conjur

No Lifer
Jun 7, 2001
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What Pfc. Isaac Staley of Springfield has conveniently forgotten is that the invasion of Iraq was not predicated on spreading freedom to Iraq. The justification was solely the known stockpiles of WMDs.
 
jpeyton

jpeyton

Moderator in SFF, Notebooks, Pre-Built/Barebones
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Aug 23, 2003
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Yeah, I read this BS in yesterday's Oregonian.

Hey look at me, I'm in the military and I'm unbiased. Weeeeeee! :roll:

:thumbsup: what conjur said. The military is doing nothing to protect our country over there in Iraq, and everything to clean up the mess GWB created. Way to go!
 
Vic

Vic

Elite Member
Jun 12, 2001
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While I appreciate Pfc. Staley's service to our country (and his altruism), I feel I should point out that there is a very big difference between a people fighting to acheive their own freedom (as happened in the US), and for a people to fight to acheive freedom for another people (as is happening in Iraq). The former has a much greater tendency for stability than the latter.
 
MidasKnight

MidasKnight

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The 3 main reasons:

Publicly Bush and Blair have advanced three reasons for going to war with Iraq and ousting Saddam Hussein:

(1) to eliminate Saddam's WMD arsenals as they are a threat to themselves and their friends

(2) to diminish the threat of ?international terrorism

(3) to ?promote democracy? in Iraq and the surrounding areas.
 
I

Infohawk

Lifer
Jan 12, 2002
17,844
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Originally posted by: MidasKnight
The 3 main reasons:

Publicly Bush and Blair have advanced three reasons for going to war with Iraq and ousting Saddam Hussein:

(1) to eliminate Saddam's WMD arsenals as they are a threat to themselves and their friends

(2) to diminish the threat of ?international terrorism

(3) to ?promote democracy? in Iraq and the surrounding areas.
Click to expand...


Was this before or after they realized there were no WMDs?
 
jpeyton

jpeyton

Moderator in SFF, Notebooks, Pre-Built/Barebones
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Aug 23, 2003
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Originally posted by: Infohawk
Originally posted by: MidasKnight
The 3 main reasons:

Publicly Bush and Blair have advanced three reasons for going to war with Iraq and ousting Saddam Hussein:

(1) to eliminate Saddam's WMD arsenals as they are a threat to themselves and their friends

(2) to diminish the threat of ?international terrorism

(3) to ?promote democracy? in Iraq and the surrounding areas.
Click to expand...


Was this before or after they realized there were no WMDs?
Click to expand...

The only pre-war reason was #1. The only argument used to convince Congress and the American people was #1. #2 and #3 came out of the woodwork once America realized they were lied to.
 
C

conjur

No Lifer
Jun 7, 2001
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Originally posted by: MidasKnight
The justification was solely the known stockpiles of WMDs.
Click to expand...

Wrong.
Click to expand...
Uh....no. That was the only justification given for an invasion. Powell said so as did Wolfowitz.


Powell's full testimony before the Senate Foreign Relations Committee on 9/26/2002:
http://www.iraqwatch.org/gover...c-afternoon-092602.htm
SEN. PAUL SARBANES (D-MD): Thank you, Mr. Chairman.

MS. : (Aside.) Thank you, Senator (Rockefeller ?). (Laughter.)

Mr. Secretary, I'm looking at pages 2 and 3 of your statement. Is the United States prepared to go to war against Iraq if it engages in illicit trade outside the oil-for-food program that's been established by the U.N.?

SEC. POWELL: The principal concern that we have are weapons of mass destruction, and the principal focus of the U.N. resolutions are weapons of mass destructions (sic), and that's what the inspection regime was trying to uncover and destroy. At the same time, however, Iraq is in violation of many other provisions, and --

SEN. SARBANES: (Inaudible) -- I'm looking at -- I'm looking at your statement, and you say, "What Iraq must do to repair this breach."

SEC. POWELL: Right.

SEN. SARBANES: And I'm trying to section this out. You list five things. The first, of course, is the removal of all weapons of mass destruction, but I want to go to the others. Are we prepared to go to war --

SEN. BIDEN: (Aside.) We still have a vote at 3:45.

SEN. SARBANES: -- to make sure they comply with U.N. resolutions on illicit trade outside the oil-for-food program? You got it listed here.

SEC. POWELL: I got it listed as one of a number of issues that they are in material breach of. I don't think I linked going to war to any of them or any combination of them.

SEN. SARBANES: Well, you say "What they must do."

SEC. POWELL: Right.

SEN. SARBANES: So they must do that or otherwise, we're prepared to move against them?

SEC. POWELL: That's -- I don't think I said that, Senator.

SEN. SARBANES: Okay, but what about --

SEC. POWELL: I'm saying -- I'm identifying, if I may -- I'm identifying the specific U.N. resolutions that they're in violation of, and under U.N. resolutions, they are supposed to comply with those resolutions. They have the force of international law.

SEN. SARBANES: Well, you say, "If these demands on Iraq sound like regime change, then so be it." Will we go -- will we take military action or go to war in order to make them release or account for all Gulf War personnel whose fate is still unknown? Would we do that?

SEC. POWELL: I think the operating clause in that that is of the greatest concern is the one having to do with weapons of mass destruction. It is unlikely that any of the others individually would lead to that kind of consequence.

SEN. SARBANES: So if you just -- I mean, if they did that, that would -- that's the one towards which war is directed.

SEC. POWELL: I think what we have to do -- no, I don't want to make that connection, Senator. I think what we have to do is look at their total response to these resolutions.

SEN. SARBANES: (Inaudible) --

SEC. POWELL: And the resolution of greatest concern, the issue of greatest concern are the weapons of mass destruction. Which is why in 1998, both the United States Congress and the previous administration made that the policy of the United States government.

SEN. SARBANES: Why are you listing all these things? If the mass -- if the weapons is the thing, shouldn't we -- do you want authority to use military force again Iraq from the Congress in order to make them comply with U.N. resolutions on illicit trade outside the oil-for-food program? Do you want that authority?

SEC. POWELL: The principal reason for the authority is for the president to do what he needs to do to focus on the principal offense that he has been presenting to the nation, and that is weapons of mass destruction. The rest of those elements --

SEN. SARBANES: Fine. All right. Now, I want to take you through the rest of them. Do you want authority to go to war in order to accomplish compliance with those resolutions --

SEC. POWELL: The president hasn't asked for any authority -- the president has not linked authority to go to war to any of the elements.
Click to expand...


Excerpts from the Press Gaggle by Ari Fleischer September 26, 2002
http://www.whitehouse.gov/info...q/excerpts_sept26.html
QUESTION: Yes, let me come back to the al Qaeda connection. So, Condi is saying that these contacts go back more than a decade; that they are continual, they are ongoing; they're involved in Baghdad, they're involved in chemical and biological weapons training. But still no evidence of a connection between Iraq and 9/11?

MR. FLEISCHER: That's correct.
Click to expand...
 
Don Vito Corleone

Don Vito Corleone

Elite
Feb 10, 2000
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I wouldn't pick on PFC Staley, who is, after all, a patriot, and endangering his life in Iraq.

I know what he means about the letters from children. I have a good friend who's an elementary school teacher, and when I deployed after 9/11 (to an environment much less hostile than where PFC Staley works), they sent innumerable cards and letters calling me a hero, and thanking me for my service. When I went to speak to the class they asked me to sign autographs. It made me want to cry, and I knew I didn't deserve it.

IMO GIs in Iraq, like PFC Staley are pretty heavily invested psychologically in the notion that they are making the world a better place, because the alternative is to adopt the view they are getting shot and and blown up for no particularly sound reason. Frankly I think both things are probably true.

The war in Iraq was not sold on the basis that we would make the world safer for Iraqis, at least not primarily. We were told it was an integral part of the war on terror, and that Iraq had WMDs that would be brought to bear against the US unless we took action. None of that was true as far as I can see.

At the end of the day, I hope we do good in Iraq, and that we leave it better than we found it, because if we don't, we and the world have paid a terrible, astronomical price for nothing. I hope PFC Staley is right in that respect.
 
W

Wag

Diamond Member
Jul 21, 2000
8,288
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The American people seem not to care what the truth is, so why should it matter?

The only thing that matters now is cleaning up the mess. Are we going to win freedom for the Iraqis? If the French invaded the US during the Revolutionary War and gained us our freedom, would we care?
 
P

piasabird

Lifer
Feb 6, 2002
17,168
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I am not so sure there were no weapons of Mass Destruction. I think the Russians were to blame for those weapons or the means to make the weapons being missing.
 
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