Thursday, August 25, 2005
10:00 pm
Daniel J. Summers
Before I get into this, a side note - Jason Deal, a young man in our church, had a really bad ATV accident last week. He is currently paralyzed, although his back is not severed. Over the next few weeks, the doctors will be able to assess the nerve damage he sustained, and over the next half year, they will know if he will be able to regain any movement. To keep folks informed, his recovery is being blogged at jasondeal.blogspot.com. Take a moment to pray for him and his recovery.
Dear Cindy Sheehan,
First of all, congratulations - you have managed to illustrate everything that is wrong with the anti-war movement in one convenient package. Your pain is understandable, and I am truly sorry that your son was lost in the War on Terror. But, as any good counselor will tell you, there is a constructive way to deal with loss, and there is a destructive way.
Ma'am, your son Casey died as a hero. He was, by all accounts, a great young man who believed in giving of himself for others. I'm sure he learned this ethic while growing up in your home. Would he be happy with your self-serving stand - camping out across the street from the Commander in Chief while he's on vacation? What would he say to you if he could come back and see you trying to turn his selfless act of heroism into a self-aggrandizing vendetta of victimization?
Your demand to meet with the President is quite rich - especially given the fact that you've already met him once. He even kissed you! Back then, you said he was serious about winning the war, and you knew he was a man of faith. What's changed? Besides, you can't really expect him to set a new precedent along the lines of “anyone who comes and camps out across from the ranch can come talk”, do you?
You are letting your grief color your view of what is going on in this world. We are engaged in a global struggle against an enemy that has no qualms about launching a stealth attack on a civilian target whenever they feel like it. Even you, ma'am, are an infidel to them - especially as a divorcee. The enemy sees you as part of the problem - and we who believe that Operation Iraqi Freedom is the right thing to do to protect our nation also see you as part of the problem. This may explain why you've been associating yourself with groups like MoveOn.org.
The true irony in all this is that your son died to protect your freedom to do exactly what you're doing now. Few other countries (and the leaders of those countries) would extend to you the courtesy of allowing your protest at the edge of their personal property. But freedom is a two-edged sword - and this means that I also have the right to tell you that you are doing more harm than good. You've said that the war is not “worth it”, even that this countryis not worth dying for.
And, a word to your supporters, specifically Maureen Dowd. The moral authority of mothers who bury children killed in Iraq is not, as you claim, absolute. Let me explain about children - God blesses you with them, and you have approximately 18 years to instill in them the values that you feel are worth passing from one generation to another. Once they reach that age, though, they become adults. Mothers and fathers are not “sending their kids off to war.” Casey Sheehan, along with every other active duty, reserve, and guard member (a group which includes me), chose to join the military as adults. We pledged to support and defend the Constitution of the United States against all enemies, and to obey the orders of those appointed over us. Each of us has different reasons we made that decision - but, when it comes down to it, we have the integrity and honor to follow through on that commitment.
Ms. Sheehan, please go home. Go home to the children you still have with you. Celebrate the life you have. Celebrate Casey's life, his giving spirit, and the cause for which he chose to risk his life. If this country is distasteful to you, look into Canada, Britain, or Australia. (Or, better yet, look into Cuba, and see how our nation looks then.) Stop allowing anti-war and anti-Bush groups to exploit your loss and our nation's loss. And, finally, stop giving our enemy a morale boost. All of us who are still trying to win this war would greatly appreciate it.
Wednesday, November 10, 2004
11:10 pm
Daniel J. Summers
There is word today from the fight for Fallujah that we have now uncovered a kidnapper's area where they housed, and eventually butchered, innocent civilians. (Story linked here) This is the place we couldn't find back when they were taking what seemed like a hostage a day, in a mostly futile attempt to get nations to pull their troops or businesses out of Iraq.
This makes my blood boil, and I'm tired of skirting the issue. Our pre-election policy on Iraq was driven by what appeared, to the President, to be an unwillingness on some parts of our nation to continue a large push - plus, had he started the Fallujah offensive before the election, he would have been accused of wagging the dog. Thanks to this delay, several people who were not combatants (oil truck drivers, reporters, construction workers) have been kidnapped, their families tortured beyond belief by seeing their loved one on Al-Jazeera, and eventually killed. There has also be a toll we've paid in servicemembers' lives, due to ambushes that have been set up by holdouts in Fallujah.
Those who oppose our troops when they are on the ground are traitors. Debates over what plan to use are valid, but this “wrong war, wrong place, wrong time” rhetoric wasn't intended to spark policy debate - it was intended to pander to anti-war and anti-American people here and abroad, while still trying to pander to those who feel that a strong defense is essential to our national security. Now, we find that if we'd just pressed into Fallujah the way we did in Baghdad, no matter what “sacred” landmarks may be there, we would have denied these kidnappers their capability to carry out these dastardly acts.
Whether you're for or against the war - whether you like or don't like President Bush or Secretary Rumsfeld - it is vitally important that, now that we're there, we don't tie our military's hands, especially with partisan political concerns. The only way out of Iraq that will keep us safe is to go through it - anything less will be seen by the terrorists as “the point” up to which we can be pushed, at which point we'll back down. I'm all for “bringing the troops home” - but not in a way where we'd have to send more over in a few years. Fight on!
By the way - they just came on the news and said that Yassir Arafat has died. That's the best news for peace in Israel we've gotten this century. The man was an avowed terrorist who did nothing but foment hate among his people against the rightful occupants of that land. Let's hope that their next leader will put an end to violent groups such as Hezbollah, and denounce rogue terrorists.
Thursday, August 26, 2004
9:15 pm
Daniel J. Summers
And so little time to say it!
John Kerry - I can't believe that we have an anti-war activist running for President who is actually being taken seriously. I also can't believe that the self-same anti-war activist is running for President on his war record. I guess now that the military is back in vogue, the Democrats like it.
Gov. Jim McGreevey - At least he has more respect for the state of New Jersey that Bill Clinton had for the nation. Although it's now coming out (no pun intended) that the cause is corruption more than his penchant for those of like gender, his stepping down is the right decision. (He is muddying the issue with his “I am a gay American” schtick - that link has a very interesting take on that part of the situation.) I think he should step down immediately, though, rather than his political ploy of not stepping down until after the election.
The Olympics - Go Team USA! And congratulations to all the folks who, through their individual and team accomplishments, have made our country proud. Check out the medal count on NBCOlympics.com.
Swift Boat Veterans for Truth - Keep on keepin' on. McCain-Feingold is unconstitutional, and will be ruled as such by the time the next election rolls around. It's amazing that no one was upset when these 527 groups accused President Bush of poisoning pregnant women (a charge that is repeated on the Democrats' own web site [scroll to the bottom]), but let them use facts to challenge something a Senator says, and now they need to shut up. (Still no call for moveon.org to stop their ads…)
President Bush vs. Catwoman - Sharon Stone recently said that because of President Bush, there wasn't a lesbian kiss between she and Halle Berry in the movie Catwoman. I'm not quite sure I buy that - why would arch-enemies be kissing in the first place? And, if our President could control Hollywood, wouldn't he be using that control to silence the hateful drivel from Michael Moore and his ilk? Sharon Stone has had plenty of opportunities to play oversexed bisexual characters (in fact, wasn't that her first big role, in Basic Instinct?).