[FONT="]This is from my CF blog:
Will This Generation Of Americans Forsake Our Allies?
The pain was almost unbearable, but the young man continued to run. With each breath, his lungs were met with a sharp pain and a stinging sensation. Although fit for a sixteen year-old, he was on the brink of exhaustionworn out completely, physically depleted, and on the verge of collapse. There was no stopping though, the attack-helicopter had him in its sights, and was firing in his direction.
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[FONT="]All around the young man, chaos abounddead bodies were disseminated throughout the street. Women, kids, and men alike; all strewn about and scattered in pieces, like left-over and unwanted parts that can be found spread around the floor of a meat factory. Saddam ordered his Republican Guard to suppress the people with massive force, and they showed no restraint.
[/FONT]
No mercy was shown to anyone, especially the men. While running from the helicopter full of Republican Guard, the sixteen year-old boy passed scene upon scene of evil acts and cruelty being committed against his neighbors. Rounding a street corner, the young Kurds hope of escape became dashed. He wound up in the sights of another attack-copter, and found his tired, exhausted and fatigued body, being violently struck with 50mm rounds.
[FONT="]When we abandoned the Iraqis after the Persian Gulf War, events like this played out across the country. A report by Human Rights Watch states In their attempts to retake cities, and after consolidating control, loyalist forces killed thousands of unarmed civilians by firing indiscriminately into residential areas; executing young people on the streets, in homes and in hospitals; rounding up suspects, especially young men, during house-to-house searches, and arresting them without charge or shooting them en masse; and using helicopters to attack unarmed civilians as they fled the cities.
[/FONT] After persuading the Iraqi population to rise up against Saddam Hussein, America forsook and deserted the people of this uprisingthat we helped foment. Thousands of Iraqis were murdered in the streets, and millions were forced to flee their homes, becoming refugees in neighboring countries. Now fifteen years later, we have a segment of the American population, who are advocating that we forsake these very same people, yet again.
[FONT="]America[FONT="] cannot, and must not, withdraw from Iraq until the people of Iraqwithout a doubtare able to defend themselves. If we fail to meet this responsibility, the repercussions will have devastating affects not only in America, but around the world. The United States has a duty and an obligation, to protect the people of Iraq and leave them with a country that can defend itself.
[/FONT][/FONT] In fact, under the Geneva Convention, the US has a legal obligation to make this happen. Parts I through IV, of Convention IV, state that as on occupying force we have a duty to protect the citizens of Iraq in a time of war, and against certain consequences of war. We have no alternative but to protect the people of Iraq, until theyre able to defend themselves.
[FONT="]America[FONT="] also has a moral obligation to hand over a safe and secure Iraq, to the Iraqi people. The United States chose to invade Iraq. A USA Today poll from March of 2003the month the war beganshows that 76% of Americans supported going into Iraq. In October of 2002, the Senate voted 77-23 in favor of going to war with Iraq. The House of Representatives voted 296-133 in support of it.
[/FONT][/FONT]Although its not popular now, we-- as a country-- made the decision to go to war with Iraq. There is disagreement on why we got into this war, how we got into this war, and whether or not we should have got into this war. But the fact remains, we are in this war and we need to win this war. The credibility of our country, our nation, and we as a people, is on the line.
[FONT="]We must show patience with the Iraqi people. The Center Of Military History, under the United States Army, says that post World War II we occupied Japan for six years, and Germany for nearly eleven. Sixty years later, we still have troops in both countries. We spent six years occupying Japan and eleven in Germany, and that was without the threat of international terrorism.
[/FONT] In Iraq we have terroristsby the hundreds, possibly thousandscrossing the Iranian and Syrian border everyday. With this threat, we cannot expect the occupation of Iraq to end quickly, nor easily. We cant expect a bunch of trainee-soldiers to secure their country, if the worlds most powerful military cant. We must take as much time as necessary, to create a safe and secure Iraq. Because the occupation of Iraq isnt going well, various politicians and media personalities are equating Iraq with Vietnam.
Imagine a little girl, roughly six years-old, standing inside her modest home. The makeshift walls of this home are made of bamboo chutes, sticks, and straw. The roof mirrors that of the walls, but made with lighter and smaller sticks and chutes. The dirt floor is damp, wet in spots, as the roof didnt provide much shelter from the previous nights rain.
[FONT="]The girl watches in horror as two soldiers of the Khmer Rouge, who have just stormed this modest home, rape her mother. Three of her brothers, lay dead on the groundwith two of them beheaded. A third soldier tightens an iron collar that has been placed around her fathers neck. The spinal column at the base of his brain snaps, he falls to the ground dead
[/FONT]When America abandoned our allies in Southeast Asia, scenes like this played out across Indochina. When we turned our backs on the South Vietnamese, Communists swept through Vietnam, Laos and Cambodia. People were forced to watch as family members were decapitated or garroted, students were made to hang their teachers, millions were slaughtered and hundreds of thousands died at sea while trying to escape.
[FONT="]To quote columnist David Warren, If Iraq is abandoned, the credibility of America and the West is lost. Iran's hopes of regional hegemony are assured. The Americans will have cut and run after enduring less than one-twentieth of the casualties they suffered in Vietnam; and from a battle more consequential, for it is against an Islamist enemy that is rising, instead of a Communist enemy in decline.
[FONT="]If we give up, discontinue, or withdraw from Iraq, it surely will be reminiscent of Vietnam. We will have once again abandoned an ally, this time leaving their fate in the hands of barbariansterrorist who saw off heads, rape and torture. The blood of millions of Iraqis will be on our hands. For an accurate portrayal of what Iraq would like look like if we dont win, one simply needs to look at Afghanistan.
[/FONT][/FONT]Afghanistan is a prime example of what happens when a super-power withdraws from a fundamentalist, Islamic enemy. The later half of the century witnessed the Cold War between the worlds two super-powersthe United States and the Soviet Union. In 1979 the Soviets invaded Afghanistan, in what would turn out to be a decade-long war with the Afghans.
Due to the American triumph over the Soviets, and the subsequent break-up of the USSR, the Soviets withdrew from Afghanistan without a victory. Arab fighters from all over the Middle East had come to Afghanistan, to fight the Soviets. Upon the Soviets withdraw, many of these battle-hardened militants went on to change the face of Afghanistan, and terrorism as the world knew it.
[FONT="]A group called the Taliban took control and ruled the country. Once in power, the Taliban instituted a form of Islamic law that was administered by a religious police force. The Taliban banned all forms of television, imagery, music and sports. Punishments included amputation of hands for theft, and stoning for adultery.
[/FONT]Under the new Afghanistan, women were banished from the work force, expelled from universities, not allowed in schools, prohibited from leaving their homes unless accompanied by a male relative and were not allowed to seek medical attention. Violations of the laws lead to women being brutally beaten, flogged, or killed, sometimes in the middle of the street.
A PBS report on terrorism claims that when the Soviets withdrew from Afghanistan, the country emerged as a terrorist training ground. One terrorist organization to emerge from Afghanistan was Usama Bin Ladens Al-Qaeda. Al-Qaeda would go on to blow up embassies, a US warship, and commit the attacks of September 11, 2001.
If radical Islamoperating out of caves and mud hutsmanaged to oppress an entire country, form terrorist organizations, and export terrorism around the world, there is no telling what could happen if we desert Iraq and leave them an entire country full of oil, infrastructure, roads, airports, electricity, communications, and weapons.
[FONT="]The United States of America cannot abandon Iraq. The debate of whether or not we should invade Iraq is overwe are there. As a nation, we chose to enter this conflict. As a nation, we need to choose to take responsibility for our actions. If the United States does not win in Iraq the repercussions will lead to a succession, sequence, or chain of events that at best, will lead to a third world war, and at worst, lead to the fall of Western Civilizations two thousand year reign.[/FONT]
Will This Generation Of Americans Forsake Our Allies?
The pain was almost unbearable, but the young man continued to run. With each breath, his lungs were met with a sharp pain and a stinging sensation. Although fit for a sixteen year-old, he was on the brink of exhaustionworn out completely, physically depleted, and on the verge of collapse. There was no stopping though, the attack-helicopter had him in its sights, and was firing in his direction.
[/FONT]
[FONT="]All around the young man, chaos abounddead bodies were disseminated throughout the street. Women, kids, and men alike; all strewn about and scattered in pieces, like left-over and unwanted parts that can be found spread around the floor of a meat factory. Saddam ordered his Republican Guard to suppress the people with massive force, and they showed no restraint.
[/FONT]
No mercy was shown to anyone, especially the men. While running from the helicopter full of Republican Guard, the sixteen year-old boy passed scene upon scene of evil acts and cruelty being committed against his neighbors. Rounding a street corner, the young Kurds hope of escape became dashed. He wound up in the sights of another attack-copter, and found his tired, exhausted and fatigued body, being violently struck with 50mm rounds.
[FONT="]When we abandoned the Iraqis after the Persian Gulf War, events like this played out across the country. A report by Human Rights Watch states In their attempts to retake cities, and after consolidating control, loyalist forces killed thousands of unarmed civilians by firing indiscriminately into residential areas; executing young people on the streets, in homes and in hospitals; rounding up suspects, especially young men, during house-to-house searches, and arresting them without charge or shooting them en masse; and using helicopters to attack unarmed civilians as they fled the cities.
[/FONT] After persuading the Iraqi population to rise up against Saddam Hussein, America forsook and deserted the people of this uprisingthat we helped foment. Thousands of Iraqis were murdered in the streets, and millions were forced to flee their homes, becoming refugees in neighboring countries. Now fifteen years later, we have a segment of the American population, who are advocating that we forsake these very same people, yet again.
[FONT="]America[FONT="] cannot, and must not, withdraw from Iraq until the people of Iraqwithout a doubtare able to defend themselves. If we fail to meet this responsibility, the repercussions will have devastating affects not only in America, but around the world. The United States has a duty and an obligation, to protect the people of Iraq and leave them with a country that can defend itself.
[/FONT][/FONT] In fact, under the Geneva Convention, the US has a legal obligation to make this happen. Parts I through IV, of Convention IV, state that as on occupying force we have a duty to protect the citizens of Iraq in a time of war, and against certain consequences of war. We have no alternative but to protect the people of Iraq, until theyre able to defend themselves.
[FONT="]America[FONT="] also has a moral obligation to hand over a safe and secure Iraq, to the Iraqi people. The United States chose to invade Iraq. A USA Today poll from March of 2003the month the war beganshows that 76% of Americans supported going into Iraq. In October of 2002, the Senate voted 77-23 in favor of going to war with Iraq. The House of Representatives voted 296-133 in support of it.
[/FONT][/FONT]Although its not popular now, we-- as a country-- made the decision to go to war with Iraq. There is disagreement on why we got into this war, how we got into this war, and whether or not we should have got into this war. But the fact remains, we are in this war and we need to win this war. The credibility of our country, our nation, and we as a people, is on the line.
[FONT="]We must show patience with the Iraqi people. The Center Of Military History, under the United States Army, says that post World War II we occupied Japan for six years, and Germany for nearly eleven. Sixty years later, we still have troops in both countries. We spent six years occupying Japan and eleven in Germany, and that was without the threat of international terrorism.
[/FONT] In Iraq we have terroristsby the hundreds, possibly thousandscrossing the Iranian and Syrian border everyday. With this threat, we cannot expect the occupation of Iraq to end quickly, nor easily. We cant expect a bunch of trainee-soldiers to secure their country, if the worlds most powerful military cant. We must take as much time as necessary, to create a safe and secure Iraq. Because the occupation of Iraq isnt going well, various politicians and media personalities are equating Iraq with Vietnam.
Imagine a little girl, roughly six years-old, standing inside her modest home. The makeshift walls of this home are made of bamboo chutes, sticks, and straw. The roof mirrors that of the walls, but made with lighter and smaller sticks and chutes. The dirt floor is damp, wet in spots, as the roof didnt provide much shelter from the previous nights rain.
[FONT="]The girl watches in horror as two soldiers of the Khmer Rouge, who have just stormed this modest home, rape her mother. Three of her brothers, lay dead on the groundwith two of them beheaded. A third soldier tightens an iron collar that has been placed around her fathers neck. The spinal column at the base of his brain snaps, he falls to the ground dead
[/FONT]When America abandoned our allies in Southeast Asia, scenes like this played out across Indochina. When we turned our backs on the South Vietnamese, Communists swept through Vietnam, Laos and Cambodia. People were forced to watch as family members were decapitated or garroted, students were made to hang their teachers, millions were slaughtered and hundreds of thousands died at sea while trying to escape.
[FONT="]To quote columnist David Warren, If Iraq is abandoned, the credibility of America and the West is lost. Iran's hopes of regional hegemony are assured. The Americans will have cut and run after enduring less than one-twentieth of the casualties they suffered in Vietnam; and from a battle more consequential, for it is against an Islamist enemy that is rising, instead of a Communist enemy in decline.
[FONT="]If we give up, discontinue, or withdraw from Iraq, it surely will be reminiscent of Vietnam. We will have once again abandoned an ally, this time leaving their fate in the hands of barbariansterrorist who saw off heads, rape and torture. The blood of millions of Iraqis will be on our hands. For an accurate portrayal of what Iraq would like look like if we dont win, one simply needs to look at Afghanistan.
[/FONT][/FONT]Afghanistan is a prime example of what happens when a super-power withdraws from a fundamentalist, Islamic enemy. The later half of the century witnessed the Cold War between the worlds two super-powersthe United States and the Soviet Union. In 1979 the Soviets invaded Afghanistan, in what would turn out to be a decade-long war with the Afghans.
Due to the American triumph over the Soviets, and the subsequent break-up of the USSR, the Soviets withdrew from Afghanistan without a victory. Arab fighters from all over the Middle East had come to Afghanistan, to fight the Soviets. Upon the Soviets withdraw, many of these battle-hardened militants went on to change the face of Afghanistan, and terrorism as the world knew it.
[FONT="]A group called the Taliban took control and ruled the country. Once in power, the Taliban instituted a form of Islamic law that was administered by a religious police force. The Taliban banned all forms of television, imagery, music and sports. Punishments included amputation of hands for theft, and stoning for adultery.
[/FONT]Under the new Afghanistan, women were banished from the work force, expelled from universities, not allowed in schools, prohibited from leaving their homes unless accompanied by a male relative and were not allowed to seek medical attention. Violations of the laws lead to women being brutally beaten, flogged, or killed, sometimes in the middle of the street.
A PBS report on terrorism claims that when the Soviets withdrew from Afghanistan, the country emerged as a terrorist training ground. One terrorist organization to emerge from Afghanistan was Usama Bin Ladens Al-Qaeda. Al-Qaeda would go on to blow up embassies, a US warship, and commit the attacks of September 11, 2001.
If radical Islamoperating out of caves and mud hutsmanaged to oppress an entire country, form terrorist organizations, and export terrorism around the world, there is no telling what could happen if we desert Iraq and leave them an entire country full of oil, infrastructure, roads, airports, electricity, communications, and weapons.
[FONT="]The United States of America cannot abandon Iraq. The debate of whether or not we should invade Iraq is overwe are there. As a nation, we chose to enter this conflict. As a nation, we need to choose to take responsibility for our actions. If the United States does not win in Iraq the repercussions will lead to a succession, sequence, or chain of events that at best, will lead to a third world war, and at worst, lead to the fall of Western Civilizations two thousand year reign.[/FONT]
