Thursday, July 3, 2003

Bless the Troops They call it like they see it. Here's a report from Sean-Paul, a young man writing a book about the ancient Silk Road through Central Asia. Thanks to Josh for the link. Last night I met some soldiers here in Tashkent for a little R&R at the bar of a hotel. They’ve been serving with a unit near Kandahar. "So, what’s up with Afghanistan?" He stared at me. It was not a pleasant stare. " Tell you what. Since you’re from Texas I’ll talk. But no unit or location talk, except to say Tashkent and Kandahar. Opsec, man. Know what I mean?" "Agreed. Can I say you’re from Texas?" "Sure, why not." "You gonna put this in your book?" "I might. Depends on what you say. And what you don’t say. You know?" "Uh-huh. Well, all you really need to know is that it’s fucked. The pockets of resistance get bigger all the time. Of course the press is obsessed with WMD, Iraq and tax-cuts. They don’t give a shit about us guys bleeding in Afghanistan. Nor do the politicians. They got us into this crap and they aren’t giving us the tools to fix it. We CAN solve this problem," he said, “as he slammed his drink onto the bar. "Gimme another rum and coke," he asked the bartender. Turning to me he said, “They don’t even care about the guys fighting in Iraq. It’s getting bad there too. You want a drink partner?" "Sure, water, still—no gas," I told the bartender. "What the hell kind of drink is that?" "Got a bad stomach," I lied. "Ahh, yeah, that’ll do it. Reminds me of this Afghani that was fighting for Hekmatyar. You know, the Iranian’s got their hands all over Afghanistan right now. Well, as I was saying, that boy, couldn’t a been older than 20, has a bad stomach now too. I put a couple of bullets into it," he said, unable to look me in the eyes. "It’s getting bad there. And Mr. Bush don’t give a shit. You got a phone number? I got a guy who might want to talk to you." 5:10:06 PM    comment []

Contrast I hate war as only a soldier who has lived it can, only as one who has seen its brutality, its futility, its stupidity. We merely want to live in peace with all the world, to trade with them, to commune with them, to learn from their culture as they may learn from ours, so that the products of our toil may be used for our schools and our roads and our churches and not for guns and planes and tanks and ships of war. I like to believe that people in the long run are going to do more to promote peace than our governments. Indeed, I think that people want peace so much that one of these days governments had better get out of the way and let them have it. Though force can protect in emergency, only justice, fairness, consideration and co-operation can finally lead men to the dawn of eternal peace. — 5-Star General and 35th President, Dwight David Eisenhower Anybody who wants to harm American troops will be found and brought to justice," Bush said. "There are some that feel like if they attack us that we may decide to leave prematurely. They don't understand what they are talking about if that is the case. ... There are some who feel like the conditions are such that they can attack us there. My answer is, bring them on. — Viet Nam Avoidance Expert and Runner Up in the 2000 Presidential Election, G. W. Bush Why do people who have not seen battle recommend it for other people's children? Why would anyone support people who are so unaware of history that they embrace its mistakes? — Private school & college Yuppie and Viet Nam Vet (3 DFC's, 2 Air Medals), Britt Blaser 11:37:47 AM    comment []

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