Ted Kennedy Calls for Iraq Withdrawl Post #1

Okay...by now I'm sure that everyone's had a chance to hear of the reports that Ted Kennedy (Dumb Ass...oops, that's D-MASS) has decided to get up on his anti-war soap box and begin comparing what we're doing in Iraq to what we tried to do in Vietnam 40 years ago.

It's times like these that I really wish that Joe Jr, John and Bobby had lived to fulfill whatever destiny they might have held for our nation. The fact that Ted is the most vocal, outspoken, and longest lived in the limelight must have Joseph P. Kennedy absolutly spinning in his grave. War and assasins left us with Ted...almost makes you want to dig up Oswald to kick him square in the 'jimmies' don't it?

But back to the least likely Kennedy to play on the stage of American politics...

I wish I could do this in just one post...but that will be impossible. I'll include the text of Mr. Kennedy's comments and mine in bold text.

SENATOR EDWARD M. KENNEDY DISCUSSES AMERICA'S FUTURE IN IRAQ AT THE JOHNS' HOPKINS SCHOOL OF INTERNATIONAL STUDIES
January 27, 2005
________________________________________
For Immediate Release
CONTACT: Melissa Wagoner
(202) 224-2633
Address Delivered at the Johns’ Hopkins School of Advanced International Studies

Thank you Dr. Fukuyama for that generous introduction.

I’m honored to be here at the School of Advanced International Studies. Many of the most talented individuals in foreign policy have benefited from your outstanding graduate program, and I welcome the opportunity to meet with you on the issue of Iraq.

Forty years ago, America was in another war in a distant land. At that time, in 1965, we had in Vietnam the same number of troops and the same number of casualties as in Iraq today.

Interesting coincidence…about as interesting and relevant as Lincoln having a secretary named Kennedy and Kennedy having a secretary named Lincoln.


We thought in those early days in Vietnam that we were winning. We thought the skill and courage of our troops was enough. We thought that victory on the battlefield would lead to victory in the war, and peace and democracy for the people of Vietnam.

Despite the senator’s words and concerns…I hardly doubt that there are any Americans be they soldiers, be they members of the Administration, or be they common citizens that believe we can truly win this war on the battlefield. The answer is of course we can. Each time we have met the enemy toe to toe, we’ve kicked their ever-loving @$$es. The problem is that we need to win the hearts and minds…or more properly assist the new Iraqi government in creating an environment where THEY can win the hearts and minds of their own citizens. For a nation that’s been ruled for 25 years by a ruthless 30% minority, I have to believe that there’s hope.


We lost our national purpose in Vietnam. We abandoned the truth. We failed our ideals. The words of our leaders could no longer be trusted.

Ted Kennedy’s brother, John, established what we know today as Special Operations forces. Primarily Army Special Forces, green berets as they’re known and revered as, have as their motto “De Oppresso Liber.” Using my high school Latin to translate, I believe that it can easily be said that this means “Out of Oppression, Freedom.” If this isn’t what we’re trying to do as one of the goals of Operation Iraqi Freedom, I don’t know what is.

In the name of a misguided cause, we continued the war too long. We failed to comprehend the events around us. We did not understand that our very presence was creating new enemies and defeating the very goals we set out to achieve. We cannot allow that history to repeat itself in Iraq.

Mr. Kennedy seems to forget the images of the last helicopters leaving Saigon in 1975. While I might have a little too young to understand the early years of the Vietnam War, I certainly was old enough to comprehend at the age of 13. Let’s also not forget the rag tag flotilla of refugees that have left Vietnam under Communist rule.

Also, we cannot allow a chapter of history like Cambodia and “The Killing Fields” to repeat itself either. From what I’ve read in the papers, there are already enough mass graves in Iraq. They don’t need any new ones.

We must learn from our mistakes. We must recognize what a large and growing number of Iraqis now believe. The war in Iraq has become a war against the American occupation.

No, Senator Kennedy I strongly disagree with your statement. The majority of Iraqis want to hold free elections as evidenced by the enthusiasm of the different campaigns. The insurgency most assuredly fears the concept of a government based on the beliefs of man, rather than their own interpretations of those of God (Allah). While we shouldn’t interfere in the sovereignty of a nation I believe that the Iraqi people feel that it’s best for their nation to give democracy a try. Those people that believe that Islam is the only way to worship and those that lost the power they enjoyed under Saddam are the ones that view our presence as occupation. Those that are backing the democratic process still view us as liberators.


We have reached the point that a prolonged American military presence in Iraq is no longer productive for either Iraq or the United States. The U.S. military presence has become part of the problem, not part of the solution.

Again, if you believe that the assistance of leaving Iraq better than we found it is important…we cannot simply walk away from them now. Yes, there’s a power vacuum left by the absence of Saddam and the Baathist party and the lawless are certainly taking advantage of it. Could we or could the current interim government squash this insurgency this afternoon if they wanted to? Of course they could, but at the expense of thousands of innocent Iraqis. Is it possible to exercise just a little bit of patience in this effort and allow the administration and the Iraqi interim government the time they need to put the nation back on it’s feet? A major part of our problem as Americans looking at this is we’re so used to getting whatever it is we want as quickly as possible. This isn’t a computer you ordered from Dell and paid extra for the express shipping. Only God or Allah knows when it will be time to for the Iraqi people to be able to provide for their own national defense and plans for dealing with the insurgency.

I'll be back with more later today...when you take Senator Kennedy's speech and paste it into MS Word, it's 13 pages long.

Can you say, Blowhard?

See you on the high ground....wondering about people from Massachusetts.

MajorDad1984.