Remember Those Who Serve in Our Armed Forces

I want to say to everyone today that I hope each and everyone of you have a great Memorial Day. The Memorial Day weekend undoubtedly is the time where many people travel to visit members of their extended family to catch up on the latest news or events. Memorial Day is also the time famous for cookouts. Everybody fires up the grill and cooks their favorite items such as hot dogs, hamburgers, steak, chicken, and the list continues. Tourism generally increases as well for the weekend. There are some that participate in Memorial Day weekend festivities honoring those veterans that have served in World War II, Vietnam, Iraq, Afghanistan, and the list continues. Memorial Day was originally established to honor those soldiers that had died in war following the Civil War. Today, we've expanded Memorial Day and we honor all those that have passed away whether it be loved ones we know or those that have fought in war and died. Many people place flowers on the tombs to remember their deceased loved ones.

Last week, I read a couple of articles from the USA Today newspaper. The article from Friday's paper had as it's headline, "Afghanistan AMERICA'S LONGEST WAR" It was saying that as of to date the war in Afghanistan eclipes the war in Vietnam. America had troops in the Vietnam War for 103 months. To date U.S. troops have been in Afghanistan 104 months to date and there's no end in sight. U.S. and NATO forces first invaded Afghanistan in October 2001 and we've had troops in there since with no end in sight. I would like to know why we're still in Afghanistan? President Obama is still continuing the same policies that the previous Bush administration implemented in Afghanistan. What is the purpose in keeping our troops in Afghanistan if there's not going to be any commitment to win on the part of the military brass or the Obama administration? I will say I do know that our troops that are fighting desire to win. Our troops have done a wonderful job. Considering the situation they've had to contend with, they've done a masterful job. You know they have to be very weary. I applaud them. However, it's disgraceful when we have a government that will send troops into battle and they have no desire or commitment to win. The first problem was neither the wars in Afghanistan nor Iraq were declared by Congress. Congress should declare war. If the Congress would go back to declaring war it would change the equation. It would place our country in the state of mind that we're in war and that we must use our resources to fight and win. If you ever read about some of America's old generals such as Gen. George Patton and Gen. Douglas MacArthur, they believe you send troops to war to win. Nothing else. MacArthur once told Congress that there's no substitute for victory. That's right. It's not right for our government to send troops to war to make money for defense contractors or bankers. There's been a lot of war profiteering that's resulted from these to wars. Our troops are place under ridiculous rules of engagement which make it very difficult for them to win.

The second article I was reading in USA Today was an article about some U.S. troops that have fought in Iraq and after one or two deployments decided they couldn't bear another deployment. They decided to head to Canada. During the Vietnam War, we had men fleeing to Canada to evade the draft. However, don't compare the troops that have already fought in Iraq or Afghanistan and have made the decision to flee America to those in Vietnam that never served in uniform who fled America to evade the draft. There's a huge difference between the two. Frankly, I can't blame them. I can't blame those that have served one or two tours of duty to make the decision to flee to Canada? Why? I know some reading this would probably point the finger of judgment at me. Let me say this, why should we expect those that have served in our armed forces to continue being loyal to the government when the government will send them into harm's way with no commitment to victory? That's not right towards our troops. They're placed under silly rules of engagement in the military which makes it difficult to defeat the enemy. I know some would classify those soldiers that have left their posts as AWOL or deserters. I know some would probably say those that fled America should be placed in prison. Let me ask you this: Why aren't those in the previous administration prosecuted and placed in prison for sending our troops to wars with no commitment to victory? That's a good question. George W. Bush, Dick Cheney, Donald Rumsfeld, and Paul Wolfowitz, to name a few should be prosecuted for what they did to our troops. I considered it traitorous for our government to ever send troops to battle without any objective for total victory. You only send troops to war when all efforts of diplomacy have failed and there's no other choice but to stop the aggressor. When troops are sent to war, they should be given all the ammunition needed to win. Once the war's finished, they should exit as quickly as possible. Let me make a statement to some parents. If you are very hypocritical in the way you raise your children you can't expect your children to follow after you. If you desire for your children to obey you and follow you, you must live straight before them. I feel the same way when it comes to the military. If our government expects our troops to be loyal to duty, then the government must be loyal to our troops and not send them to battle without an objective for victory. The government hasn't done right before our troops. There have been some troops that were in situations where they shot the enemy in self-defense and they were court-martialed and placed on trial. That wasn't right. I'm not trying to encourage those that have served two tours to move to Canada. The point I was making was that I could understand why some soldiers have fled to Canada. The government has the first responsibility to do right towards our soldiers. It's traitorous to send troops to battle unless it's for victory.

I want to take this time to say thank you to all of those that have served in our armed forces Thank you for your sacrifices in defending this country and for defending our freedoms. The freedom that I enjoy in writing this post or speaking out against the government when they're wrong is due to your sacrifice in defending America's freedoms on the battlefield. We need to take this time more than ever to remember and pray for our troops. We especially need to remember those that are serving in Iraq and Afghanistan. Our troops always need our prayers. Now more than ever, we need to remember and pray for them. Have a great day!