Greta for thought

Recently Greta at Hooah Wife asked:

We know what the MSM says - whether we agree or disagree. But what are the "enemies" saying about us? I just got off the phone with Silke and we were discussing our differences on the whole Murtha situation. She doesn't feel that what he says is by any means against the troops, but only is directed towards the President. I feel the opposite on this one. I justify my opinion kind of like the unwritten rule of former Presidents to not bad-mouth the current Administration (Jimmy & Slick Willie)! I asked Silke if she ever read Al Jazeera to see what they are saying about us - she hadn't. Today's front page of Al Jazeera, right there is bold letter was this "Al-Qaida: Iraq withdrawal victory for Islam Al-Qaida's deputy leader says recent hints by American officials of a troop reduction in Iraq are a victory for Islam".

Curious if this changes anyone's view on this debate or solidifies their current opinion?

I replied:

"As for Murtha, it's a free country and the right of anyone, even an elected official, to speak their mind is precisely what our military is there to defend. We don't live in a country where everything is supposed to be evaluated on whether it promotes the military. North Korea has that policy (I think it's called "Army first"). Look how well that's working.

As for Al Jazeera printing the statement by al Qaeda, NPR reported it too -- maybe even Fox will -- well, what do you EXPECT al Qaeda to say? [Silke later pointed out, astutely, that al Qaeda appeared to be reacting to the Administration's own plans to reduce troop levels, not anything Murtha said]. What I wonder is why our Great Leader put us in a position where our troops get beat up and al Qaeda scores propaganda victories when the president puts his tail between his legs and cuts and runs. In case y'all ain't paying attention, he's gonna cut and run. The good news, for some of you, is that he'll blame his failed war and cowardly retreat on the Democrats.

In my opinion, former presidents should continue to stand for what they believe in, even if Curious George don't like it. When Monkey Boy is out of office, he ain't gonna stand for much. He may just remain prone, and let the booze dribble into him by catheter. Imagine the post-presidency of George W. Bush -- what do you see? Habitat for Humanity? Africa trips? Election monitoring? Hah! I see cocaine and divorce."

Later I added:

"As far as I'm aware, all Murtha said was that he wouldn't join up today, and that Iraq "absolutely" was a wrong war for Bush to have launched.

When the interviewer put these words in his mouth: "And I think you're saying the average guy out there who's considering recruitment is justified in saying 'I don't want to serve,'" Murtha said "Exactly right."

Justified. I think anyone is justified not to sign up. We have an all-volunteer force. No one is forced to join. So, yeah, they're justified. Even the Defense Department agrees with that:

Asked for comment, a Defense Department spokesman, Lt. Col. John Skinner, said: "We have an all-volunteer military. People are free to choose whether they serve or not."

"Our freedom of speech in this country allows all of us the opportunity to voice an opinion. It's one of our great strengths as a nation," he added in an e-mailed reply.

Amen.

Why are we spending so much energy trying to decide whether a combat-decorated hawk is a bad guy, and ignoring the boyish military misadventures of the lying drunk killing our soldiers from the White House?"