Hack,
Let's assume for the purpose of argument that you are a member of the uniformed military, then as a soldier, airman, sailor, marine, or coastguard member you voluntarily serve. No one has forced the job upon you, you asked for it. You knew the possibilities of an armed conflict when you made that choice.
It does seem to me that you have a serious case of immaturity as you constantly denegrate those who you took a sacred oath to obey. Son, if the job's too tough, or the deployments too long with commensurate separation from loved ones simply resign--you have that option as the Major you portend to be. There are no critical shortages of A-10 pilots and we haven't fought an armored force in say three years. Go with you heart, not the financial security you are waiting on. This country will thank you for your service and wish you no ill will.
Depart with dignity, otherwise you may find yourself in a most embarrassing predicament.

Those that feel we must perpetually stay in Iraq to avoid paying the price later do not realize we are paying right now. (We certainly are.)

I am in Oklahoma, the heart of tornado ally. Recovery efforts are hampered because half of the Guard's retreival (sic) equipment is in Iraq. (This is a parroting of the Democratic Governor, sounds like Katrina doesn’t it? Blaming Bush for an F5 tornado that wipes out a small town of 1500 people to hide inept state government is an old trick. I guess since she is only the Governor she is NOT responsible for making sure her state, located in tornado alley, can deal with a tornado in a little town of 1500? God forbid she be prepared and not depend on FEDERAL funds and equipment. Remember the civilian in Iraq, Daniel Pearl who was beheaded by Abu Musab Al-Zarqawi (we killed Al- Zarkawi by the way in Iraq) his dad blamed Bush too as did Cindy Sheehan even though her son Casey volunteered and supported Bush. That’s a nice group of blame Bush folks there Hack.

We are paying now with 15 month combat tours. (Maybe if the liberal democrats like “Spring Break” Pelosi and “”We” lost the war” Reid would fund them we could actually shorten the troop rotations (which costs substantially more). Clinton's loathing of the American military led to his failure in his primary responsibility: the protection of the American people. His actions with regard to military preparedness speak for themselves. In less than three years, deployments increased while manpower decreased from 2.1 million to 1.6 million. I bet you wish you had those 500,000 troops now. Of the 305,000 employees removed from the federal payroll in just two years, 286,000 (or 90%) were military cuts. The statistics for America's defense during the Clinton years reveal the deep-seated animosity of the administration toward those who served in the military. The Army was cut from 18 divisions to 12. The Navy was reduced from 546 ships to 380. Air Force flight squadrons were cut from 76 to 50. (It would be nice to have some of those for Iraq now wouldn’t it?)

We are paying now with a spike in military suicide rates, bankruptcies, and divorces. The military pay freeze instituted by Clinton was imposed on a military in which 80 percent of all troops earned $30,000 per year or less. Food stamp applications soared and re-enlistment rates dropped. – Yep Divorce and Suicides were predicted and in full swing upward back in 1997-2001.

Our fight in Iraq is not keeping us safe here. (I’m sorry, did I miss another World Trade Center? Better yet – PROVE that statement.)

Excellent police work is keeping us safe here. (Amen- wire taps, Guantanamo Bay, and all of the Homeland Security work. All of which was started under the direction of Bush – despite complaints by democrats like Obama, Reid and Pelosi) The FBI, law enforcement, Dept of Homeland Security, and alert citizens are keeping us safe here (reference Fort Dix and the planned attack by YUGOSLAVIANS and Middle Easterners). The enemies of the US are much more widely spread than Iraq. (Yes they are; however, the terrorists you cite were indeed Muslim and were calling for jihad – why is that so hard for you Democrats to say? The terrorists were NOT from YUGOSLAVIA. Regardless, they were Muslim and called for the destruction of America under the blessing of Osama Bin Laden. Four of the arrested men were actually born in Albania, one was born in Jordan and one came from Turkey. Three were in the United States illegally; two had green cards allowing them to stay in this country permanently; and the sixth is a U.S. citizen.) “The six - Mohamad Ibrahim Shnewer, 22; Dritan "Anthony" or "Tony" Duka, 28; Shain Duka, 26; Eljvir "Elvis" Duka, 23; Serdar Tatar, 23; and Agron Abdullahu, 24—were ordered held without bail for a hearing Friday. Five were charged with conspiracy to kill U.S. military personnel; the sixth, Abdullahu, was charged with aiding and abetting illegal immigrants in obtaining weapons.”

I believe we are developing a false attribution to Iraq's fight for sovereignty and our safety. (I believe we are fighting and killing terrorists and helping to establish a democracy and an ally in the middle east where there was once a terror supporting dictator and an enemy of democracy, freedom, and America.)

For those among us that continue to focus ire on Nancy Pelosi and Harry Reid, please try to recall how they came to power. They were elected by a majority of Americans. (No, they were not elected by a majority of Americans. They were elected by a small majority of their local districts, (San Francisco and Nevada where Harry once tried to strangle a man) then appointed to committees by fellow liberal Democrats and then put in those positions of leadership due to a small (temporary) majority in the house and senate resulting by a very close mid-term election.) They were not elected because of the fantastic work of those whom they replaced. (No, indeed, they were appointed.)

… many Americans, who aren't unpatriotic hippies, just want a government that is honest and competent. (Like…say…. Clinton?)
I have truly never in my lifetime seen the ramifications of poor inteligence, (sic) or shaped intelligence, or cherry-picked intelligence rise to this level of international quagmire. Did this intelligence all come about under the six months that Bush was in office or was it inherited by Bush from the previous 8 years of the Clinton Administration? – Who appointed George Tenet – oh yea- Clinton did back in 1997.

I can't use any other term to describe the situation in which we can't walk away from and yet can't define success in. Again? We have to define success every day for you democrats don’t we? – HERE yet again is the White House Version:
• Short term, Iraq is making steady progress in fighting terrorists, meeting political milestones, building democratic institutions, and standing up security forces.
• Medium term, Iraq is in the lead defeating terrorists and providing its own security, with a fully constitutional government in place, and on its way to achieving its economic potential.
• Longer term, Iraq is peaceful, united, stable, and secure, well integrated into the international community, and a full partner in the global war on terrorism.

So as we forgive the administration for allowing failures at Walter Reed on their watch, (so if we swept it under the rug like Clinton did under his 8 years we would be better off? Maybe if we hadn’t cut Military funding like Clinton’s multi-billion dollar cuts spending did) and unfulfilled promises on Gulf Coast rebuilding (Chocolate City?) (Democrat Governor, Democrat Mayor, Democrat Senator) on their watch (Built under a Democratic President, ignored warnings (at least three) under the Clinton Administration ), and unprecedented cronyism on their watch, and the erasing of Presidential archives You mean like what Sandy ‘burglar’ Berger stole National Security documents by shoving them in his socks and underwear? and historical data on their watch, and the politicization of the Department of Justice on their watch, (you mean like Janet Reno and the Elian Gonzales hypocrisy?)

Do not be surprised on the turn out and results of future elections. (I won’t be- but you will I bet)
The vote is all we citizens have, and I imagine citizens will use their votes to elect those who represent their concerns. (Are you voting for the ‘Stand by my man’ turn ‘100 dollars into 100,000’, ‘Rose Law Firm’, ‘Dead Friends Walking’ Hyphenated Feminist, or are you voting for Barack Hussein Obama, Jr. the Muslim Lawyer (Hussein is a Muslim name, which comes from the name of Ali's son--Hussein Ibn Ali. And Obama is named after his late Kenyan father, the late Barack Hussein Obama, Sr., apparently a Muslim. And while Obama may not identify as a Muslim, that's not how the Arab and Muslim Streets see it. In Arab culture and under Islamic law, if your father is a Muslim, so are you. And once a Muslim, always a Muslim. You cannot go back. In Islamic eyes, Obama is certainly a Muslim. He may think he's a Christian, but they do not.)

If we vote to keep the current philosophy in Iraq (and foreign policy in general) in place (Like JeffCarter even agrees we should do?) ( you do mean building thousands of schools, liberating millions of people, building a police force and military and allowing millions to vote for the first time, stopping summary executions and killing hundreds of al-qaeda leaders?) ,

I will return here and admit how wrong my view of the national climate was. (See you soon!)

I suspect, however, that we will see a no confidence vote, and a rise in those who call themselves "Independents" because they can't stomach the term "Democrat." All of that said, from my heart I wish you all the best. (I wish you the best too!)

One thing is certain Hack:
While America has tried to help Iraq become an independent democracy in the middle east, freed 21 million people, held two elections and watched Iraq draw up a constitution, liberated millions of women and helped begin educating those women, the party that you support, the Democrats, has positioned themselves so that if things go well for America and for Iraq- they will lose local and National elections and lose congressional seats. I can’t be on that side of the political process. When Harry ‘the strangler’ Reid said “America lost in Iraq”, that was wishful thinking for the Democrats.

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Is there bias on the war coverage? Click Here
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It's hard to get people to see beyond their gang affiliations (after all, isn't that what party affiliation is starting to resemble?). Whether the Crips or the Blooods -- I mean the Dems or the Reps -- win, ultimately the whole neighborhood pays the price. And sometimes ya' just gotta step away from the blogs.

Take good care of yourself and try to make it home to Fayette in '08. You never know what surprises might be in store.

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If you and I are always in agreement, one of us is likely armed and dangerous.

I still expect that beer in September, stay cool birdman.

I yam what I yam...Popeye

At least there was no mud slinging in your farewell address; or at least not as much as usual…well, maybe the usual amount, but that’s not necessarily excessive…well maybe it’s a bit excessive, but…oh never mind.
I’m sure you’ll check in from time to time. I’ll introduce myself if I ever run into you.

Take care,
Maximus

You said a lot of truth. However you must not give up the good fight. We are winning. Most of the really bad dudes in our government have been toned down or removed.
Selfishness will NOT destroy us here in the USA as long as there are a few of us fighting on.

Hack, I will miss you very much. I hope you will change your mind.

You will always be in my prayers. Take care. God Bless you and your family.

I hope I get to meet you someday, and give you a big hug, and tell you thank you.

Tug

The Republicans will keep on fighting the good fight while the Democrats cower in fear of losing votes.

Everyone needs to settle down and grab a beer.
Vigorous discourse is good for a democracy but we shouldn't take it
personally. I'll be sad to see you go, AF.