Thursday 6-16

The son of one of our best friends, Steve, a Marine in Special Ops (in
training,) comes over to visit. He has 14 days of leave from his Marine
base in NC. After welcoming him and talking for several hours my son and
daughter take him down to the Flats of Cleveland to enjoy watching the boats
on the river while having some appetisizers at the local pub.

Prior to them leaving my wife asked Steve what he really craves for
dinner..... his response (with no hesitation)....meatloaf, mashed taters and
corn......my wife cooks it. During and after the meal we had some good
family discussions and found out what Steve has been doing since being in
the Special Ops training. Later we watched a DVD (The Matrix Reloaded),
although Steve falls asleep and I wake him to go to bed in our guest
bedroom.

Friday 6-17

Steve wakes at about 9 a.m. and wants a breakfast of PBJ......oops, my son
used it up this morning making lunch for his house painting job (my son left
the house at 7). Pop tarts are on the menu.

We talk for several hours and I make him a meatloaf sandwich with catsup and
refill his water bottle (he drinks 3+ liters or water/day). He eats the
sandwich and I make him another meatloaf sandwich for lunch on the road.

He leaves prior to noon, going to meet up with his mom, dad and best friends
in Michigan. He will be there until Saturday 6-25 at which time he will
head back to base in NC.

He is expecting to be deployed with his special ops teams to Iraq sometime
in January, 2006.

++++++++++++++++

I have known Steve since he was a baby and have been there throughout his
development.

I love Steve and wish him well with the remainder of his Special Ops
training......jumping (from airplanes) and SCUBA...I can only wish him God
Speed when he eventually is in harms way.

This is the second Marine we personally know....the other is the son of our
other best friends and has been in Iraq already for several months.

Despite your feelings about the war please keep all our men and women
serving in our Armed Forces in your prayers.

Despite your feelings about the war please keep all our men and women
serving in our Armed Forces in your prayers

*********

The war, along with the people who deliberately lied us into it and are
now profiting from it is crap.

The young men and women who do their duty there
are heroic. Each one killed, wounded, or separated
on multiple extended tours from home and family is a national tragedy.

Screw the war, but honor the troops. It is possible to do both at once.
People who feel that we must despise the troops because they are forced
to serve in a bogus war as well as people who feel that we cannot
respect and value the troops without cheering for the
war itself are all wrong.

On 17 Jun 2005 21:32:26 -0700, wrote:

Despite your feelings about the war please keep all our men and women
serving in our Armed Forces in your prayers

*********

The war, along with the people who deliberately lied us into it and are
now profiting from it is crap.

The young men and women who do their duty there
are heroic. Each one killed, wounded, or separated
on multiple extended tours from home and family is a national tragedy.

Screw the war, but honor the troops. It is possible to do both at once.
People who feel that we must despise the troops because they are forced
to serve in a bogus war as well as people who feel that we cannot
respect and value the troops without cheering for the
war itself are all wrong.

Deliberately lied? You're turning into a regular krausite!

You seem to forget:


"One way or the other, we are determined to deny Iraq the capacity to
develop weapons of mass destruction and the missiles to deliver them. That
is our bottom line."
- President Clinton, Feb. 4, 1998
"If Saddam rejects peace and we have to use force, our purpose is clear. We
want to seriously diminish the threat posed by Iraq's weapons of mass
destruction program."
- President Clinton, Feb. 17, 1998


"Iraq is a long way from [here], but what happens there matters a great deal
here. For the risks that the leaders of a rogue state will use nuclear,
chemical or biological weapons against us or our allies is the greatest
security threat we face."
- Madeline Albright, Feb 18, 1998


"He will use those weapons of mass destruction again, as he has ten times
since 1983."
- Sandy Berger, Clinton National Security Adviser, Feb, 18, 1998


"[W]e urge you, after consulting with Congress, and consistent with the U.S.
Constitution and laws, to take necessary actions (including, if appropriate,
air and missile strikes on suspect Iraqi sites) to respond effectively to
the threat posed by Iraq's refusal to end its weapons of mass destruction
programs."

- Letter to President Clinton, signed by Sens. Carl Levin, Tom Daschle, John
Kerry, and others Oct. 9, 1998


"Saddam Hussein has been engaged in the development of weapons of mass
destruction technology which is a threat to countries in the region and he
has made a mockery of the weapons inspection process."
- Rep. Nancy Pelosi (D, CA), Dec. 16, 1998


"Hussein has ... chosen to spend his money on building weapons of mass
destruction and palaces for his cronies."
- Madeline Albright, Clinton Secretary of State, Nov. 10, 1999


"There is no doubt that ... Saddam Hussein has invigorated his weapons
programs. Reports indicate that biological, chemical and nuclear programs
continue apace and may be back to pre-Gulf War status. In addition, Saddam
continues to redefine delivery systems and is doubtless using the cover of a
licit missile program to develop longer-range missiles that will threaten
the United States and our allies."

- Letter to President Bush, Signed by (FORMER) Sen. Bob Graham (D, FL,) and
others,
December 5, 2001


"We begin with the common belief that Saddam Hussein is a tyrant and a
threat to the peace and stability of the region. He has ignored the
mandated of the United Nations and is building weapons of mass destruction
and the means of delivering them."
- Sen. Carl Levin (D, MI), Sept. 19, 2002


"We know that he has stored secret supplies of biological and chemical
weapons throughout his country."
- Al Gore, Sept. 23, 2002


"Iraq's search for weapons of mass destruction has proven impossible to
deter and we should assume that it will continue for as long as Saddam is in
power."
- Al Gore, Sept. 23, 2002


"We have known for many years that Saddam Hussein is seeking and developing
weapons of mass destruction."
- Sen. Ted Kennedy (D, MA), Sept. 27, 2002


"The last UN weapons inspectors left Iraq in October of 1998. We are
confident that Saddam Hussein retains some stockpiles of chemical and
biological weapons, and that he has since embarked on a crash course to
build up his chemical and biological warfare capabilities. Intelligence
reports indicate that he is seeking nuclear weapons..."
- Sen. Robert Byrd (D, WV), Oct. 3, 2002


"I will be voting to give the President of the United States the authority
to use force-- if necessary-- to disarm Saddam Hussein because I believe
that a deadly arsenal of weapons of mass destruction in his hands is a real
and grave threat to our security."
- Sen. John F. Kerry (D, MA), Oct. 9, 2002


"There is unmistakable evidence that Saddam Hussein is working aggressively
to develop nuclear weapons and will likely have nuclear weapons within the
next five years . We also should remember we have always underestimated
the progress Saddam has made in development of weapons of mass destruction."
- Sen. Jay Rockefeller (D, WV), Oct 10, 2002


"He has systematically violated, over the course of the past 11 years, every
significant UN resolution that has demanded that he disarm and destroy his
chemical and biological weapons, and any nuclear capacity. This he has
refused to do" Rep.
- Henry Waxman (D, CA), Oct. 10, 2002


"In the four years since the inspectors left, intelligence reports show that
Saddam Hussein has worked to rebuild his chemical and biological weap ons
stock, his missile delivery capability, and his nuclear program. He has
also given aid, comfort, and sanctuary to terrorists, including al Qaeda
members
... It is clear, however, that if left unchecked, Saddam Hussein will
continue to increase his capacity to wage biological and chemical warfare,
and will keep trying to develop nuclear weapons."
- Sen. Hillary Clinton (D, NY), Oct 10, 2002


"We are in possession of what I think to be compelling evidence that Saddam
Hussein has, and has had for a number of years, a developing capacity for
the production and storage of weapons of mass destruction."
- Sen. Bob Graham (D, FL), Dec. 8, 2002


"Without question, we need to disarm Saddam Hussein. He is a brutal,
murderous dictator, leading an oppressive regime ... He presents a
particularly grievous threat because he is so consistently prone to
miscalculation ... And now he is miscalculating America's response to his
continued deceit and his consistent grasp for weapons of mass destruction
... So the threat of Saddam Hussein with weapons of mass destruction is real
...."
- Sen. John F. Kerry (D, MA), Jan. 23. 2003

Now, go have a great day!
--
John H

"All decisions are the result of binary thinking."

On 17 Jun 2005 21:32:26 -0700, wrote:

Screw the war, but honor the troops.

With all due respect Chuck, the troops are the war. You can't hate
one and love the other - they are one and the same.

On Fri, 17 Jun 2005 23:16:39 -0400, "*JimH*" wrote:

This is the second Marine we personally know....the other is the son of our
other best friends and has been in Iraq already for several months.

Despite your feelings about the war please keep all our men and women
serving in our Armed Forces in your prayers.

Semper Fi.

Pass it along.

Later,

Tom

On Sat, 18 Jun 2005 11:44:26 GMT, Shortwave Sportfishing
wrote:

On 17 Jun 2005 21:32:26 -0700, wrote:

Screw the war, but honor the troops.

With all due respect Chuck, the troops are the war. You can't hate
one and love the other - they are one and the same.

Kinda like Durbin and his Nazi, Pol Pot, and gulag comments. "But I'm not
talking about soldiers...!"

--
John H

"All decisions are the result of binary thinking."

On Sat, 18 Jun 2005 11:44:26 GMT, Shortwave Sportfishing
wrote:

On 17 Jun 2005 21:32:26 -0700, wrote:

Screw the war, but honor the troops.

With all due respect Chuck, the troops are the war. You can't hate
one and love the other - they are one and the same.

On second thought, I have to disagree with you. I was not in favor of going to
war in Iraq, but I do think the troops are doing commendable work over there.
When fire fighters go to fight a fire, we don't have to be in favor of the fire
to commend the fire fighters.

However, Durbin's comments don't fall in the same category as Chuck's. Durbin's
comments reflected directly on soldiers.
--
John H

"All decisions are the result of binary thinking."

This is just my opinion, but I disgree with the war in Iraq, think we were
lied to by our leaders and should have waited for the United Nations
backing. I do how ever support our troops, they have no choice in the matter
of being over there, putting their lifes in harms way every day every minute
while they are over there. Again, just my view on the war, not asking anyone
to agree or disagree.

Ed
wrote in message
oups.com...
Despite your feelings about the war please keep all our men and women
serving in our Armed Forces in your prayers

*********

The war, along with the people who deliberately lied us into it and are
now profiting from it is crap.

The young men and women who do their duty there
are heroic. Each one killed, wounded, or separated
on multiple extended tours from home and family is a national tragedy.

Screw the war, but honor the troops. It is possible to do both at once.
People who feel that we must despise the troops because they are forced
to serve in a bogus war as well as people who feel that we cannot
respect and value the troops without cheering for the
war itself are all wrong.

wrote in message
oups.com...
Despite your feelings about the war please keep all our men and women
serving in our Armed Forces in your prayers

*********

The war, along with the people who deliberately lied us into it and are
now profiting from it is crap.

Everyone within the borders of the US has benefited from the war, currenlty
being hotly contested in Afganistan and Iraq.

The young men and women who do their duty there
are heroic. Each one killed, wounded, or separated
on multiple extended tours from home and family is a national tragedy.

It is a personal tradgedy for each family and a sacrifice to the greater
good of the US.

For the first ten years of my life my father, a naval officer, was at home,
ship in port or on shore duty, for of those years four years. Most of this
was prior to to Vietnam. Was this a national tragedy?

Screw the war, but honor the troops. It is possible to do both at once.

No, you can't do both at the same time. It is demoralizing to the men and
women fighting the war.

People who feel that we must despise the troops because they are forced
to serve in a bogus war as well as people who feel that we cannot
respect and value the troops without cheering for the
war itself are all wrong.

If you believe that the war is wrong then you must also believe that the
troops serving in that war are wrong.

"ed" wrote in message
...
This is just my opinion, but I disgree with the war in Iraq, think we were
lied to by our leaders and should have waited for the United Nations
backing. I do how ever support our troops, they have no choice in the
matter of being over there, putting their lifes in harms way every day
every minute while they are over there. Again, just my view on the war,
not asking anyone to agree or disagree.

All of our troops are volunteers. They are in Iraq because they willingly
signed on the dotted line.