Happy Memorial Day

An Iraqi boy hides behind a U.S. soldier on Monday amid gunfire after a car bomb in Central Baghdad killed 24 people:

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  1. David says:

    That does not look to me to be an authentic fighting man of United States military. Where is his insignia? What type of weapon is that he is carrying? His cammo pattern appears something less than genuine issue. And, I’m not expert, but his boots do not apear to be G.I. –I think this guy could be a washed up police man who just got himself a life long job working for Halibuton. Can this man’s connection to The US Military be verified?

  2. Ian says:

    David,

    I think you need to do a little research on how the uniforms of both the Army and Marine Corps have changed in the past few years. That should explain a lot.

  3. Heather Stewart says:

    Yes, those are definitely Army uniforms- no one else has those uniform- they are standard issue digital cammo. He is carrying an M-4 Carbine, which is a smaller lighter version of the M-16. If you look at the top picture, you can see his infantry insignia on the arm of his uniform. Also, those boots are the boots issued with that particular army uniform. Consider the man verified as US Military.

  4. Kit says:

    I am glad I am not in Iraq, that is for sure. Good luck to those who are.

  5. David2 says:

    I’m a soldier, so let me set this straight. That camo pattern is the new standard issue (it’s based on pixelated digital images). The insignia are removable with velcro backs. The boots are the new Army issue, matte color. Although, they look very worn out. Almost as if he’s been in them for a few years. As for the weapon, it’s special issue, but still US Army (probably an AR-15).

    I may not support this war, but be careful before mouthing off about soldiers if you know nothing about them, sir.

  6. Anonymous says:

    It’s a sad day for the nation when asking a question about a uniform is considered mouthing off about our troops…

  7. Jay says:

    Its not a special issue, as pointed out above, its a m-4 carbine with a red-dot scope.

  8. Bison says:

    I wish all the war mongering no-con’s kids had to go threw exactly the same life struggle that the boy in this picture has to endure every day.

  9. pathetic says:

    It’s obvious the first commenter is in that bunch that thinks everything is made up and a big lie.

    He’s probably one of those “bush planned 9/11” whack jobs.

  10. pathetic says:

    Bison, actually, I wish you had to go thru being thrown off one of Sadam’s roofs.

  11. E Pluribus Unum says:

    Bison said: “I wish all the war mongering no-conā€™s kids had to go threw exactly the same life struggle that the boy in this picture has to endure every day.”

    Much better that he had been put through one of Saddam’s plastic shredders, eh?

  12. Harry says:

    Saddam was a criminal, but so are the ‘people’ who lied the West into this disaster at the cost of numerous Iraqi people, and Westerners (mainly US) who are ordered to do the dirty work. In fact Saddam did not manage to destroy that much, and cause so many casualties.

    I’m afraid that we human beings will never learn from the past. Time and time again greed and insanity wins.

  13. David says:

    Ok. Well im a fucking idiot.

    Thanks for setting me straight, I’ve need that kind of discipline my whole life and never got it. Please spank me.

  14. Charles Jillian says:

    Be careful to notice what this picture is meant to imply, that American troops are there protecting the Iraqi people from some unknown, somewhat undefined enemy. Is that the truth?

    The US military just last week was shelling entire neighborhoods in Sadr City, and you think the Iraqi people want that sort of indiscriminate “protection”? No I think not.

    So fine, some kid got scared and hid behind a US troop. Doesn’t mean we didn’t kill his father or brother in a bombing, and it doesn’t mean the Iraqi people need us.

  15. Bob Jones says:

    Bison says:
    May 29th, 2007 at 2:26 pm
    I wish all the war mongering no-conā€™s kids had to go threw exactly the same life struggle that the boy in this picture has to endure every day.

    I wish you whould go ‘threw’ grade school again and learn how to spell.

  16. alec says:

    Uh, this picture doesn’t imply anything. There’s no hidden agenda, I posted an interesting picture from Iraq that occurred on Memorial Day. What are you trying to get at?

  17. Rintool says:

    Yeah, it’s not like the “establishment” has ever doctored a photo! Or, are there some whack jobs out there who are not aware of this activity..?

  18. asdhu says:

    USA brought chaos and death to a huge amount of people. Iraq’s invasion was just brutal…

  19. ProsebeforhosSucks says:

    http://www.prosebeforehos.com/alec/05/29/happy-memorial-day/#comment-22425

    Uh your an idiot. Its not the picture that implys anything but your false caption.

  20. alec says:

    My false caption? What terms do you want me to use? Write me up something more objective and I’ll put it up.

  21. Brad says:

    “Uh your an idiot.”
    Uh, talk about irony. That should be *You’re* an idiot.

  22. Tex says:

    The humanitarian thing to do for people like Charles Jillian would be to pull out and let it devolve into full blown civil war. Right or wrong reasons for it being there, there’s a mess needing cleaning up.

    As I don’t much care for the Religion of (tiny) Pieces and they’re seditious and irrational ways, I’d just as soon arm them all and seal the borders, let them fight it out amongst themselves, but that isn’t politically plausible.

  23. Marine Steve says:

    Can’t a guy just post an interesting pic for the sake of “Hey check this out”? Or does everything have to have an political/conspiracy/poor me/I’m smarter at posting than you are spin to it?

    Spend time praying for those in leadership and stop whining about them. Maybe we wouldn’t be in the mess we are in. Everyone is so quick to judge everyone else. Why can’t we work together in a positive way?
    Sheesh!

  24. Tex says:

    This is the internet, Steve. Lowest common denominator tends to rule because they don’t have jobs.

  25. AlvinBlah says:

    Jesus fucking shit on a goddamn stick!

    If this isn’t a soldier that came out of an American boot camp, it’s a contracted soldier from the US still fighting in Iraq. It’s an A.P. photo too. This is nothing more than an image showing off how fucked up armed conflict can be.

    Soldier or no, if you’re an advocate for the war, you’re inherently an advocate for propelling tiny pellets of explosive lead into another human that will shatter and destroy any point of contact twixt the two. If you’re down with that, well, fuck you. Humanity is a single species on the planet, and there is no excuse for armed conflict.

    If the greater connectivity of the internet is supposed to do anything it supposed to create interpersonal connections on a global scale, it’s supposed to help eliminate impersonal behavior. What the fuck is going through your head where you can willfully devalue another person’s life.

    Go fuck yourself for that. Fuck yourself with something that really hurts.

    And if you want to make a fight about it, let’s dance motherfucker, I’ll carve the god-damned crucifixion all over your face with this one, Michaelangelo ain’t got shit on me you punk ass bitch.

  26. Bob Jones says:

    Yeah, prayer’s going to solve everything.

  27. Thorndike says:

    Yeah, over abundance of prayer got us into this mess. GWB says that GOD told him to invade IRAQ…it is a shame that GOD didn’t know that there WEREN’T any WMDs there.

  28. Brad says:

    I commend this guy. In the face of possible danger, he is cool, calm, and collected. And he is protecting a child nonetheless. I know that I wouldn’t want to be in that situation right now, and neither would any of you that have posted. Godspeed this Solider. For the war or not I don’t care, this guy is great.

    Ron Paul ’08

  29. Bill D. says:

    I think it’s awesome how he pays no attention to the kid. Essentially saying “sure, you can hide behind me”. God bless our troops. May the “leaders” who abuse them for political/monetary gain come swiftly to Justice.

  30. Paul says:

    David (original commentor)-
    You are a dork. He is obviously wearing the All American patch of the 82nd Airborne Division, which makes sense since they are in B-town right now and this is a B-town photo. He is carrying the standard M-4 carbine with the standard-issue M68 reflex sight. His ACU (Advanced Combat Uniform) and camel-bak water backpack are also standard issue. HTH.

  31. Pikachu says:

    Can’t we all just get along? Happy memorial day, alec.

  32. Terry says:

    There’s something funny about that photo. It just gets to you. I think it’s the giant Associated Press watermark in the middle.

  33. jingles says:

    It appears that his unit patch is 82d Airborne. Non-standard boots. All else looks real to me. (Captain, USA, ret)

  34. Anonymous says:

    Picture looks fake

  35. Decon says:

    I don’t know why people went off on political rants, this picture is proof of the living contradictions in Iraq (and the world for that matter). The boy and the soldier, vulnerability and security, one depending on the other, each the reflection of the other. It’s very much a tragic comedy, life and death, and we humans are just actors on the global stage.

  36. alec says:

    Terry: Amazing eyes, which are a lot better than mine. I’m going to link to the photographers website on the bottom of the post.

    Yes, it’s real. Stop pontificating on it’s authenticity — I have better things to do then forge this picture.

  37. Philomelius says:

    If I was there, I sure as hell would not hide behind a GI for protection…

    People in Baghdad know the drill and try to stay as far away from them as possible.

  38. Devin says:

    The point is, no matter if you support the war or not, there is a child in distress. It is a very touching photo.

  39. Dr. Wang says:

    Most of you guys just need to calm down. Its a picture that some guy thought was interesting based on what *he* things is interesting. As for your thoughts on the whole war thing, good for you, but do you think we care?

  40. Mark Twain's Ghost says:

    O Lord our Father, our young patriots, idols of our hearts, go forth to battle — be Thou near them! With them — in spirit — we also go forth from the sweet peace of our beloved firesides to smite the foe. O Lord our God, help us to tear their soldiers to bloody shreds with our shells; help us to cover their smiling fields with the pale forms of their patriot dead; help us to drown the thunder of the guns with the shrieks of their wounded, writhing in pain; help us to lay waste their humble homes with a hurricane of fire; help us to wring the hearts of their unoffending widows with unavailing grief; help us to turn them out roofless with little children to wander unfriended the wastes of their desolated land in rags and hunger and thirst, sports of the sun flames of summer and the icy winds of winter, broken in spirit, worn with travail, imploring Thee for the refuge of the grave and denied it — for our sakes who adore Thee, Lord, blast their hopes, blight their lives, protract their bitter pilgrimage, make heavy their steps, water their way with their tears, stain the white snow with the blood of their wounded feet! We ask it, in the spirit of love, of Him Who is the Source of Love, and Who is the ever-faithful refuge and friend of all that are sore beset and seek His aid with humble and contrite hearts. Amen.

  41. I think the Iraq invasion was a mistake. Bush & Co. invaded for quite dubious reasons.

    Just wanted to get it out of the way, which side I’m on.

    Now the pic … scared kid: we get armies of therapists sent into schools when there is a shooting here in the free and safe world. An army of therapists probably couldn’t put that kid back together. The soldier: that’s what America used to stand for; could still stand for. There’s still time for redemption, but first it’s probably going to get a hell of a lot worse. I feel sorry for that soldier and that boy. If they live, it probably won’t ever be over.

  42. alec says:

    Well, I have my own views of the war, but they aren’t shared on this post.

  43. Anonymous says:

    Those are not issue boots. They indeed are regulation, and very common among U.S. soldiers, but are “personal purchase”.

  44. Shaking my head says:

    How do we know the kid is an Iraqi ? Are those Iraqi issue sandals ?
    The shirt and pants do not look to be Iraqi issue either.
    Clearly this is an attempt by the Swedes to discredit the Cajuns.

    or maybe…

    it’s just a damn good candid photo. Look at it, learn from it, and STFU.

    sheesh

  45. AnnHines says:

    To all you posters who like to tell people to keep their views to themselves, I would just like to say, I donā€™t think so.
    Someone posts a photo of war in Iraq and weā€™re not supposed to comment about the war?
    This war is wrong, that kid should not have to live like that and to be honest these people were better off under a brutal dictator then they are now.

  46. Pratik says:

    And why is this important?

  47. subcorpus says:

    a good pic …
    why is a subject of debate suddenly … ?

  48. […] a look at these photos: “An Iraqi boy hides behind a U.S. soldier on Monday amid gunfire after a car bomb in Central […]

  49. nebbish says:

    lol americans

  50. AlvinBlah says:

    lolololooll1l1l1l1l1l1l11l1

    AMERICANS!!!!!11!!!!

    arglflarbligharshabitaslafgdadkljghjalskvj!!!!!!

  51. Bla says:

    Those boots do not look standard issue is because they are jump boots, and he does not have the ACU pants bloused.

  52. alec says:

    Where do I get my pants bloused???

  53. Jolly Sapper says:

    I didn’t read through all of the comments so i might be saying something that has already been said.

    SO.. okay, the old blotchy paterned BDU’s (battle dress uniform) is being phased out in favor of the “bit map barf” pattern. I’ve seen marines wearing those types of uniforms back in 2000 when I was a private.

    The weapon is a M-4 carbine, which were being phased into the military (at least the Army) back in 01-02 (i’ll use those dates because thats when I was issued one to replace my M-16.) They are smaller, reduced range because of the shorter barrel, but since you don’t normally get a 600 meter straight shot in a city at ANYBODY it doesn’t matter much.

    The boots aren’t jump boots, they are the standard issue boots used with the DCU’s (desert combat uniforms). Unless they are being made either differently or by another manufacturer, they suck. The soles wear off in the heat and moon dust after about 3 months of regular day to day use. You don’t exactly want to be weaing black recruit boots while standing out in 120+ degree heat in full sun on guard duty for 4 hours (not to mention that trying to keep the boots regulation black after being coated in Kiwi in the middle of a desert is impossible.)

    The patch is easily seen in the first picture (which was moved down onto the shoulder pocket from where it used to be high on the shoulder, a new addition to the uniform that wasn’t around on the old BDU/DCU’s and was a constant complaint because all of the pockets on the old uniform tops were underneath your body armor and useless.) The patch isn’t obvious on the second picture, probably due to the slight change in position of the photographer. You might be able to make out the AA patch if you enlarged the first picture instead of the second one.

    So long as your pants legs aren’t haning open like you are trying to be a sailor, it doesn’t matter if you’re using the little strings in the bottom or tucking the pants legs into the tops of your boots. You’ll be well within the regulations.

    Why the kid ran behind the guy with the gun and the body armor when the situation decided to go south? When the shit hits the fan you are more likely to react to the situation than sit down and right out a flow chart as to what your options are and which is more likely to be the correct course of action…. and yes I do see the irony of the photograph (kid hides behind the soldier whose presence is probably part of the reason the kid needs to find somebody to hide behind)…

  54. Snooper says:

    alec…GREAT pic!! As for the neolib, Leftinistra, jihadi-sucking troll posters here, kiss this vets’ ass.

    As for “why we are there” and “why they are not here…yet” go here and begin your education into what this war is really about. Morons.

    http://takeourcountryback.townhall.com/g/bda7cdd4-da40-4c3f-a781-a8a23877567f

  55. Kit says:

    I thought the war was about the second coming of Jesus? Aren’t we fighting for judgment day? Of course the neolib Desi press won’t tell you that, only God will say it. That’s why you should all let Jesus into your heart, so that Satan doesn’t marry you to a queer in Hell’s cathedral, aka CALIFORNIA!

  56. alec says:

    Thanks. I’m glad people like it. And everyone else, stop contemplating whether its real or not!

  57. I think this is a pretty good metaphor for the situation in Iraq. The innocent Iraqis, as portrayed by the child, when looking to America in their search for the now distant memory of safety, find America’s attention is elsewhere, as portrayed by the soldier’s indifference. Nice find Alec.

  58. Snake says:

    “find Americaā€™s attention is elsewhere”

    Look at the direction of where the kid is running from, and look where the paratrooper is looking.

    You’re a blind ass-hat!

  59. USA Retired says:

    Saw the 2nd photo (kid hiding behind soldier) Tuesday on the NY Times above the fold. The incident was a car bomb in a predominently Shiite marketplace in Baghdad that took out a few innocent shoppers. Then shots rang out (see 1st photo when people were just starting to scatter) and the kid decided the guy (82nd Airborne) wearing body armor was his safest bet.
    Kind of reminds me of ROBOCOP, walking erect into the danger zone with his head swiveling seeking out targets of opportunity.

  60. RyanThinking says:

    >I think this is a pretty good metaphor for the situation in Iraq. The innocent Iraqis, as
    >portrayed by the child, when looking to America in their search for the now distant memory
    >of safety, find Americaā€™s attention is elsewhere, as portrayed by the soldierā€™s
    >indifference. Nice find Alec.

    When you’re protecting somebody, do you stare at them the whole time or keep an eye out for additional dangers? Car bombs don’t always come solo. If you think the soldier should be focusing on the child instead of assessing the situation, please don’t try to ever protect anybody.

    Also, if the soldier was indifferent, he wouldn’t be in the picture. The very fact that he’s there indicates his desire to protect.

  61. C.L.Lucas says:

    Those who advocate war least, are the ones who must fight it…

    “Soldier or no, if youā€™re an advocate for the war, youā€™re inherently an advocate for propelling tiny pellets of explosive lead into another human that will shatter and destroy any point of contact twixt the two. If youā€™re down with that, well, fuck you. Humanity is a single species on the planet, and there is no excuse for armed conflict.”

    And I fight it. I will fight it. And I’ll fucking fight it wherever I have to so my children can practice their religeon freely, whatever they choose, not under Sharia Law, or being forced to watch the horizon over their towns filled with Minarets…

    Something tells me my perception of reality is better.

    So lets “Dance” AlvinBlah, and since you’ll be bringing your knife (to carve a crucifix on me) to a gun-fight, I’ll get you before you get me. It is what I am trained to do. So let us dance Murtha-fucka, Let’s fucking Tango…

  62. ALLTHEWAY says:

    First of all David that SOLDIER is wearing the ‘ ALL AMERICAN” double “A” patch that belongs to one of the finest divisions in the military,82nd Airborne divison,if you are in fact a soldier you would have recognized it.

  63. AlvinBlah says:

    C.L.Lucas:

    Don’t take up your fucked up “daddy died in war” shit with me.

    It sucks hard that someone so close to you died in such a terrible way, but don’t twist that and me into some kind of narrow minded fucked up catharsis for you where you accuse all those that disagree into some kind of bomb throwing terrorists out to put russia and china in charge of all those god loving americans….

    get ahold of your own demons before you come and try to tackle me.

    http://killingjanefonda.com/kjf_main.htm
    http://www.cllucas.com

  64. AmusedByTrolls says:

    How like a troll. First, we have an absolute twit spouting off about things he knows nothing about. “Where’s his insignia? ” Why, right where it belongs, don’t you recognize the EIGHTY-FREEAKING-SECOND AIRBORNE patch ?

    “His cammo pattern appears something less than genuine issue” Well, color me suprised. If you can’t recognize the insignia of the lead element of the XVIII Airborne Corps (Sorry, 101st), I’m pretty sure you’re ignorant of cammie patterns as well. My WIFE, with no military experience, saw the “AA” immediately.

    And, of course, we HAVE to mention Halliburton. Those of us who know anything about Iraq talk about Blackwater, Aegis, Global Strategies, and others. (Try Google) I’m not too sure what division of Halliburton (Drilling, Fluid Systems, or Product Optimization) handles the big bad security nazis. Oh, that’s right, Halliburton is an energy services company. But it’s become an “eevil buzz-word” that ignoramuses (ignorami?) trot out to “prove their point.” What they prove, of course, is their bottomless ignorance.

    Oh, and Anonymous ? A little clue: Asking “Hmm, what kind of uniform is that? ” is a neutral question. Starting with “That does not look to me to be an authentic . . .” is saying “I don’t believe you” right up front. Since this is also being portrayed as generally positive, the comment implies “That’s can’t be right — I don’t believe in such positive news.” So, yes, it WAS mouthing off. And from an ignoramus so abysmally clueless he couldn’t recognize the 82nd insignia. I call bullshit! The first poster was never in the Army if he doesn’t know the “AA”

    Then we have Harry, “Saddam was a criminal, but so are the ā€˜peopleā€™ ” who equates our current Administration with Saddam Hussein’s. However you feel about our current administration — and you might be surprised how opposed to it I am — making ANY comparison between an invasion backed by 18 UN resolutions, conducted under rules of engagement that are extraordinailry strict, with (comparitively) light civilian and military casualties to the butchery that was Saddam is vacuous to the point of insanity.

    Moving on, we find another idiot, “The US military just last week was shelling entire neighborhoods in Sadr City, and you think the Iraqi people want that sort of indiscriminate ā€œprotectionā€?” implying that the shelling was widespread and careless. I can tell he never called a shot in his life. And I think he meant air-strikes, since that was what I’d heard happened. And those are always aimed, since ferrying the damned things is expensive. But “shelling” evokes much more moving images. . . and accuracy doesn’t count.

    Oh, and let us not forget the breathtaking idiocy, from a protected class who’s never been raped or beaten:

    “Humanity is a single species on the planet, and there is no excuse for armed conflict.”

    How butt-stupid do you have to be to ever make a sweeping generailzation like that. However you feel about the war in Iraq, speaking in absolutes like that is the mark of an eight-year-old. No matter what is happening in Iraq, this prize-winning idiot seems to think that NO armed conflict is ever just. Can I hire two refrigerator-sized ex-cons to sodomize you for an hour just to see if you fight back ?

    When you make that Nobel-Prize-In-Stupidity-Winning statement, there is NOTHING you can say that will ever convince me that you are worth listening to. On anything.

    Let’s face it, we may disagree as to where to draw the line, but if you genuinely believe that there is NEVER a reason to kill, please get a vasectomy. Our gene-pool is murky enough as it is. Of COURSE there’s some people that need killing. Whether or not “Person X” rises to that level IS debatable. And SHOUULD be debated. Intelligently.

    Then we come to Bill D, the bright spot in a field of cow pies. His comment “May the ā€œleadersā€ who abuse them for political/monetary gain come swiftly to Justice.” clearly expresses his disagreement and disdain for the administration without impugning the intelligence of the troops, or their dedication to the mission. If anyone wants to learn how to “support the troops but not the war” they could take lessons from Bill

    Except for Bill, this pretty well sums up far too much of the anti-war movement, ignorant, clueless, and belligerent about it. PROUD that they know nothing, EAGER to demonstrate it.

    I often weep for the anti-war movement. They have degenerated, Anakin Skywalker-like, into spoiled, whiny brats. I long for those who would carefully investigate the issues and debate rationally. WE NEED THEM. Sadly, they are rare in the arena.

  65. john says:

    smart kid , but I bet they growing up real damn fast over there. Knows which side of that soldier might start spewing out bullets anyhow.

  66. Deeznutz says:

    Great picture! very sad situation though. You may not support the War or our troops but thank God for them. War is reality. You have idiots who think the War is about the oil. How do you explain war since the beginning of time? You have idiots like hollywood stars Alec Baldwin, Sean Penn, Fat Rosie Odonnell who are against the war but are violent people toward their own spouses. Hyprocrites! Liberals; this is what happens when Jesus Christ, the Son of our living God is not our foundation for living. Our founding Fathers believed this and that is why they took much of our Constitution from the living Bible. Go ahead and continue to take God out of our American lives. America will get worse in violence!

  67. Eddie says:

    To David the first comment I see on here…

    you are truely a moron. you obviously have no clue about anything and yes the man and the image can be verified because my company owns the sector that that Mosque that was bombed was in. As far as you questioning him being military, have you never heard of ACUs, M4 and after-market boots? And what the hell are you talking about “insignia”? Its funny that your conspiracy theories evolve so deep that you even question the geniune nature of photographs taken in an experience above anything you will ever do in your life.

  68. AlvinBlah says:

    I’m glad that having an experience gives ownership and authority on said experience.

  69. Mark says:

    Wow- What a lot of ignorance and hate filled rhetoric!

    Yep- it’s a GI doing his job, in his country’s uniform.
    The symbolism is SO POWERFUL. A heads up soldier protecting a young child.

    Too bad so many liberal nitwits have to foam at the mouth, instead of coming up with a positive suggestion.

    Oh, by the way, announcing that you are leaving a fight is called declaring defeat.

    The sectarian RIF (Radical Islamic Fundamentalist) violence is NOT being caused by the presence of US troops. It is being caused by the extremists in the “Religion of Peace” that want to establish a world wide caliphate.

    I grieve for the ordinary citizens of Iraq who want to raise a family peacefully.

    The US led coalition tried to set up conditions for that to happen.

    Bush, Rumsfeld and Co made a big mistake in trying to go to war on the cheap.

    What’s the way forward? Cut and Run didn’t work out so great in SW Asia in the 70’s.
    Ask any of the victims of Pol Pot.
    Let’s not repeat the mistakes done by the Congress in power at that time.

    Come on – somebody say something smart!

  70. oh for heaven’s sake!! the kid doesn’t know or care why the American soldier is there — he has learned that the American soldier is a friend and will protect the Iraqi child with his own life if necessary. simple as that.

  71. rickl says:

    AnnHines says:
    …to be honest these people were better off under a brutal dictator then they are now.

    Really. Would you be better off under a brutal dictator than you are now?

  72. That kid simply came to the same realization that the tribal leaders — and even now, some of the insurgents — in Anbar (and elsewhere) have:

    We are not the enemy … we are here to protect them.

    And going “on the cheap”, instead of invoking the Powell Doctrine, reinforced that message … instead of giving the enemy more targets, without an equivalent return in positive effect.

    Maybe we were too cheap … but going too far the other way could have been counterproductive, as well.

    As for the “Bush Lied”, etc. crowd that has gathered here … it is your kind of thinking that made this inevitible war longer and harder, by discouraging our leaders from taking direct, timely, resolute, and decisive action against this threat … for the many decades it existed, well before 11 September 2001.

    Here’s a message for y’all — the same one I delivered to those who shared your thinking, who were standing on the front lawn of Halliburton in 2004:

    http://casebolt.blogspot.com/2005/09/sorry-for-long-absence.html

    And here is why leaving Iraq is not an option … for failure there, is not an option, if we wish to stop the killing:

    http://casebolt.blogspot.com/2007/05/folded-colors.html

  73. alec says:

    I will say something smart by refraining from this conversation and enjoying Karate Kid 3 from the comfort of my home (in HD, too!)

  74. AlvinBlah says:

    @ Mark

    You want a positive suggestion from a nitwit?

    Lets start by looking at the cold hard facts. Iraq is fucked up as shit. US presence or not, the nation is in a twisted state. The American invasion with inadequate troop levels and poor long-long term planning placed us in this situation…

    There are 2 easy choices

    1. Stay until something changes

    2. Leave before it gets worse

    A lot can be inferred from these two routes, but one involves less people dying. Advocating for a withdrawal is not a cowardly cutting and running, its staying the course in honoring the lives of those that have served, adn not killing more needlessly.

    There is a lot of debate about what should happen in the next 10 months with troop deployments and withdrawal plans, it’s still important to keep the reasons for war in mind.

    Those reasons were:
    1. Al Qaeda was in Iraq and developing terrorist cells to attack the US with Iraqi government support
    2. Iraq was developing biological and chemical weapons of mass destruction to use on civilian populations
    3. He’s a baaaaaaaaad dude

    Al Qaeda is a Suni organization, and Iraq under Saddam was Shia, the two ideologically hated each other, that’s like claiming that during the 80s Irish protestant and catholic terrorist groups were working together..the two don’t mix…Al Qaeda came into Iraq later.

    Anyone has yet to find any weapons of mass destruction, and many of the sources for intelligence have been later discredited.

    Saddam may have been a bad fucked up dude, but not only did the US help place him in power, and support him in their was against Iran, but there was never an official request for international aid from any rebel group…

    If the pretext for entering into the war in the first place is either false, fucked up, or convoluted it makes a hard decision easier. If nothing will dramatically improve with either choice, it makes more sense to remove the offending military force from the situation.

    If you think pulling out now is a defeat, wait until the US is actually beat, like in Vietnam, then forced to pull out. See what that does for national morale. That’d be 2 wars that Republicans lost.

    What about loyalty of action actually makes sense with the perpetuation of this war. There has been an escalation in the war since the “surge” and things are not better, not just the leftists, but most of the country wants this war over. No matter what, how can one be an advocate of a civilian controlled military and not at least respect the will of the majority in where it wants it’s military.

    Being in or a supporter of the military does not give ownership of it’s agendas. Liberals pay taxes, support the government structure, and are active participating citizens. Just because we disagree doesn’t make an opposite opinion less valid.

    Anyway, in the coming months you should be working harder at defending the war than attacking those that oppose it. The elections are turning against neo-conservatism, and you’re going to have to work harder to explain yourself to the majority of your countrymen, not, the other way around.

    So I say to you, what good reason is there to stay at war?

  75. What good reason is there to stay at war?

    “1. Al Qaeda was in Iraq and developing terrorist cells to attack the US with Iraqi government support.”

    Our concern wasn’t only Al Quada in Iraq (and yes, they were there, with the approval of the Management in the Land of the Ultimate Control Freaks — even if there were no direct operational ties); it was the whole breadth of international terrorism Saddam supported, fanning the flames of violence in Israel and elsewhere … including providing safe haven to at least one of the 1993 WTC attackers. Furthermore, if Baathist Syria and Shiite Iran can pursue common interests, so could Baathist Saddam and Sunni Al Quada … but not any more, thanks to America.

    Think past the very next move on the chessboard.

    “2. Iraq was developing biological and chemical weapons of mass destruction to use on civilian populations”

    Read the Duelfer report — Saddam had everything but the stockpiles, ready to restart his efforts in that regard once the bribery of the UN perpetrated by Saddam via Crude-For-Food took effect.

    “3. Heā€™s a baaaaaaaaad dude”

    Do you know why we used proxies like Saddam over the years? Because people like you convinced our leaders that America should NEVER use its military power in a direct, timely, resolute, and decisive faction. So they made the best of a bad situation … and we are now paying for your success in promoting such folly.

    Bottom line: no totalitarian ruler in history, with the will and the capability to expand his rule beyond his borders, has stopped doing so on his own accord … they all had to be confronted with the credible threat of force to be stopped.

    And, we were not credible in the eyes of those like Saddam and bin Laden … because people like you kept convincing us to stay our hands against such thugs. As a result they became stronger and bolder.

    Now, we have leaders who have learned that hard lesson … the question is, will we still have them on 21 January 2009? Or, will we repeat the MidEast history of the last 30 years, and see still more die?

    Now, let me add to the list …

    4> To keep Iraq, a relatively advanced and very prosperous nation, from — ONCE AGAIN — being hijacked to support terrorism.

    5> To continue to move towards ending the scourge of totalitarianism in the name of radical Islam — NOW, before millions die as, with our backs against the wall, this becomes a classical, nation-on-nation World War. This ain’t Vietnam … if they carry the day, this enemy will not stop with Iraq.

    6> “Anbar Rising” — google it, instead of regurgitating the same old, gnat-strained snapshots and factoids that have been thrown, like poo on the wall at the monkey house, whenever y’all think some might stick to the President you think was “selected, not elected”. The Iraqis who were once cold to — or even shooting at — us are now working with us.

    Just walking away, won’t end this war. It will just bring it to the most vulnerable spots among those who can stop the killing; i.e. within our own civilization … unless we continue to act with RESOLVE to put a stop to it, and stand with those who have chosen to stand with us against this enemy.

  76. bluliner10 says:

    Alec, nice job with finding that picture. It is a soldier with 82nd Airborne, wearing Oakley boots, carrying a M-4 Carbine and equipped with an ACOG. The boots don’t blouse in the army because they are already designed to form fit around the boots, notice the elastic. The Iraqi’s stay away from us? No, they didn’t stay away unless they knew there was A: A bad guy in the neighborhood watching them. B: Knowledge that an IED or SVBIED was to be detonated. Usually when the kids got close we knew the area should be good to go. To the rest of the ostriches on the board making inane comments regarding Saddam’s lack of support to AQ, or the lack of WMD, or any of the other media hot topics that they used or chose to highlight. There were 16 mandated reasons to go into Iraq and remove Saddam. In addition, it was official US policy Regime Change for Iraq…signed by Clinton #42. So, clamor and whine, and yap at the dark, shadows and sounds…meanwhile this Sheepdog will sit quietly preventing the real dangerous wolf from entering your flock…Semper Fi

  77. AlvinBlah says:

    http://www.motherjones.com/bush_war_timeline/

    It’s an easy one, but everything draws back to real sources. Make that one be proven wrong.

  78. Anonymous says:

    that is sooo photoshopped…..just look at the soldier…his position barely changes as the kid goes behind him, and you compare the picture quality of the soldier and the surrounding….i noticed a slight difference

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