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| Home Front: Politix |
| Military families respond to the "WMD joke" issue |
| 2004-03-29 |
| The Wall Street Journal’s "Best of the Web" solicited reactions from its readers who are in the military or have family members in the military to the President’s "WMD joke" at last Wednesday’s Radio and Television Correspondents dinner. The Journal received 101 responses: 98 approving, 3 disapproving. Click the link to read it all; I’ve posted here just one of the responses, the one which touched me the most: I served in Iraq, and it sucked. The dust storms that sandblasted your skin raw weren’t fun. The heat was unbearable. We placed a thermometer in the sun in August, and it registered 157 degrees. At the same time, a thermometer in the shade read 137. Of course, for the most part, it was a dry heat, except I was in the South, and in late August and September, the wind would shift bringing moist air from the Persian Gulf. How about 120-plus and 90% humidity to brighten your day? Oh and the critters--rats, snakes, scorpions and my favorite, the camel spider. They live on the desert floor and have venom that numbs the poor camels they jump up on. After numbing the area, they chow down on the still-alive camel. The locals told me that its normal to see camels walking through the desert and their guts fall out because camel spiders eat their intestinal walls. The camel spiders also don’t discriminate--people, camels, it’s all the same to them. Did I mention the critters of the microscopic variety? Explosive doesn’t do justice to the intestinal issues I encountered. Of course, I almost forgot the AK-47-wielding locals or the imported locals with explosives and rocket-propelled grenades. Yes sir, it truly sucked. Would I do it again? In a heartbeat! If you could meet the sincerely grateful Iraqis that I helped liberate, you’d understand. To answer your question, do I care if the president makes a crack about WMDs? Not at all. Based on my experience, I’d be perfectly happy if the president’s reason for going to war wasn’t WMDs but rather that he was just having a bad day and wanted a piece of Saddam. --K.B., Army We really don’t deserve to be protected by people like this. Thank you, K.B., you and your brothers in arms. Good luck, good hunting, and get home safe. |
| Posted by:Mike |
| #9 Thanks guys for finishing the job we started over a decade ago. Sorry you got the duty for something we could have handled back then. |
| Posted by: OldSpook 2004-03-29 7:23:57 PM |
| #8 Thanks for a great post! Interestingly enough, only a couple of people on the Wall Street Journal editorial page complained. There are many, many responses after that, all friendly to, and appreciative of, the President. As it should be! The beef over the WMD is just another example of the Dems trying and failing to smear George Bush. The truth will come out in the end regarding the WMD. In the meantime, I bet all the favorable responses that came in supporting the President just made the libs cringe. I like thinking about that. |
| Posted by: ex-lib 2004-03-29 6:38:28 PM |
| #7 For the record I have read a report in "Paris-Match" (remember that magazine whose reporter was with the terrorists who tried to down a cargo plane over Irak) about the war wounded. people who would never walk again or worse and they too were telling it was worth their sacrifice and that they would do it gain. And no the reporter didn't write sneering comments. Quite the opposite: general tone was respectful and admirative. In the same issue there was an editorial attacking the remainder of the French press for showing so much compassion to Saddam and so little to his victims. |
| Posted by: JFM 2004-03-29 5:07:20 PM |
| #6 Oh, great. Camel spiders. In the southern end of Iraq. That's where my son is now (Umm Qasr), guess I'll be hearing from him about all those nifty critters once the weather heats up. Bodyguard: yes, you guys sure did rock. God bless you, and thanks. |
| Posted by: Dave D. 2004-03-29 4:20:32 PM |
| #5 Bodyguard: Good to see you back in the 'Burg, Sarge. Come visit more often, and thanks again for your service. |
| Posted by: Mike 2004-03-29 4:16:10 PM |
| #4 May God continue to bless our men and women in the military who "get it" and who serve bravely and proudly whether they get it or not. I am so proud of them and grateful for their service, especially in the Iraq theatre, more than I can say. Outstanding post, Mike! Thank you so much. |
| Posted by: Jen 2004-03-29 3:59:49 PM |
| #3 K.B. - Did we rock or what? I also spent 9 months over there, and it is very humbling to have your face and hands kissed by joyous Free Iraqis. I also would do it again, in a heart-beat. |
| Posted by: Bodyguard 2004-03-29 3:27:33 PM |
| #2 I'd like to second Evert's remark. Thanks KB and all your fellow troops. |
| Posted by: rabidfox 2004-03-29 3:12:18 PM |
| #1 Outstanding. |
| Posted by: Evert Visser in NL 2004-03-29 2:18:10 PM |