Iraq War Petition

[betasoldier]

For Demonseed if he wishes to sign it, there is a petition going on for active duty servicemen from all services to sign that petitions Congress to not retreat from the Iraqi war. No, we cannot get in trouble for this, it is protected under DoD Directive 1325.6 and DoD Directive 7050.6, so we're okay. I personally, have already signed it and am passing it on to all the service members I know. You must be active duty, reserve, or guard to sign it.
Appeal for Courage

For those of you who wish to support the war via signing a petition as well, you can go to here or here. If you support the continuation of the Iraq war without a troop deadline I urge you to sign these petitions and pass them on to other people that you know. If you don't wish to sign at least pass these petitions on to other people so that their voices may be heard. Thank you very much.

[redwarrior666]

I support the War... and those Lilly white sissy fags in the senate and congress are showing our enemies that we are divided. Way to fucking go Congress and Senate, show the world that we are divided and don't have the stomach to do what needs to be done. The enemy wins when are divided as a nation. Hollywood is also in on this... I guess making Gazzillions of dollars a year corrupts your though processes and makes you like a hippie that's all stoney and wants peace, love and all that other bullshit ,after all can't we all get along in this world.... WRONG..... Smoke some more crack HOLLYWOOD!!!! America has to wake up, this is like a bad dream and it's going to get way worse if we leave IRAQ. I'm just waiting for Israel to pounce on Iran and it's just a matter of time. Bush is doing the right thing by staying the course in Iraq. Why is it that are long gone the days where America could stand behind its troops and support them? We cannot win any war in the present state we are in as a nation. There are so many anti-americans out there I see them and hear them every fucking day...I just want to tell get the fuck out of my country, but no they are here to stay I'm afraid. Just my two cents as a RED Blooded MEAT eating American.

[Damaen]

Wow. I checked this thread on the assumption that it was another petition AGAINSt the war. I couldnt imagine anyone being for the war, -especially- servicemen.

[Gunther]

If the US leaves Iraq, our world situation will be much worse than it is now or was prior to 20 March 2003. Iran will very easily be able to sway a Shiite Government to their way of thinking and thereby create an Ally in the Middle East.

Currently Iran is alone as a Shiite dominated radical Islamic Government. Shiites make up 20% of the world Muslim population with Sunnis holding the majority. In Iran, the ratio is 78% Shiite and less than 20% Sunnis. There are even a few Christians and Jews in Iran. Since most of the Middle East is a Sunni , they don't necessarily agree with the Iranians.

If the US leaves Iraq now, the terrorists from Al Qaeda and other groups who hate the US will be left with no more Americans to kill in their region of the world. Initially, our departure will be perceived as a victory for them, but it will also fill them with the resolve to carry their fight to American soil. That is the lesson of 9/11/01--obviously they will return here when they have no more Americans to kill in Iraq.

The people who want the war to end only see the immediate effects that are staring them right in the face right now. They have the attention span of a 2-year old. "If my stomach growls, I must be hungry and therefore I should eat. I will cry now until someone feeds me." The people urging us to leave Iraq now only see the 2K+ dead American servicemen coming out of Iraq over the past 4 years. The tragic loss of American soldiers and marines is the extent of their vision. It stymies me that they can not see the tens of thousands of innocent civilians, not asking to be placed in harms way that will perish in this country when our servicemen depart Iraq.

As a soldier, I knew there was a possibility that I could be deployed to a hostile land and could possibly die or end up tragically disfigured. I came to terms with that early on in my military career and accepted it as a valid possibility. Anyone who serves and does not do the same is naive. I believe most people who do enter the military and realize exactly what is going on, do the same.

For American soldiers and marines to support the war in Iraq it is no surprise to me. They obviously know first hand what is really going on in Iraq and believe it is a worthwhile endeavor. The few servicemen who believe it is not, had a bad experience that they could not come to terms with, whether it be internal or through the bureaucratic way things are done.

The US military in Iraq is conducting a procedure they call providing a Safe and Secure Environment (SASE). The majority of this is completed by having MPs, Infantry, Armor and other units traveling in the countryside, towns and villages in platoon sized (4 vehicles) Presence Patrols. The purpose of these Presence Patrols is to show the Iraqis that the Americans are here to help them and to defend the Iraqis as well as themselves against those who want to challenge what the Americans/Iraqis are trying to achieve--building a nation.

The US would like to have an Islamic country in the Middle East that it could consider an ally. Based on experiences in the past 60 years they know it is not enough to find anyone and prop them up as a dictator to do their bidding--that's how Saddam, Noriega, Shah Pahlavi and countless others rose to power.

There are Non-Governmental Organizations (NGOs) as well as Governmental organizations assisting the Iraqi people to build a government, conduct proper and safe voting/polling operations, build schools, build businesses, police their neighborhoods, train their military and do every other job/occupation that we take for granted in our own country. Without the US Military providing the SASE, none of those nation-building endeavors will occur and that country will fall into utter chaos with the possibility of another Iran rising from the ashes.

To remove the US Military from Iraq at this juncture prior to that country achieving stability would be an injustice to the Iraqi people, the men and women who have died trying to achieve that end and to the world community.

[BCoop]

I'm all for staying there until the job is done if the servicemen and women are up for it.

[BigBossMonkey]

I'm For the Iraq war, and I know we shouldn't leave until the country has atleast a semblence of some sort of peace/stability for the region of the world (so we'll be there for the rest of time), but I'm anti-how-it-was-executed/think-bush-doesn't-know-what-the-fuck-he-is-doing-and-should-stop-trying-to-run-it.

[betasoldier]

I'm For the Iraq war, and I know we shouldn't leave until the country has atleast a semblence of some sort of peace/stability for the region of the world (so we'll be there for the rest of time), but I'm anti-how-it-was-executed/think-bush-doesn't-know-what-the-fuck-he-is-doing-and-should-stop-trying-to-run-it.

He isn't really trying to run it, the media just tries to make it look that way. I'm talking about the here and now, not the past. He hasn't really micromanaged it whatsoever except for at the start of how we got in. Bush has been letting the generals do their job leading the soldiers over there. It's Congress that's demanding Bush to put the controls on the soldiers that are on them right now. Congress in combination with the media. I'm sorry, but the Rules of Engagement should be that American Soldier's have to stand there while someone's aiming a weapon at them and do nothing until that son of a bitch fires.

[Tackalt]

If the soldiers that were put in charge of commanding the MNF in Iraq were actually able to do everything that they see needed, it'd be a lot easier. But wars always come with the political bullshit of red and blue, thus tying up much needed support and supplies in bureaucratic tape. That, and getting court martialed for every little act deemed a "war crime."

"Don't fucking weird guy digging a hole beside the highway we're patrolling until after he shoots / blows the IED up."

If the military could only use their power to the fullest extent. I understand another Vietnam would be bad, and hopefully with all the seminars at VMI next year from those high up leaders and generals, I'll learn a sensible thing or two.

Oh, and here's a good read...

We should not have come, but we're here, so...

[Valkyrie]

I've been against the war from the start and still against it, it's a complete waste of time, there is no stabilizing that region period they are so unlike us. And as one of those people that can barely pay to live I really don't like the idea that my taxes are going into this I'm sorry

[demonseed]

Well, I for one will add my two cents and hopefully explain my point of view well.

Currently, the bad blood we see on this issue stems from not wanting to stay the course, but to change the way we are doing business. We need to really stabilize this situation and can, but we need to start doing things as a government (i.e. negotiate with neighboring countries to help us as they have more power there than any of us) and not as a President bent on throwing his will into a losing cause by doing business wrong. We see two seperate things on the TV News concerning Iraq and its not all true. The worst part of the current situation are our Army and Marines inbedded training teams that integrate with their Iraqi counterparts. Talking with fellow Marines who have done duties like this makes them come back pissed off. This is becuase they see the corruption within the Iraqi military and the fact that our government dollars go to these Iraqi armies to pay their salaries, all-the-while they use these dollars to fund terroist/guerrila groups and sneak arms out and over to them as well. It takes a long time to even bring charges against these Iraqi generals and all that ever happens is that the Iraqi government releases those back-stabbing bitches from their Iraqi Army services with no punishment. Again, this can take months to even get a general removed, if that even happens. We are basically doing what someone already said, we are not using our forces the right way and we are not standing up a proper Iraqi Army and Government to take charge. Until we re-adjust our current regimes foreign policy and restructure one that works, we will never stabalize that area. We must figure out a new way or we will be there indefinately. I support the war and will continue to serve without complaint as that is my job and I VOLUNTEERED!! So I have no sympathy for anyone in the armed forces who wants out or cries about having to go back, everything comes with a price, and you signed the dotted line. So to quote a line from Major Payne, "You'll get no sympathy from me, but you can find it in the dictionary between shit and syphillus."!

We do need to support this war as an American nation in the respect that we need to do the right thing over there. If we withdrawal, we will tear a divide throughout that region like we've never seen. We were naive to think that these people can and will form a democratic or republic type of nation as these people do not think like that yet. We as an American people need to force and petition the government to rethink a new strategy that allows other players to come in and help even if a certain President needs to swallow his pride some...again, all things come with a price. We also need to ensure that our military gets full support and can react with all the force needed to do their job, i.e. I know and Iraqi Unit is secretly funding enemy sources, take that man into custody and try him with treason/spying and ensure the punishment is swift and decisive.

So, in conclusion, I support what we are doing with all my heart, it's too late to come back now as we already jumped off the precipice. We need to change how we do it and let the military control the in theatre money spending and pull back the yahoos directing this from DC (the civilian armchair generals such as Cheney). This is and should be a military affair, however direct oversight and scrutiny should still be done by higher governemnt to ensure we do the right thing as well. Currently, we look at the situation now as send more or withdrawal....I think it should be start afresh with a policy that will work and take the term WIN out of Iraq and replace it with Stabalize!