Mission Accomplished?
I'm sorry, but it is beyond my comprehension that it would take you that long to feel betrayed, by the ineptness of your so called Commander in Chief. That you did not realise it, when it took him nearly a week to turn up for his photo op, when so many of his citizens, where dying on Sept 11
When President Bush landed on the USS Abraham Lincoln four years ago tomorrow, my soldiers and I were preparing ourselves to deploy into Baghdad. We listened intently to the speech he gave because he was our Commander in Chief and we were preparing to go into battle under his command.
My soldiers and I watched as our comrades blitzed their way to Baghdad and in a few short weeks toppled Saddam's regime, even tearing down the dictators statues along the way.
I was honored to be leading my platoon into a battle which I believed would both defend our nation and bring freedom to an oppressed people.
As the president stood in front of the now infamous Mission Accomplished banner and announced, "my fellow Americans: Major combat operations in Iraq have ended. In the battle of Iraq, the United States and our allies have prevailed," a tremendous sense of pride filled my soul.
Our leader, the man standing on the deck of an aircraft carrier half way around the world, exhumed so much confidence that my soldiers and I mentally prepared ourselves for a short six month stint in Iraq's capital. I was a believer!
"Now," the president said, "our coalition is engaged in securing and reconstructing that country." I understood this, but I began to question why only days before convoying to Baghdad we still did not have any idea what our mission was going to be. I searched out an infantry platoon sergeant to train my artillery men on basic tactics such as raiding houses or patrolling down streets. I still expected that our leader had a plan for us to execute. I may have questioned, but I was a believer.
As we crossed the Kuwaiti border into the desert of Iraq in the dead night my platoon sergeant and I removed the back plates from our body armor to share with the soldiers in our vehicle who had no protection. We were nearly sickened to think that we would be sent to battle without the proper equipment, but we had faith that our leader was seeing a bigger picture and understood the risk. I was a believer.
When my soldiers and I took over our section of Baghdad from the battled hardened 3rd Infantry Division we were preparing to execute the plan for "securing and reconstructing" that our leader talked about. Driving around the streets of Baghdad it became quickly evident that the Iraqi people were desperate for some basic social and economic needs. Sewage, waste, jobs and other basic needs were not being met.
As a commander on the ground, I expected those leading me to provide me the guidance and systems for my soldiers to implement. I expected there to be a Phase IV for us to execute so we could become "engaged in securing and reconstructing" that our leader talked about in front of the Mission Accomplished banner.
I was a believer, but I was betrayed. >>>cont.
LinkHere
My soldiers and I watched as our comrades blitzed their way to Baghdad and in a few short weeks toppled Saddam's regime, even tearing down the dictators statues along the way.
I was honored to be leading my platoon into a battle which I believed would both defend our nation and bring freedom to an oppressed people.
As the president stood in front of the now infamous Mission Accomplished banner and announced, "my fellow Americans: Major combat operations in Iraq have ended. In the battle of Iraq, the United States and our allies have prevailed," a tremendous sense of pride filled my soul.
Our leader, the man standing on the deck of an aircraft carrier half way around the world, exhumed so much confidence that my soldiers and I mentally prepared ourselves for a short six month stint in Iraq's capital. I was a believer!
"Now," the president said, "our coalition is engaged in securing and reconstructing that country." I understood this, but I began to question why only days before convoying to Baghdad we still did not have any idea what our mission was going to be. I searched out an infantry platoon sergeant to train my artillery men on basic tactics such as raiding houses or patrolling down streets. I still expected that our leader had a plan for us to execute. I may have questioned, but I was a believer.
As we crossed the Kuwaiti border into the desert of Iraq in the dead night my platoon sergeant and I removed the back plates from our body armor to share with the soldiers in our vehicle who had no protection. We were nearly sickened to think that we would be sent to battle without the proper equipment, but we had faith that our leader was seeing a bigger picture and understood the risk. I was a believer.
When my soldiers and I took over our section of Baghdad from the battled hardened 3rd Infantry Division we were preparing to execute the plan for "securing and reconstructing" that our leader talked about. Driving around the streets of Baghdad it became quickly evident that the Iraqi people were desperate for some basic social and economic needs. Sewage, waste, jobs and other basic needs were not being met.
As a commander on the ground, I expected those leading me to provide me the guidance and systems for my soldiers to implement. I expected there to be a Phase IV for us to execute so we could become "engaged in securing and reconstructing" that our leader talked about in front of the Mission Accomplished banner.
I was a believer, but I was betrayed. >>>cont.
LinkHere
posted by Kangaroo Brisbane Australia at 3:52 AM
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