Posted on 08/30/2003 5:23:01 AM PDT by Ragtime Cowgirl
AUG 29, 2003
<Begin Rant>
We are not alone, after all.
As of this week, there were 136,000 U.S. troops and 22,000 troops from 28 countries in Iraq. That's right. Twenty-eight. Not two. Not three. Not ten. Dutch and Italian forces are currently assisting at Tallil - where Chromey is stationed - and are taking on more responsibilities. Why then the talk of needing an Official UN Permission Slip? If I understand the so-called predicament correctly, the US is seeking a UN mandate in order to say it's 'OK' for everyone to actually be there in an attempt to make the more faint-at-heart countries feel warm and squishy about sending troops to Iraq. But the UN doesn't want to play unless they can put A Very Important UN Person in charge of operations. Like THAT'S ever gonna happen. Call me extreme, but if the UN were in control of US troops, the first thing they'd do is take all the bullets out of all the guns. Soldiers might as well lay down and die. I'm not kidding. Can you imagine all the political correctness that would go on there? What a nightmare. Then out of nowhere, France has the gall to open it's big fat shamefaced mouth to suggest that Iraq could fall into 'anarchy' unless all power is transferred to UN authority. Hello. France needs to just sit it's pathetic derriere down and shut up. They have their own major catastrophe to deal with. This is what happens as a result of socialism. Even Chirac has admitted the shortcomings in their health organization. How does the death of 10,000 elderly go completely unnoticed by an entire country - until it's too late? Where was I? Oh yes, the UN. The only reason why the UN exists is to seek enough power to rival the US as a superpower. That's it. Nothing else. Human Rights and all that preposterous hoo haa they claim they do for the world? Just a front to appear legitimate. Don't even get me started.
It's high time we got the US out of the UN.
</End Rant>
8 Secretary Rumsfeld Town Hall Meeting at Lackland Air Force Base - DoD | 8/25/03 | SOD Rumsfeld
Q: Defense Secretary Rumsfeld, I'm Major Dawn Stay (sp) from Wilford Hall Medical Center. Circumstances are necessitating an expanded role of coalition forces in the Middle East and throughout the globe. What is the likelihood that U.S. military troops would be fighting under the orders of the U.N. or other countries' commanders?
Rumsfeld: The -- I'd say two things. One, we do need coalition forces, and the Department of State and the Department of Defense, John Abizaid, the combatant commanders, and others, the Joint Staff, have been talking to something in excess of 60, 70 countries, about bringing assistance in. I think the number currently is somewhere around 40 countries are participating in Operation Iraqi Freedom in one way or another. We do need international support and assistance. It's a big help. Full stop.
Second question, what is the likelihood of our forces serving under a blue-hatted United Nations leadership? And I think that's not going to happen. (Applause.)
That is not to say that there are not important places and roles that could be played by United Nations forces. For example, the United Nations has agreed to come in and replace the Eastern African countries, ECOWAS, in Liberia, but it's going to take them several months to get ready to do that. And they may very well come in and replace the ECOWAS forces in Liberia, and that would be a useful thing, to try to take a situation that has been stabilized, go in and then create an environment that's hospitable to the humanitarian assistance workers so that they can continue to provide some help to the Liberians.
8 "THERE WILL BE NO RETREAT" ~ and other quotes from experts the PRESS ignored last week.
Don't mess with 'Mrs. Chromedome'.
If you want on or off my pro-Coalition/anti-wanker ping list, just ping.
Thanks for the morning dose of good news
Explanation please.
Oh, and President Bush would put the lives of our troops and the fight for the civilized world before his own personal interests, unlike the many enemies - both foreign and domestic - throwing stumbling blocks in the way of our awesome troops daily.
If Pres. Bush wanted to hand this situation off, he would
throw this hot potato off to the UN, and give them the
opportunity to screw the whole mess up, but he's not. He
has a firm grip on the "OL' HOT POTATO" and isn't letting loose.
Excerpt from Baghad letter; "It’s been a sad week for the good guys. Three weeks ago, I toured the Abu Ghraib prison with UN Special Envoy Sergio Vieira de Mello and Ambassador Bremer and had to field some softball detainee questions from them. Remarkably, the prisoners within the concertina wire holding areas gathered in the corner near the two diplomats and started clapping for them. I don’t know what they were clapping about, but in my book it was recognition that they were the future of Iraq. Even the prisoners somehow knew. Both are the sort of men who leave impressions of competence, dignity and grace everywhere they go. They are special. De Mello’s illumination was snuffed in the sordid bombing of the United Nations compound here earlier this week. It was a tragic loss. I cannot imagine what drives such evil. I’ve been stuck as the legal advisor to the Army mortuary affairs team tackling the horrific task of identifying, treating and properly disposing of the remains of well-intended souls from all over the world. Talk about unsung heroes, both the team and their charges are that."
The sick resume of the terrorist and former regime leader thugs is growing. Add the attack and killings of innocent Red Cross workers in Al Hillah a couple weeks ago to the Jordanian Embassy bombing and we’ve got us a regular old thug fest going on. Now they're even starting to kill their own. Not that I mind that, but we often are stuck in the way. Take Abu Ghraib.., please. It is now home to hundreds of Fedayeen and other thugs recently snatched in operations throughout the country. It is also homed in by their brethren with their deadly mortars. Last weekend they lobbed in three mortars and killed six and wounded over sixty of their own. Now they’re onto something. I’ll even give them the grid coordinates if they continue their accuracy."
If members of the press were forced to face a roomful of our troops weekly, stand in front of the families of those serving, or even a roomful of longsuffering Iraqis - individually - and be forced to LISTEN to those fighting and risking their lives, those who are making sacrifices as mothers and spouses, those who suffered for decades under a monstrous regime - the members of the (inter)national press would perhaps finally see what's going on in Iraq.
Disclaimer: Opinions posted on Free Republic are those of the individual posters and do not necessarily represent the opinion of Free Republic or its management. All materials posted herein are protected by copyright law and the exemption for fair use of copyrighted works.