I've been writing to my senators lately. I'm tired of the situation in our government and I don't know of anyway to change it other than to be a squeeky wheel. Yesterday I received a message back from one of them explaining why he votes and supports things that I disagree with. I wasn't going to post my response, but after reading Mickey's blog post about pragmatism I decided that I would do it. So, for better or worse here it is.
Dear Senator Allard,
First, thank you for your response. I do appreciate your time. I do want to respond because I think it's important that you, as a representative of the citizens of Colorado, know how the citizens feel.
I understand that you feel that it's key that we stabilize Iraq, but where is the proof that Iraq is the headquarters of the threat? As I recall Osama Bin Ladin is not IN Iraq and has never been. On that horrible day when the twin towers fell it was not Iraq that had a hand in the terror. By keeping the number of troops we currently have in Iraq we have weakened our forces here at home. Generals of our military have said that they are afraid that we are not well protected at home on American soil, and quite frankly Senator, I thought that was the whole point. I only need to remind you of the horrible situation in New Orleans that took so many other lives because we didn't have the means necessary to do what was necessary. Where were the troops that could have helped? They were not in the U.S. helping to protect the lives of Americans, but rather risking their own lives to fight "terrorism" on foreign soil.
I hate to say such a cheesy phrase, but the whole situation brings to mind the movie lines "Build it and they will come." Well, we've built the idea that terrorists are infesting the heart of Iraq and by the droves the extremists have come. It's a self-fulfilling prophecy and we need to break the idea now and be done with the idea that fighting over there is protecting us over here. It's not.
Senator Allard, this isn't a win or lose situation. We've lost already. We've lost billions of dollars funding a war that was based on lies. We've lost thousands of lives (3335 to date) of our men and women who have bravely served. Thousands more have lost limbs, self identity and will be mentally scarred forever by the war, but yet we still have no clear plan of when we will require the Iraqi government to take over their own protection. Why? Why don't we have a clear plan when not only was President Bush given a plan (by HIS advisors) and also had firm recommendations by the leaders of the Armed Forces that lead to our withdrawal of troops, bringing them home and securing OUR borders? What is the resistance to taking the advice of the professionals that have said we need a different direction? What is really at stake here? The lives of our troops, our economy, and our role in the world as a leader are what is at stake if we don't change the course and support our generals and the other leaders that have recommended a timely withdrawal. I urge you to rethink your support of leaving our troops in harms way. I urge you to think of how vital our military is to defending OUR borders and not just of this idealized version of the war on terror.
Dear Senator Allard,
First, thank you for your response. I do appreciate your time. I do want to respond because I think it's important that you, as a representative of the citizens of Colorado, know how the citizens feel.
I understand that you feel that it's key that we stabilize Iraq, but where is the proof that Iraq is the headquarters of the threat? As I recall Osama Bin Ladin is not IN Iraq and has never been. On that horrible day when the twin towers fell it was not Iraq that had a hand in the terror. By keeping the number of troops we currently have in Iraq we have weakened our forces here at home. Generals of our military have said that they are afraid that we are not well protected at home on American soil, and quite frankly Senator, I thought that was the whole point. I only need to remind you of the horrible situation in New Orleans that took so many other lives because we didn't have the means necessary to do what was necessary. Where were the troops that could have helped? They were not in the U.S. helping to protect the lives of Americans, but rather risking their own lives to fight "terrorism" on foreign soil.
I hate to say such a cheesy phrase, but the whole situation brings to mind the movie lines "Build it and they will come." Well, we've built the idea that terrorists are infesting the heart of Iraq and by the droves the extremists have come. It's a self-fulfilling prophecy and we need to break the idea now and be done with the idea that fighting over there is protecting us over here. It's not.
Senator Allard, this isn't a win or lose situation. We've lost already. We've lost billions of dollars funding a war that was based on lies. We've lost thousands of lives (3335 to date) of our men and women who have bravely served. Thousands more have lost limbs, self identity and will be mentally scarred forever by the war, but yet we still have no clear plan of when we will require the Iraqi government to take over their own protection. Why? Why don't we have a clear plan when not only was President Bush given a plan (by HIS advisors) and also had firm recommendations by the leaders of the Armed Forces that lead to our withdrawal of troops, bringing them home and securing OUR borders? What is the resistance to taking the advice of the professionals that have said we need a different direction? What is really at stake here? The lives of our troops, our economy, and our role in the world as a leader are what is at stake if we don't change the course and support our generals and the other leaders that have recommended a timely withdrawal. I urge you to rethink your support of leaving our troops in harms way. I urge you to think of how vital our military is to defending OUR borders and not just of this idealized version of the war on terror.
1 comment:
"What is really at stake here? The lives of our troops, our economy, and our role in the world as a leader are what is at stake if we don't change the course and support our generals and the other leaders that have recommended a timely withdrawal. I urge you to rethink your support of leaving our troops in harms way. I urge you to think of how vital our military is to defending OUR borders and not just of this idealized version of the war on terror."
Wow! Ever thought about moving to Washington?
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