Saturday, August 14, 2004
Liberation of Iraq - The Left's Numbers Charade
The losses are catastrophic. Over fourteen times more Americans dead than we lost on 9/11, and almost fifty times as many as have died in Iraq since Saddam Hussein’s statue fell.
In 2003, 42,643 people died on America’s highways.
Ralph Peters: I cite this number to put some of the outrageous claims made by the Left into perspective. To listen to their rhetoric, you’d believe that our efforts in Iraq are a bloody disaster with few parallels in history. But the fact is that more Americans are going to die on our roads this Labor Day weekend than we’ve lost in the occupation of Iraq.
This isn’t to make light of our military losses (or those of 9/11). As someone who actually served in our military for more than two decades, I value the life of every American serviceman or servicewoman. But those of us who served or are serving now understand that you cannot reach great achievements without costs.
The truth is that, although every American soldier lost is painful, our casualties have been astonishingly low considering the magnitude of what we have done and continue to do.
We liberated twenty-six million human beings from a monstrous dictator; we’re fighting the forces of terror and oppression on their home ground; and we are giving the broken world of the Middle East a chance to become whole again.
No American service member died in vain.
Which brings me to the ugly heart of this issue: Overwhelmingly, those who have been crying for a year-and-a-half to “bring our troops home,” and whose fervor is now renewed by the electoral contest, don’t give a flying latte about our soldiers.
The truth is that there are no more repugnant creatures on the American political scene than those who pretend to represent the best interests of our troops while secretly celebrating every one of our casualties.
No soldier I know believes that Howard Dean’s intolerant disciples, or the brownshirts from MoveOn.lies, or the “activists” cowering on campus speaks for him or her.
Let one former soldier say it plainly to the repulsive phonies from sea to shining sea, from Cambridge and the Upper West Side to Malibu and Marin:
"You don’t speak for those of us who wore or wear our country’s uniform. And you never will. Before you discovered us as a useful tool, we were all bullies or babykillers from an Oliver Stone fantasy to you."
"We believe some things are worth fighting for—and yes, worth dying for, if necessary. We believe that the United States of America is the greatest force for good in human history. And we’re proud of our service, our comrades and the flag you deface to make a fashion statement. But we’ll defend your right to have your say and live in safety as our fellow citizen. As we have done so many times before, we’ll bleed to keep you free to be a fool."
The American Left is out of ideas, out of morals and out of simple decency. All they can do is to shout, lie and pretend to care about those American citizens—our troops, inner-city minorities and the average working man and woman—for whom they don’t give a tiny shred of a damn.
The losses are catastrophic. Over fourteen times more Americans dead than we lost on 9/11, and almost fifty times as many as have died in Iraq since Saddam Hussein’s statue fell.
In 2003, 42,643 people died on America’s highways.
Ralph Peters: I cite this number to put some of the outrageous claims made by the Left into perspective. To listen to their rhetoric, you’d believe that our efforts in Iraq are a bloody disaster with few parallels in history. But the fact is that more Americans are going to die on our roads this Labor Day weekend than we’ve lost in the occupation of Iraq.
This isn’t to make light of our military losses (or those of 9/11). As someone who actually served in our military for more than two decades, I value the life of every American serviceman or servicewoman. But those of us who served or are serving now understand that you cannot reach great achievements without costs.
The truth is that, although every American soldier lost is painful, our casualties have been astonishingly low considering the magnitude of what we have done and continue to do.
We liberated twenty-six million human beings from a monstrous dictator; we’re fighting the forces of terror and oppression on their home ground; and we are giving the broken world of the Middle East a chance to become whole again.
No American service member died in vain.
Which brings me to the ugly heart of this issue: Overwhelmingly, those who have been crying for a year-and-a-half to “bring our troops home,” and whose fervor is now renewed by the electoral contest, don’t give a flying latte about our soldiers.
The truth is that there are no more repugnant creatures on the American political scene than those who pretend to represent the best interests of our troops while secretly celebrating every one of our casualties.
No soldier I know believes that Howard Dean’s intolerant disciples, or the brownshirts from MoveOn.lies, or the “activists” cowering on campus speaks for him or her.
Let one former soldier say it plainly to the repulsive phonies from sea to shining sea, from Cambridge and the Upper West Side to Malibu and Marin:
"You don’t speak for those of us who wore or wear our country’s uniform. And you never will. Before you discovered us as a useful tool, we were all bullies or babykillers from an Oliver Stone fantasy to you."
"We believe some things are worth fighting for—and yes, worth dying for, if necessary. We believe that the United States of America is the greatest force for good in human history. And we’re proud of our service, our comrades and the flag you deface to make a fashion statement. But we’ll defend your right to have your say and live in safety as our fellow citizen. As we have done so many times before, we’ll bleed to keep you free to be a fool."
The American Left is out of ideas, out of morals and out of simple decency. All they can do is to shout, lie and pretend to care about those American citizens—our troops, inner-city minorities and the average working man and woman—for whom they don’t give a tiny shred of a damn.
