The Heart of the Matter
When I went into the army in 1943 I knew that I was doing the right thing, I knew that President Roosevelt was a good president who would lead the country in an honest courageous manner. The enemy was Hitler who had demonstrated his hateful, aggressive nature and was determined to conquer all of Europe. It was not in my nature to hurt or kill people but in my heart I knew that the war was a just war and that I could do no less than perform to be best of my ability every task assigned to me.
From the day I reported to the induction station, through Africa, France and Germany there was never a time when I doubted the rightness of our cause or the integrity of our generals in the drive to win the war. I felt that the men in my unit believed in the cause as strongly as I did. That is the way it is supposed to be; that is the key to winning a war.
Things appear to be different in the war we are fighting in Iraq. Many soldiers are expressing doubts about several aspect of this war that did not appear in the war I knew. It is not surprising to learn that individual citizens also are questioning the manner of our starting the war and of its execution.
The ability of the leaders in the Pentagon is being questioned as shortages of equipment is reported and ineffective training of local fighting units become evident. News of no-bid reconstruction contracts and huge losses due to poor workmanship and fraud contribute to doubts in the minds of soldiers as well as honest citizens.
Adding to the increasing volume of demoralizing news from the fighting front we read newspaper reports that President Bush ignored advice from the National Intelligence Council regarding the probability of an insurgency eruption and clashes between religious sects. Fighting men will surely lose respect for the president’s leadership as they see the local fighting growing more intense in Iraq. No amount of propaganda will offset such distressful news.
When a soldier loses faith in the President, his Commander-in-chief, he begins to question the whole idea of the war. It doesn’t take much bad news like that to make him wonder why he is enduring the terrible discomforts and dangers of war in a foreign country instead of being at home with his loved ones. He wonders who he is fighting and why. He may even wonder if the insurgents might be right in wanting to drive the foreigners out of Iraq. After a while the soldier loses his incentive to fight and the war becomes a big burden instead of a worthy cause.
The war is over when the soldiers lose the will to fight, when the cause is not in their hearts. You can’t push a rope. You can’t make an army win a battle. It may well be that we are now ready to declare our war is over. We appear ready to acknowledge the end of a war that should never have started. It was a war entered into on false premises without justification or reason. Maybe this is the time to de-classify the documents, to persuade the President and his staff to come clean about the faulty intelligence and their poor judgment.
No matter how close to the truth we come we cannot cover up the shameful facts of the war. Nothing can restore the lost limbs, demented minds and painful hours suffered by the well purposed men and women who answered the call to serve their country. There is no way to un-do the funerals of those who died in this big mistake.
Jerry Clements 5/28/07
From the day I reported to the induction station, through Africa, France and Germany there was never a time when I doubted the rightness of our cause or the integrity of our generals in the drive to win the war. I felt that the men in my unit believed in the cause as strongly as I did. That is the way it is supposed to be; that is the key to winning a war.
Things appear to be different in the war we are fighting in Iraq. Many soldiers are expressing doubts about several aspect of this war that did not appear in the war I knew. It is not surprising to learn that individual citizens also are questioning the manner of our starting the war and of its execution.
The ability of the leaders in the Pentagon is being questioned as shortages of equipment is reported and ineffective training of local fighting units become evident. News of no-bid reconstruction contracts and huge losses due to poor workmanship and fraud contribute to doubts in the minds of soldiers as well as honest citizens.
Adding to the increasing volume of demoralizing news from the fighting front we read newspaper reports that President Bush ignored advice from the National Intelligence Council regarding the probability of an insurgency eruption and clashes between religious sects. Fighting men will surely lose respect for the president’s leadership as they see the local fighting growing more intense in Iraq. No amount of propaganda will offset such distressful news.
When a soldier loses faith in the President, his Commander-in-chief, he begins to question the whole idea of the war. It doesn’t take much bad news like that to make him wonder why he is enduring the terrible discomforts and dangers of war in a foreign country instead of being at home with his loved ones. He wonders who he is fighting and why. He may even wonder if the insurgents might be right in wanting to drive the foreigners out of Iraq. After a while the soldier loses his incentive to fight and the war becomes a big burden instead of a worthy cause.
The war is over when the soldiers lose the will to fight, when the cause is not in their hearts. You can’t push a rope. You can’t make an army win a battle. It may well be that we are now ready to declare our war is over. We appear ready to acknowledge the end of a war that should never have started. It was a war entered into on false premises without justification or reason. Maybe this is the time to de-classify the documents, to persuade the President and his staff to come clean about the faulty intelligence and their poor judgment.
No matter how close to the truth we come we cannot cover up the shameful facts of the war. Nothing can restore the lost limbs, demented minds and painful hours suffered by the well purposed men and women who answered the call to serve their country. There is no way to un-do the funerals of those who died in this big mistake.
Jerry Clements 5/28/07
posted by Jeremiah | 10:37 AM
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