Now this shallow reflection of a man wants to involve the United States of America in another war, this time in Syria.
This pathetic joke of a human who knows nothing about the horror of war and who can barely mouth platitudes of his own party and their attack lines seeks to bluster loudly and wield a big stick..
He wants to send children of others into the way of harm.
Will your own sons serve, Mr. Romney, you chickenhawk bastard?
If as von Clausewitz wrote, war amounts to the continuation of politics by use of force, then it also does not mean the end of politics.
For decision makers in the US to pretend that application of US force through our military can solve political problems of the collection of tribes and ethnicities the western world chooses to call Afghanistan remains the height of hubris and a waste of lives.
Generals establish metric and memes and declare progress in defeating the Taleban--which after all amounts to a religious idea which force of arms cannot defeat--and patrols patrol to no avail or use or utility except to die needlessly.
And Willard Mitt Romney who cannot even face questions from children dares use tthis Afghan misadventure as a political football to bludgeon Mr. Obama with.
Read the letter quoted here, if you dare, from a real soldier, one who served and died to no avail, and remember when Republican't and plutotarch patriots say the US lost Afghanistan because they feel to read much less understand history, to comprehend anything outside their narrow and rigid ideology.
[EDITOR'S NOTE: This is the text of the letter Matthew Sitton sent to U.S. Rep. C.W. "Bill'' Young. It is unedited except for the names of two family members, which were blacked out by Young's office for privacy.
SIR,
Hello my name is SSG Matthew Sitton. I am in the 82{+n}{+d} Airborne Division stationed in Ft. Bragg, NC. I am currently deployed with the 4th Brigade Combat Team in support of Operation Enduring Freedom in Afghanistan. I am writing you because I am concerned for the safety of my soldiers. This is my 3{+r}{+d} combat tour to Afghanistan so I have seen the transition in Rules of Engagement and Overall Tactics over the past 6 years.
I am only writing this email because I feel myself and my soldiers are being put into unnecessary positions where harm and danger are imminent. I know the threat of casualties in war and am totally on board with sacrifice for my country, but what I don't agree with is the chain of command making us walk through, for lack of a better term, basically a mine field on a daily basis.
I am in a platoon of 25 soldiers. We are operating at a tempo that is set for a full 35-40 man infantry platoon. We have been mandated to patrol twice daily for 2-4 hours each patrol on top of guarding our FOB and conducting routine maintenance of our equipment. There is no endstate or purpose for the patrols given to us from our higher chain of command, only that we will be out for a certain time standard. I am all for getting on the ground and fighting for my country when I know there is a desired endstate and we have clear guidance of what needs to be done. But when we are told basically to just walk around for a certain amount of time is not sitting well with me.
As a Brigade, we are averaging at a minimum an amputee a day from our soldiers because we are walking around aimlessly through grape rows and compounds that are littered with explosives. Not to mention that the operation tempo that every solider is on leaves little to no time for rest and refit. The moral and alertness levels on our patrol are low and it is causing casualties left and right.
Here is an example of how bad things have gotten. Our small FOB was flooded accidentally by a local early one morning a few days ago. He was watering his fields and the damn he had broke and water came flooding into our Living Area. Since our FOB does not have any portable bathrooms, we had to dig a hole in the ground where soldiers could use the bathroom. That also got flooded and contaminated all the water that later soaked every soldier and his gear. Instead of returning to base and cleaning up, our chain of command was so set on us meeting the brigade commanders 2 patrols a day guidance that they made us move outside the flooded FOB and conduct our patrols soaked in urine.
That is just one single instance of the unsatisfactory situations that our chain of command has put us in. At least three of my soldiers have gotten sick since that incident and taken away from our combat power because of their illness caused by unhealthy conditions.
I understand that as a commander you are to follow the orders of those appointed over you however there needs to be a time where the wellness of your soldiers needs to take priority over walking around in fields for hours a day for no rhyme or reason, but only to meet the Brigade Commanders guidance of you will conduct so many patrols for such an allotted time.
I'm concerned about the well being of my soldiers and have tried to voice my opinion through the proper channels of my own chain of command only to be turned away and told that I need to stop complaining. It is my responsibility to take care of my soldiers and there is only so much I can do with that little bit of Rank I have. My guys would fight by my side and have my back in any condition and I owe it to them to have their best interest in mind. I know they would and I certainly would appreciate it if there was something that you could do to help us out. I just want to return my guys home to their families healthy. I apologize for taking your time like this Sir, and I do appreciate what you do for us. I was told to contact you by my Grand Mother (name blacked out) who said that you had helped her son (my uncle) (name blacked) out many years ago. He also was serving in the military at the time. Thank you again for allowing soldiers like me to voice their opinion. If anything Please Pray for us over hear. God Bless
Very respectfully,
SSG Matthew Sitton]
http://www2.tbo.com/news/news/2012/sep/21/namaino4-staff-sgt-sittons-letter-to-us-rep-young-ar-508176/
found through link from Stay at Home Feminist Mom: http://bettyfokker.wordpress.com/2012/10/07/remembering-matt-sitton/
http://occupyamerica.crooksandliars.com/diane-sweet/bill-moyers-honoring-fallen-soldier-s-
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