Military Families React To Possible Troop Surge

[Original Jack]

NewsCenter 5's Amalia Barreda reported that Booth's son, Marine 2nd Lt. Joshua Booth, 23, was killed by an insurgent in Haditha, Iraq, last October. Since then, Booth said he often remembered a conversation he had with his son when he expressed doubts about the correctness of the mission.

"He said, 'Dad, you don't get it. This is not Vietnam. This is worse than Vietnam. The Viet Cong never wanted to come to America to kill civilians.' He says, 'Dad, I capture these people every day. Their greatest wish in the world is to get to the United States and kill Americans,'" Booth said.

Booth said that up until now, the administration's policies in Iraq have been a "text book study on how to do it wrong." He said a bigger fighting force is what was needed from the beginning, along with a mission that was well defined. That is what he hopes to hear from Bush on Wednesday night and from the new Democratic leadership in Washington.

"Democrats, you make sure that we don't have a president that's going to say 'Stay the course.' We finally got oversight. Now that we have oversight, let's win the war," Booth said.

Full story here:

http://www.thebostonchannel.com/news/10697869/detail.html

[Roland99]

1. Wow, I feel sorry for that man and his departed son. Both were fooled.

[whistle]

2. Correction, the word is escalation.....troop escalation

[The Wielding Truth]

12. I hear ya ,whistle. How they twist our thoughts is so slick. I hear you.

[Monkeyman]

3. Mr Booth I feel your loss But Sir we need to lose no more of our kids

[Kikosexy2]

4. Time for the ...

military families to speak out against this insanity...start demanding that Bush's/Cheney's children get sent to Iraq...

[Joe for Clark]

5. I think many of us are.

I am sorry for the 2nd Lt - how sorry is he for the poor dumb kids he is responsible for??

Joe

[Bigmack]

6. "... a textbook study on how to do it wrong."

Then he supports doing it wrong-er... with more dead.

Grief is a powerful thing, and I never mess with it, but cooler heads have to prevail. Good lives after.... well... good lives is bad policy.

[Original Jack]

10. My cuz has a step son in the Marines

He got back from Iraq about two months ago.

He felt that the US military needs to stay in Iraq.

His mother and his step-dad (my cuz) do not like Bush's invasion of Iraq *at all*.

Young Marines, on the other hand, see it as an opportunity to do what they signed up for... fight. I believe that many Marines do not want to puzzle out the morality of the war they were sent to fight. They want to leave that up to the civilian government.

My feeling is that Bush lead the US military into a predicament similar to the one that the Japanese youth were lead into by Tojo and company, that is, fighting a war that was initiated by an unprovoked attack.

A sleeping giant versus a toothless tiger.

[Joe for Clark]

13. You know what the army calls the Marine's, right??

"The few, the proud and the dead."

Really.

Joe

[ckimmy57]

19. I find it amazing the difference in the marines

from the other military branches. I had a nephew in the marines that did three tours and was mad because they wouldn't let him go back for a fourth. Thought Bush was the greatest thing since sliced bread. On the other hand my son has a couple of buddies in the army and their thinking is completely different. Bush is the biggest idiot to ever live in the white house and this war is his personal vandetta to right his daddy's wrong....not to mention the oil ol Dick wanted for Haliburton. Now that my nephew is out and has been back home the fog the marines put over his brain is starting to lift and he now sees what this war really is.....a big fuck up.:nuke:

[Joe for Clark]

20. I have a brother in law that I thought was "Mr Military"

Navy - security. Did his time in this war in Baghdad.

The things he said to me when he came back really shocked me.

He ain't Mr Military anymore.

My kid is in Baghdad now - did two tours in Mosul.

My greatest concern is that he remembers what my mom and dad said about war all those years ago from Germany.

That is what I pray - that he learns from that.

Joe

[sandnsea]

7. *sigh*

Lots of people have had no greater wish than killing Americans over the years. We never changed one mind through war. None of this will be won militarily.

[caledesi]

8. This is so sick...like Iraqis would come to the US? Right. nt

[superconnected]

11. We don't have the most educated, or brightest military on earth

you know. They lowered the standards years ago.

[UpInArms]

14. yeah - they will get here with things like this

http://www.csmonitor.com/2003/0313/p06s01-woiq.html

[ninkasi]

9. I feel sorry for the loss of his son

but having other parents lose their children won't bring his son back, and no matter how long we stay, we can't win. The people in Iraq his son talked about, the ones who say they want to come here and kill Americans, did not want the same thing before Bush invaded their country, and killed and tortured their people.

The only thing escalation will bring is more death on both sides. Bush and the neocons insisted on a war which should have never been waged, and now he doesn't know how to get out of it. He will send others to their death because of his ego. This whole disaster is destroying the lives of many people on both sides, while Bush, Cheney, and their cronies get richer and richer.

[Joe for Clark]

15. We cannot look at it that way - I am so with you!!

There are a lot of kids at risk here.

Are we supposed to look at the dead and let that smear our judgement of what is the right thing to do with the kids still alive???

It is the right question to ask.

Joe

[AtomicKitten]

16. The "surge" also means those scheduled to come home will not.

I imagine there is dwindling support in the military for this foolish endeavor.

[MikeNearMcChord]

17. But wait everybody! Senator Lieberman is asking

What's the worst that can happen?:silly: Where's the love?:crazy:

[Joe for Clark]

18. I m literally ashamed of Lieberman.

Joe

[MadMaddie]

21. Joe so am I ....but we know his true colors now don't we?

and he will never have the chance to be Prez or VP...ever..

[Joe for Clark]

22. I guess we do.

Joe

[Auntie Bush]

23. How many wanted to come here and kill Americans before bush*

invaded their country? Not many...now tens of thousands! Thanks bush*!!!

What have we done to their country? We will all be paying for bush's crime for many many century's to come. God bless America and God bless Iraq!