Just as a point of reference - 9/11 and Pearl Harbor, 12/7/1941

[zbdent]

Okay, since the Repukes are all tying 9/11 as "The Pearl Harbor of our times":

Our conflict with Japan lasted from 12/7/1941 to 8/14/1945 - a total of 1,346 days. (Technically, we declared war shortly afterward, but I'm fudging a bit; besides, Japan was delivering their proclamation of war to D.C. as the fighter planes were hitting Pearl Harbor)

The world's conflict with Germany lasted from 9/1/1939 to 5/7/1945 (Germany surrendered) - a total of 2,075 days.

By the "9/11 is Pearl Harbor" logic the righties use:

Osama as Japan: Japan would have "surrendered" as of 5/19/2005

Osama as Germany: Germany "will surrender" as of 5/18/2007 ...

Just as a matter of thought ...

[underpants]

1. Don't tell that to THIS soldier

Editor, Times-Dispatch: In regard to John and Toni OBrion's letter concerning the war in Iraq: They claim that in mid-December the war will have lasted longer than U.S. involvement in World War II. As the recipient of a history degree from the Virginia Military Institute, I can say that this is patently untrue.

The first major combat involving U.S. personnel in WWII was the sinking of the USS Reuben James in October of 1941. American sailors lost their lives in an attack by a German U-boat while conducting operations in the Atlantic. The last casualties suffered by American soldiers came as late as 1947, sustained during "constabulary operations" in Europe and Asia.



http://www.timesdispatch.com/servlet/Satellite?pagename=RTD%2FMGArticle%2FRTD_BasicArticle&%09s=1045855935005&c=MGArticle&cid=1149190261585&path=%21editorials%21letters

[KansDem]

3. "Reuben James"

Have you heard of a ship called the good Reuben James
Manned by hard fighting men both of honor and fame?
She flew the Stars and Stripes of the land of the free
But tonight she's in her grave at the bottom of the sea.

CHORUS:
Tell me what were their names, tell me what were their names,
Did you have a friend on the good Reuben James?
One hundred men were drowned in that dark watery grave
When that good ship went down only forty-four were saved.

'Twas the last day of October we saved the forty-four
From the cold icy waters off that cold Iceland shore.

It was there in the dark of that uncertain night
That we watched for the U-boats and waited for a fight.
Then a whine and a rock and a great explosion roared
And they laid the Reuben James on that cold ocean floor.

CHORUS:
Tell me what were their names, tell me what were their names,
Did you have a friend on the good Reuben James?
One hundred men were drowned in that dark watery grave
When that good ship went down only forty-four were saved.

Now tonight there are lights in our country so bright
In the farms and in the cities they're telling of the fight.
And now our mighty battleships will steam the bounding main
And remember the name of that good Reuben James.

Written by Arlo Guthrie in 1942, sung by the Almanac Singers (BESS HAWES, PETE SEEGER, MILLARD LAMPELL, WOODY GUTHRIE, ARTHUR STERN, SIS CUNNINGHAM)

http://www.geocities.com/nashville/3448/reuben.html

Pete Seeger??? I thought he was one of those "godless Commies" the neo-con fascists despise?

On August 18, 1955, Pete was subpoenaed to testify before the House Un-American Activities Committee (HUAC) where he refused to name personal and political associations stating it would violate his First Amendment rights... "I am not going to answer any questions as to my association, my philosophical or religious beliefs or my political beliefs, or how I voted in any election, or any of these private affairs. I think these are very improper questions for any American to be asked, especially under such compulsion as this." <6> Seeger's refusal to testify led to a March 26, 1957 indictment for contempt of Congress; for some years, he had to keep the federal government apprised of where he was going any time he left the Southern District of New York. He was convicted in a jury trial in March 1961, and sentenced to a year in jail, but in May 1962 an appeals court ruled the indictment to be flawed and overturned his conviction.

From Wikipedia

Manned by hard fighting men both of honor and fame?
She flew the Stars and Stripes of the land of the free

I...I'm...confused. Why would a "godless Commie" be singing about "fighting men...of honor and fame...and about the "Stars and Stripes"...and the "land of the free?" I...I'm...confused...:(

[Flying Dream Blues]

2. Yes, I suppose to be fair, we must include all casualties

outside the formal declaration of war since we have never formally declared war on Terra. Fun how Preznits get to have wars now without declaring them. I think if you formally declare it you have to put all sorts of reasons down in writing, and that can get messy, especially if you need a do-over (or several) on the reasons.

[gratuitous]

4. Oh yeah?

Well, how many tax cuts did FDR give to the overrich during World War II? Arrest my case!

{Boudelang mode off}

[Zynx]

5. I would use the day Germany declared war on the U.S. as the marker

for Osama. That is December 11, 1941. So, Osama would have been gone as of 5/23/2005.