Gibbs overwhelmed by emotionally wrenching scene at Dover

[babylonsister]

Gibbs saw 'genuine anguish' in faces of soldiers' families
By Sam Youngman - 10/29/09 11:30 AM ET


White House press secretary Robert Gibbs said Thursday that he was overwhelmed by what he saw when he accompanied President Barack Obama to Dover Air Force Base to meet the dead bodies of Americans killed in Afghanistan this week.

Gibbs described an emotionally wrenching scene he and President Obama saw when they met with the families during Obama's surprise trip to the base, but Gibbs said the president's trip was to pay respects and not gather information to make a decision on a strategy for the war.

"I don't think you can go out there and not understand what you're seeing and not understand the sacrifice these men and women are making," Gibbs said.

The president, joined by a small group of senior advisers, met with the families and participated in "transfer ceremonies" as the bodies were moved from a cargo plane to the base morgue.

Gibbs said he heard Obama offer his condolences to the families, but he could not hear what the families said to a president who is still deciding whether to send as many as 40,000 more troops to Afghanistan.

more...

http://thehill.com/homenews/campaign/65407-gibbs-saw-genuine-anguish-in-faces-of-dead-americans

[avaistheone1]

1. I am glad that the President and staff were there to receive the soldiers

bodies and offer some comfort and support to the families.

It is important that the President and his administration not only understand intellectually but regularly experience how it feels to live with such loss at the level of the families who are making the real sacrifices during these wars.

[dflprincess]

2. I'm also glad that they did this

and that they have enough respect for the soldiers and their families to go to Dover.

But they are not living with nor experiencing these losses the way the families will for the rest of their lives. Unless they have been there in their own lives, there is no way they know how it feels.

[avaistheone1]

5. This may be the closest they get.

I agree they will never experience the losses the same way. So I think this kind of window and connection to the families at this time is important to having some understanding on a gut level what they are going through.

[mopinko]

9. then unless you have given the order, you do not know how the president

feels. called empathy. part of the core of what makes us human, to apply our own experience to that of others.

[dflprincess]

10. True, nothing in my experience can help me understand how a president

could send someone's loved one off to die for oil or so that a war profiteer can make more money or simply because he wants to look strong for the next election.

I can empathize with the people who have had loved ones killed in these wars, but I have no sympathy for the politicians who made the decisions to start or continue them. They're not the ones who have to live with the real consequences of their decisions - the soldiers and their families have to do that.

[Cha]

3. K&R

[Cleita]

4. These flesh and blood human beings have been treated too long like

wooden pawns on a chessboard. There is real anguish and these wars that they are dying for are not for our country but for a bunch of oil billionaires stock portfolios and so some military guys can get a promotion.

[Peacetrain]

6. K&R

[lebkuchen]

7. Release the CIA torture photos

and let's all have a good hard cry.

[JSK]

8. Did you read any of the comments about the article?

Sickening. Here's a sample:

"At least Bush had the genuine concern to meet each family that lost someone at war, and not have a media event about it."

I posted a reply but I am sure it will never pass "review." :evilgrin:

[IndianaGreen]

11. Which will be repeated many times over because Obama put the peace option off the table

Many will die because we chose to stay in Afghanistan.