South Chicagoland Young Democrats: The Blog

Two days ago at work I was talking to one of my bosses about the people that he knows who are currently or who have fought in Iraq. He knows several. He is seven years older than I am. Most of the people the he knows in the military are almost done with their tours. He is twenty-five years old.

I am eighteen years old. I know many people that are planning to join the military and many that already have. All of these people will most likely be shipped to Iraq.

It is difficult for me to write how wierd and scary it is to think that people who are seven years older than I am started fighting this war and people my own age will soon be carrying on the fight. Why are we still fighting? Why can we not get out of this war?

It may not be a new generation but it seems close, at least to me. This war has been going on far too long and it had better end soon, before people seven years younger than those me have to fight the war too.

From the brilliant mind of Mike Kean, your friendly Sergeant at Arms.

The month of May, which will end today, is being reported as the third deadliest month of the war. As of yesterday, 123 American soldiers have died in Iraq this month, a number that could increase if any of the 8 soldiers wounded yesterday in a roadside bombing die today.

This is the fifth year of this war. People including President Bush keep claiming that the American people need to give more time for the new strategy for fighting this war to succeed. If this new strategy is such a good one, why have so many soldiers died in this month. The only logical answer is that no strategy will work and that American forces should be withdrawn from Iraq.

Just as important is the tendency of the Iraqi government to distance itself from the actions of the Amerian military. If the Iraqis want us there, why would their government want nothing to do with us. If the Iraqis do not want us there then why are we there.

I cannot say anymore. It is obvious that we should no longer be in Iraq. It is truly painful to think that so many Americans have died and keep dying for something so vain and unnecessary.

From the brilliant mind of Mike Kean, your friendly Sergeant at Arms.

Today, Congress passed a bill that allocates billions of dollars for the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan. To most, this is really no surprise because several of these bills have been passed in the last few weeks. This one is unique, however, because it does not contain any timelines for the withdrawal of troops. This may seem surprising because of the adamant stance that the Democrats in Congress took on the issue, namely Nancy Pelosi, the Speaker of the House, but it was truly inevitable.

Since President Bush requested more funds for the two wars several months ago, Congress passed a bill that supplied the money that he asked for. The only stipulation this bill was that it included a timeline for the withdrawal of combat forces from Iraq. Our beloved president refused to accept this bill, vetoing seemingly without any thought. This led to a standoff between Congress and the White House, namely because, pardon my French, President Bush is the world’s largest ASS****. Throughout the debate, Bush refused to compromise; he would not accept any form of timeline for the end of the war. I honestly think that he must be forgetting that Congress represents the American people. What Congress says is what the people of this country want. How dare he veto a bill simply because he does not like it or it does not fit his plan for the war. The American people are sick of this “Global war on terror” and he refuses to accept this fact.

Congress passed a bill that gave the president everything that he asked for, money to continue a war that we should not be fighting without any stipulations for the end of the war. The Democrats in the Senate and the House were forced to stand down simply because the troops on the ground needed the funds for supplies. President Bush should know, however, that the days of him getting whatever he wants from Congress are over. It was wrong of him to force this bill to be passed by putting the lives of American troops on the line. He played politics. If the troops ran out of supplies he could simply say that Congress refused to give him the money needed to keep them supplied. He risked the lives of American troops playing politics and as disappointing as it is that he received all that he wanted, it was responsible of the Democrats to support our troops. They displayed some things that President Bush will never possess: intelligence, responsibility, and a conscience.

From the brilliant mind of Mike Kean, your friendly Sergeant at Arms.

If you’re reading this, then you know the obvious:? the blog has been restored!

Turns out a bad plugin was the culprit.? We are back up and running!? I look forward to reading all of your posts.

Today, President Bush vetoed a proposed Iraq spending bill, calling the bill’s timetable for withdrawal of American troops an admission of defeat. The bill, which allotted funding for the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan, called for the withdrawal of American troops ending in March of 2008 with all combat forces out of Iraq. The president stated that signing the bill would be equal to admitting defeat to the terrorists and insurgents fighting in Iraq, therefore, refusing to sign the bill.

It is my opinion that defeat and victory are no longer what this country should be thinking about. We have had to come to this conclusion in Korea, again in Vietnam, and now in Iraq. What difference does it make if we win this war? More importantly, what constitutes a victory? If we “win” this war, will that bring the 3000 plus American soldiers back to life, or will end the suffering of those soldiers’ parents? No, it will not. It is time for us to end this war, victory or no, mission accomplished or not. Those things are not important. What is important are the lives of those soldiers still fighting the war and those who will be sent there in the near future (or if Bush has his way the distant future). To those who say that withdrawing without a definite victory would disgrace the memories of those soldiers who have already died in the war, I say that allowing any more soldiers to die is even more disgraceful.

The real issue here is President Bush’s ego. To withdraw the troops would be to admit that he was wrong, a thing that he refuses to do. It is time for him to rise above his own ego and do what is good for this country for a change. Congress should not relent in their work to end this war. Rather, Bush should give up on a futile endeavor and bring our troops home before more young lives are cut short and before more mothers lose their sons and daughters. Congress should pass another bill with the same timetable. If Bush vetoes that one, they should do it again and again and again until he gets the point that we, the American people do not support this war. If he claims that we are denying the soldiers the money that they need to fight the war then we should simply state the truth. It is not we who are denying the soldiers their funds, it is President Bush. His stubbornness has cost the lives of 3000 plus soldiers and anymore that die because of a lack of funding will be on his conscious as well. It is time for him to do the honorable thing, the responsible thing, and sign a bill that withdraws American troops. Our job is not over until he does.

From the brilliant mind of Mike Kean, your friendly Sergeant at Arms