Democrats undermine troop morale
...These blows to troop morale make the accomplishments of these troops all the more remarkable. They have overcome not only a wicked enemy, but a party of anti war pukes who wanted them to lose for their own political gain. It has been one of the worst performances by Democrats since the Copperhead days of the Civil War Democrats. It si why Democrats should not be trusted with national security.Marine Corps Cpl. David Goldich, a University of Virginia graduate who spent two tours of duty in Iraq, says Democratic attacks on the war undermined troop morale.
Cpl. Goldich, who returned from Anbar province in November after about 300 combat patrols, stated in a candid account that negative comments by Democrats had "a dramatic effect on morale, especially on troops who are otherwise indifferent and disdainful of politics in general."
"I cannot tell you how many times I have overheard Marines and soldiers talking about various inconsiderate comments made from the likes of [Sen.] John Kerry [Massachusetts Democrat], [Rep. John P.] Murtha [Pennsylvania Democrat], [Senate Majority Leader Harry] Reid [Nevada Democrat], and [House Speaker Nancy] Pelosi [California Democrat] about how we cannot win, how we should be brought home, etc.," he said.
"The Kerry comments really cemented his reputation with the troops and upset people more than anything else. It is unnerving to volunteer for service during wartime hoping to be deployed and having to listen to a politician explain how the troops need to come home, especially when we clearly have not finished what we started.
"There is a widespread perception amongst the Marines I know, even those uninterested in politics, that the Democratic Party does not want us to win in Iraq for whatever reason. This is true even amongst Democrats who still maintain the party viewpoint on almost every other issue but the war. Morale is always a tricky issue to deal with, and it is difficult to tell a Marine to buck up when he sees important people back home undercutting his primary reason for existing at the moment."
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The issue is not that they want the US to fail in this war. The issue is that for many of the pacifist minded they want the US, and others, to fail at any and all wars.
ReplyDeleteThey liked Vietnam so much because they could use it aa a cautionary tale against waging war. If Iraq is seen as Vietnam II, and is successfully engaged, then they lose that lever.
In addition, and much more personally, 40 years of core beliefs will be called into question. The open-minded amongst them will be forced to confront the possibility that they were wrong, that they might have contributed to a defeat that didn't have to be, that they might be responsible for the subsequent deaths and suffering in South East Asia and those that resulted from a prolongation of the Cold War.
That is not a burden anyone would want to take up by being forced to admit error