A Freeper's Thanksgiving Letter (and my response)

[wtmusic]

Yo wt,
This was just sent to me. I thought you might find it interesting. I hope
it's ok that I sent it to you.
Happy Thanksgiving!!!
Love,
Rob

Dear American soldier in Iraq
Dennis Prager

November 25, 2003

Dear American Soldier in Iraq:

I am writing to you simply as a fellow American. In just about every way, I am quite typical. I am a married man with three children, believe in God and love my country. I differ, however, from many Americans in a couple of ways. First, my vocation -- radio talk show host and columnist -- makes me a professional communicator. So I might be able to say things that most other Americans feel but could not communicate quite as clearly.

Second, and more important, I suspect that more than some Americans, though hardly more than President Bush and his administration, I am keenly aware of the fragility of civilization, of the monumental evil you are fighting, and of the historic mission of America.
For these reasons, I am writing to you. Though you may already know
everything I am about to say, I need to say it for those of you who, after seeing fellow soldiers blown up or severely injured, may sometimes wonder whether these sacrifices are worth it.
So, first, let me set the record straight. Not since World War II have the stakes been this great. This is a war for the future of civilization every bit as much as the war against German Nazism and Japanese Fascism was. If we had lost that war, the world would have devolved into barbarism.

If we lose this one, the same will happen.

http://www.townhall.com/columnists/dennisprager/dp20031125.shtml

My reply:

Yo Rob--

Happy Thanksgiving right backatcha, to you and yours.

Re: the letter--nah I don't mind getting stuff like that but I will respond:

By the time the US had unofficially entered WWII in the summer of 1941, Hitler had already invaded Austria, Czechoslovakia, Poland, the Netherlands, Belgium, Norway, Bohemia, Moravia, Denmark, and France. By the time the US entered war with Japan after Pearl Harbor Hirohito had invaded Manchuria, Korea, and China and its 'East Asia Co-Prosperity Sphere' manifesto clearly stated Japan's intent to build an empire in the West Pacific.

Saddam has not only not invaded any country (in the last twelve years, and that mistake has already been dealt with)--he has not threatened to invade another country. There is no comparison. Iraq, before the invasion, was a country of 24 million people with (evidently) no weapons of mass destruction and a third rate military. The idea that losing in Iraq would cause the world to 'devolve into barbarism' or that this venture is in any way comparable to American involvement in WWII is just not supported by facts.

Plus, I have major problems with the 'we're morally superior to the rest of the planet so we can break the rules' ideology. The war is illegal by not only the terms of the UN Charter but by terms of international law going back hundreds of years. There are a lot of great papers on this--see The Myth of Preemptive Self-Defense (http://www.asil.org/taskforce/oconnell.pdf) or Tearing Up the Rules (http://www.cesr.org/iraq/docs/tearinguptherules.pdf). Statements like: "Don't be discouraged by America's relative aloneness in the world. The world is not, by and large, a good place" just say to me the author is naive and not well-travelled. This kind of ethnocentric fear and hubris is what drives all the hate machines of the world, from Palestine to Afghanistan to Sudan to pre-invasion Iraq itself.

The Iraq war is fueled by fear and not by justice, and so it is doomed to failure.

My $.02.

Love (platonic, no doggie-style),

wt

[rumguy]

1. great rebuttal n/t

[proud patriot]

2. Yes I like the rebuttal too

The Iraq War also violates our very own Constitution .
By breaking the the U.N. charter and Internation Law
which U.S. signed onto for world Stability also
automatically puts this "war" and bush for that matter
since he owns this war in Direct Violation of The Constitution
of The United States of America .

[wtmusic]

3. Good point

Damn if I wasn't so tired I would have put that in there too :-)

[Old and In the Way]

4. outstanding!

I love it when I get copied on a large cc list with drivel like you responded too. Coming back atcha!

Interesting how, in the absence of facts and justification, that they resort to these kind of missives. But you nailed it.

If the poster really gave a shit about the soldiers (instead of sending it out as part of the RNC/Rove Bush political support strategy), he'd be writing letters to Congress demanding to get the soldiers back from occupying a country illegally and crucifying this administration for using our troops for political and economic self-interest which cutting pay and support services for those that forced to endure this miserable assignment..

[NIGHT TRIPPER]

5. great reply

I think I'll save some of those points for my next freeper wrestling match with my brother.

[otohara]

6. "fighting for our freedom"

lastnight the Thanksgiving news was from Ft. Carson and I had to "run" upstairs to escape the nonsense I was hearing coming from the families of soldiers in Iraq. Each and everyone was going on about them "fighting for our freedom" - The military does a fantastic job of brainwashing.

Great reply to your friend -

[Old and In the Way]

7. Totally understandable.

I would expect military families to support their loved ones in any mission. And I'm sure many need to believe that the cause is righteous...

[leftofthedial]

8. nice one

original author differs from most Americans in that he is a "professional" talk show host, which means he is accomplished at lying, spewing disinformation, putting a jingoistic neocon propaganda spin on almost anything, and is an ignorant waste of skin.

Unlike most Americans.

Yours in "doggie-styleness" (LOL!)