Friday, September 30, 2005

Spot to Dave,

Three comments by Dave to Hoo-rah! Hoo-rah! Hoo-rah!:
Why do you completely disregard the opinion of the troops in Iraq, when it was the opinion of the troops in Vietnam that made all the difference? Oh yeah, that would leave a huge hole in your argument. You can disagree with Katie all you want, but telling a Marine officer that he doesn't know what he is talking about is more than unpatriotic, it's downright absurd.

[In response to another commenter:] Many military that disagree with the war? Than why is the spokesman of the anti-war movement a mother of a KIA? Where are all the disgruntled soldiers? Over one and a half million troops have been served in OIF. Where are all the disenters? And yes I can throw the unpatriotic lable around when I am leaving for Iraq next week.

And you question the label terrorists? Does Spotty have any delusions that people who blow up inoccent civilians are terrorists? Do you honestly believe these people are freedom fighters? And by the way, since Spotty has never served in the military, the phrase is not hoo rah, it's HOAH. I won't bother trying to explain.
Spot’s post is evidently quite controversial, in some places anyway, although nobody jumped to defend Katie’s honor.

Spotty usually picks selected issues from a post or article to write about; it is often too tedious for both Spot and his readers, especially the other canine ones, to address them all. But it’s a new day, and Dave says some things to which Spot wants to reply.

Spot notes that he has never turned the sarcasm beam to high for Dave, and he does not intend to now. Dave and many of the rest of the Minnesota Guard are headed off for six months or so of training and then deployment to the Middle East. The prospect of packing up and leaving job and family for perhaps a couple of years would make anybody testy.

Regarding the first comment, Spotty says that he would not take the opinion of a single commentator, regardless of source, as gospel. Colonel Vold (quoted by Katie in the post at issue) is no exception. Readers might also like to know that Col. Vold is associated with an organization called Spirit of America. Spot chose not to refer to SoA in his earlier post. SoA is doing some good and charitable things in Iraq, but it all stems from the frame of reference that the US should be the template for all nations, especially Iraq. Spot doubts the premise.

As to the second point, Spot observes that many veterans are opposed to the war. Andrew Borene, a former Marine officer, and who lives here in the Twin Cities, in Spot’s hometown in fact, is an outspoken critic of the war. Here’s an article by Andrew on the Operation Truth website.

As to the final point, Spot never called the terrorists in Iraq freedom fighters. But he does object to conflating (Spot loves that word and has been itching for a chance to use it) terrorism in Iraq with the 9/11 terrorists. It’s like the street corner shell game, only this time there are two peas: Usama and Saddam. Wingers like Katie, and apparently the two military men she talked to, have tried to confuse these two characters for years now. It’s sloppy logic, and probably worse.

Spot also commends the comments of CP to Hoo-rah! Hoo-rah! Hoo-rah! to his readers. CP is Spot’s military adviser. You might check out his blog too; link to the right.

Incidentally, Dave, HOO-RAH makes a much better two syllable cheer than the single syllable HOAH, don’t you think?

PS - Spot thinks that most of the incompetence concerning the planning and execution of the war can be laid at the feet of the civilian leadership in the Pentagon.

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