Sigh. Spot found out today that Dave was headed home to Owatonna, but he didn't even get a chance to announce that great news before Dave posted a comment. Dave's internet has been limited the last several months in Iraq, and also for the last week at Ft. McCoy, so we can be sure that he has a lot of pent up energy. Brace yourself, boys and girls. Just for old time's sake, Spot will reprint the comment. Dave took issue with Spot's post about Katie's paean to Peter Hegseth. Here's the comment:
Pretty sad, Spot, that for no other reason than having a different ideology than you, you have labeled Pete Hegseth 'callow'. Maybe I am an idealist, but I believe that a man's words and actions define him, not his political party preference.
And Charley, as I have said before on Spot's blog, show me some actual evidence of detainee torture at Gitmo or elsewhere, and I will be right alongside you in condemning them and calling for their court martial. But in absence of evidence, stop maligning the men and women who keep you free.
And lastly, despite Spotty's predictions on this very site, his war correspondent has come back very much alive, and without the helicopter ride from the roof of the US embassy.
We will take Dave's points in order:
In foreign policy, Peter Hegseth, at 27, is a callow fellow. That is not to denigrate his courage or his service. But he is inexperienced and at present is little more than a cheerleader for the war in Iraq. That's how Katie presented him. He has zero foreign policy credentials.
On detainee treatment, there is an emerging record of abuses. The revelations of the treatment of Jose Padilla at his trial are but one example. Mostly, this seems to be CIA stuff, not subject to military justice anyway. Revealing also are some of the transcripts, and redactions therefrom, in the Combatant Status Review Tribunals (CSRT). That's not a great link, but hey, it's Saturday night.
On Dave's third point, let's get one thing clear: Spot never "predicted" Dave's demise. Spot thought, prayed, and kept his fingers crossed for Dave and the rest of the Minnesota Guard's safety the whole time they were gone. Dave knows that, too.
As far as the helicopter evacuation from the embassy scenario is concerned, Spot says not to discount it happening some day. If the Brits pack up and leave the south, as they seem prepared to do, our supply lines to Baghdad will be very tenuous; we won't have the people required to do force protection. Rockets and mortars pour into the Green Zone every day now.
The real fight has always been in Afghanistan--and now western Pakistan, too. Bless you Dave, and the whole Minnesota Guard, for going to fight in Iraq for us. But the whole thing is monumentally FUBAR and a complete distraction from where attention is legitimately focused.
I hope you are out celebrating with your wife and family, Dave. Spot doesn't want to hear from you for a while.
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