Thursday, November 23, 2006

Tony Blankley and Making the last mistake in Iraq

A note on our first Thanksgiving at Berkeley Plantation which is Virginia’s most historic plantation. The first English speaking Thanksgiving feast was held by the Jamestown Colonists in Berkeley Planation in 1619..." "On December 4, 1619, early settlers from England came ashore at Berkeley Plantation and observed the first official Thanksgiving in America", celebrating with seafood, crab, and mussels...and now forward to today... As we are now celebrating our day of Thanksgiving as first celebrated in 1619 at the Berkeley Plantation on the shore of the James River in Virginia, we must look to the decisions we are about to make with regard to Iraq and the Iraqi citizens - the men, women, and children who look to us to keep our word. Making the last mistake in Iraq by Tony Blankley is a must read on these few days of reflection with family and friends.
The decisions made on Iraq over the next few months will take the measure of America's maturity and sense of responsibility. Because, whether we like it or not, our decisions — and our decisions alone — will determine whether the barely containable murderous pathologies of the Middle East will just be dumped into the face of humanity — or whether rational efforts will be persisted at to contain and mitigate its civilization-threatening forces.
Americans need to contemplate on the seriousness of our course of actions in Iraq. Mr. Blankley points out the importance of our course of action.
We have the most profound obligation to attempt to calculate the consequences of the impending American decision to wash our hands of the Iraq unpleasantness. In that regard, the words of President Kennedy come to mind: "There are risks and costs to a program of action. But they are far less than the long-range risks and costs of comfortable inaction."
Mr. Blankley also brings the question of maturity to the table and says that our actions in the next few months will show the measure of America's maturity. For my part, I suggest that we must not shirk this measure of our maturity and this measure of whether we, as a nation and as a people, are in fact eligible to step up to the plate and be considered a world power for all of our military might. Without the courage, the integrity, and the national resolve, we may well show that we are not worthy of the title of "superpower". I say these words with an optimistic heart because I know that we as a people are greater than those who lead us and it is we who must shore up their spines and call them to stand for us, for our nation, for our place among nations. America has responsibilities in the world. Are we worthy of the men and women who serve in our armed forces? Are we worthy of the men and women who work undercover in places we don't even want to know of? Think of these things and we can determine our nation's course. Put the partisanship and the hatreds aside. This is not the time for "fear" and running. We simply must stand tall as are the young men and women serving us in foreign lands. They are volunteering for more than one mission in Iraq. We must be worthy. We, the people, are better than the politicians. It is we who must be the statesmen; it is we who must make the politicians meet the challenge; it is we who must not leave the Iraqi people, who have looked to us for hope, alone to meet their undeniable fate of slaughter. God bless you and your families - here at home and abroad. God bless all who stand with America and with our men and women serving overseas.

11 Comments:

Blogger MathewK said...

Happy thanksgiving.

5:26 PM  
Anonymous Anonymous said...

Excellent post.

8:09 PM  
Blogger Beach Girl said...

Thank you. I hope we display maturity in this case. It is more serious than we can know. I have posted on the folks who will be "in charge" in January and their days in the 60s. Everyone can change and mature. I hope wiser minds prevail.

Have a blessed Thanksgiving.

10:14 PM  
Anonymous Anonymous said...

Happy Thanksgiving Beach Girl, and to all of your readers as well.

2:54 PM  
Anonymous Anonymous said...

Hope you had a good thanksgiving, Beach Girl;

I can only surmise what you've been saying or doing for the last 3 1/2 years, but I do know something of Tony Blankley: He has been with the President, cheering him on at every misstep of the way.
I'm not in favor of an immediate or short-term withdrawal of American forces from Iraq, but if the President decides on a course that will get us out sooner, he will find himself in Republican Presidential company:

Eisenhower got us out of Korea.
Nixon and Ford got us out of Vietnam.
Bush Senior got us out of Iraq in 1991.

8:43 AM  
Blogger James Higham said...

Without the courage, the integrity, and the national resolve, we may well show that we are not worthy of the title of "superpower".

Afraid this is so. And the time is now.

9:15 AM  
Blogger Beach Girl said...

Yes, Anonymous - President Bush will be in good company but to leave "early" will be along the order of our refusal to help the Hungarians who looked to us as they faced down the Russian Bear - they lost. The bear won. Not one of our better moments.

And then there is Kosovo. But this war is different in that it is not localized, it is global and there is no mistaking the intent of the Islamists. Iraq is only the focal point, for now. Other nations are being taken over by Islam through measured steps even as I type. This is not Korea or Vietnam. Again, this is global and it has been brought to us. This will require adult supervision.

James, I still have optimism that the American people will bring our "leaders" to heel and call for common sense and human decency. Our volunteer military personnel and the Iraqi citizens deserve nothing less. Being of good cheer, I read that our new "leaders" will have as their first priority scrambling for the best offices. At least distraction reign for a bit.

9:58 AM  
Anonymous Anonymous said...

Trudy Rubin is a normally left-leaning columnist, but one of her recent columns, "Vietnam's lesson doesn't apply,' makes a strong case against comparing the Irag situation today with that of Vietnam almost thirty years ago. In part she says, "I believe the consequences of a swift U.S. withdrawal would be far worse than the repercussions of Vietnam," and then goes on to articulate her reasons for rejecting an ealy withdrawal. I can't help but notice that her piece expands on the premises contained in your response to me on this subject.

1:52 PM  
Blogger Beach Girl said...

Who is Trudy Rubin? What is the column she wrote? I don't think it rare that many of us are thinking along similar lines.

4:07 PM  
Anonymous Anonymous said...

Trudy Rubin is affiliated with the Philadelphia Inquirer. If you do a google search on "Trudy Rubin" you should be presented with a summary of who she is, together with a lists of her latest columns.

8:16 PM  
Blogger Beach Girl said...

Thanks, anonymous. So much blogging to do and so much research too.....

Good news is that may of us are coming to similar conclusions.

8:22 PM  

Post a Comment

Subscribe to Post Comments [Atom]

<< Home

↑ Grab this Headline Animator

  • International Civil Liberties Alliance
  • The Belmont Club
  • Gates of Vienna
  • The Blogmocracy
  • Larwyn's Linx at Director Blue
  • Boycott the New York Times -- Read the Real News at Larwyn's Linx
  • Conservative Blogs - Home Center Right
  • 100 Excellent Conservative blogs you should be reading
  • Antz in Pantz - Kickin' and Screamin'
  • Honor Killing in America - Never Forget
  • Sharia from European Court of the Rights of Man
  • Terrifying Brilliance of Islam
  • Triumph of Islam - How Primitive Tribalism Can Defeat Advanced Civilisation
  • Why is Islam so successful?
  • The Terrifying Brilliance of the Islamic Memeplex"
  • Three Things about Islam: Remember that the Quran is NOT the torah or the Bible
  • Links
  • Secure Freedom - NO Mosque at Ground Zero
  • Gates of Vienna - a MUST Read
  • Islam - The Religion of Peace
  • Muslim Domination of Public Space
  • Trencherbone