A letter everyone should read

[dolla_bill0913]

THE LETTER
------ ----
A California mother whose son is right now in Kuwait poised to knock
Saddam's block off, wrote her son asking how he would feel if she joined
other relatives of service members in an anti-war demonstration in
Hollywood last month.
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After reading her son's response, she elected not to participate.
************************************


Dear Mom:

It's really your decision to march if you want to or not.
You are the
one who has to decide if what we are doing out here is right or not.
My
opinion is not yours.
I do, however, have things I would like for you and Grandma and everyone
else at home to know.
--------
I am a United States soldier.
I was sworn to defend my country against
all enemies, foreign and domestic.
People may not agree with the things
we are ordered to do.
I would like to address those people by telling
them that terrorism is not only a threat to us as Americans, but to many
other innocent people in the world.
-----------

What type of country would we be if we didn't defend the rights and
freedoms of others, not because they're Americans, but how about just
because they're human?
-------------

We live in a country where people feel secure with their daily lives.
They do business like usual and don't worry about the thought of
terrorism actually happening to them.
The people of 9-11 thought the
same thing.
We now know that it can happen to anyone at any time.
----------

Yet as Americans we're afraid of losing our soldiers to defend our
security.
I can only speak for myself when I say that my life is an easy
expense to ensure that my family and friends can live in peace.
--------
I strongly believe in what we are doing and wish you were here to see
for yourselves the honor and privilege that
------
American soldiers aboard this ship are feeling, knowing that we are
going to be a part of something so strong and so meaningful to the
safety of our loved ones.
------

Then you would know what this potential war is about. We will stand
tall in front of terrorism and defeat it.
We as soldiers are not afraid
of what may happen.
We are only afraid of Americans not being able to
understand why we are here.
I ask for your courage as Americans to be
strong for us;
--------
I ask for your understanding in what we believe is right.
I ask for
your support in what we are sworn to do: defend our country and the life
of all. We will succeed in our task and will end the threat of terrorism
in our back yard.
--------
We will also end the threat of terrorism in our neighbors'.
We have to
remind ourselves of what this country stands for: life, liberty and
justice for all. In order to maintain those rights we have to stop the
threat of terrorism.
-------
I am proud to be here.
I will be coming home, but not until I know that
it's going to be safe for all Americans and for everyone I love.
My
family is first.
My country is where they live.
I will defend it

Lonnie
J. Lewis
Navy corpsman
C Co. 1/4 WPN PLT
UIC 39726
FPO AP 966139726

P.S. Mom, please send this to everyone who has a hard time understanding
why we are here.
Ask the paper to put what I've said in a column so that
others will know why we are here and what we are here for.

I love you all and will be home soon.
I left my address so that if
anyone feels like writing to let me know how they feel, they can.
Love & prayers,

[taranaki]

The kid's deluded.He's not defending America at all,he's helping George to invade Iraq.There's no connection between the two.

[1985_BMW318i]

The kid's deluded.He's not defending America at all,he's helping George to invade Iraq.There's no connection between the two.

The "kid" is a young man that is fighting for what he believes in. Unlike Iraq our military is a "All Volenteer Military" The connection seems very evident to me.

[taranaki]

Originally posted by 1985_BMW318i



The "kid" is a young man that is fighting for what he believes in. Unlike Iraq our military is a "All Volenteer Military" The connection seems very evident to me.

Unlike the American military,the Iraqi forces are defending their country.I'm certain that every able-bodied American would be drafted if a hostile force tried to 'liberate' the United States.If he believes he's defending the U.S............good luck to him.He's wrong.Frankly,he should be taking more notice of his mother than of the Pentagon.

[Diesel2NR]

As a US Soldier, you are required to follow what your superior officers say, George Bush being the top officer in our military. That young man is risking his whole life, which has only just began, to defend our freedoms. If someone poses a threat to you, then you are defending yourself. We had reason to believe that the Iraqi Military and Saddam were providing weapons to terrorist groups who are gunning for our people. A nuclear warhead or chemical/biological weapon does not have to be on a missile to detonate.

[jon@af]

Originally posted by taranaki
The kid's deluded.He's not defending America at all,he's helping George to invade Iraq.There's no connection between the two.

Why is he deluded? Because he believes in something that you dont? The fact that he believes in something such as this, and is willing to fight does not make him deluded by any means. He is doing this because he feels it is right. You dont feel this is right Naki, and I understand that, not everyone has the same view, but you cant just sit there and call this young man deluded just because he thinks one way and you the other.

[taranaki]

Originally posted by ILike2DriveCars

He is doing this because he feels it is right. You dont feel this is right Naki, and I understand that, not everyone has the same view, but you cant just sit there and call this young man deluded just because he thinks one way and you the other.

My bottom line is that the combined wisdom of the United Nations did not see a need for Iraq to be invaded.As a firm believer in the use of minimum force to achieve the preferred objectives of the collective will,I find George Bush's gung-ho invasion both repugnant and immoral.You may not like my opinion,but it is one that I have formulated over many years, based on experiences that include active duty and peacetime relief projects for the Royal Navy,and a first class education.


This kid however,appears to be hooked up in the'what we are doing is noble and just'bullshit that his superiors have fed us all at every opportunity.Isee nothing in that article to indicate that there is a single idea that he ever thought up himself.I have far more respect for his mother.at least she is trying to gather as much information as she can before acting on her instinct.

[supratuner]

This is a lot like when we starte dfighting afganistan, every oen is like, were protecting our freedom, and i was the only one that was like, uve been brainwashed, our govt here in teh US uses more propagand athan any other country IMO

We will never fight for our freedom untill saddam and his troops come over here and fight us, so my opinion is the same, thsis bushs war because he hates saddam

[2strokebloke]

I'd say he is deluded, this quote from his letter will prove that:

"What type of country would we be if we didn't defend the rights and
freedoms of others, not because they're Americans, but how about just
because they're human?"

first, off the USA has not accepted the bill of human rights, because we feel the need for capital punishment. Don't think that the U.S. is sticking it's nose up other country's business because they have nothing to gain, except for a feeling of doing moral right!

[jon@af]

Originally posted by taranaki



My bottom line is that the combined wisdom of the United Nations did not see a need for Iraq to be invaded

I will have to agree with you, I dont think there was stone-solid evidence. However, they are there now, so all I can do is support them and hope for a safe return.

Originally posted by taranaki
You may not like my opinion,but it is one that I have formulated over many years, based on experiences that include active duty and peacetime relief projects for the Royal Navy,and a first class education.

I understand your opinion completely, and respect it.

Originally posted by taranaki
This kid however,appears to be hooked up in the'what we are doing is noble and just'bullshit that his superiors have fed us all at every opportunity.Isee nothing in that article to indicate that there is a single idea that he ever thought up himself.I have far more respect for his mother.at least she is trying to gather as much information as she can before acting on her instinct.

I agree and disagree at the same time. I agree with the basic notion of no real thought formulated of his own imagination, seeing as all the soldiers really have the same reasons being there on their mind. But,the fact that he is a conformist of the military doesnt mean he himself cant think this to be a noble thing he is doing for his own personal reasons. oh well, just my $0.02

[T4 Primera]

He was in the military at the time the forces were called up and he was not asked whether he would volunteer to fight this war - he was told. He believes what he is doing is right because he has to believe it. It is necessary to his survival.

Otherwise he has to question why he is there at all.
Otherwise he cannot function effectively and carry out his orders efficiently.
Otherwise he might not be able to pull the trigger.
Otherwise he is a liability to his comrades.
Otherwise he would not be able to sleep at night.
Otherwise (god forbid) he might become the man that threw grenades around his own military base.

[dolla_bill0913]

All I was trying to do is show the opinion of the troops who are over in Iraq dealing with this war 1st hand. I dont care how much news you watch, how many articles you read, or how much research you do, it will never add up to being in the middle of the war. If the troops feel that they are doing the right thing, they must be seeing something that makes them think this way. I am just sorry that some people are too close minded to listion to another persons opinion and think about it, before trying to call the person names and tell him how wrong his opinion is.

[T4 Primera]

And all I am trying to do is highlight some of the pressures that are placed upon the young and impressionable people and they way they think. Remember they have been trained and are living in a highly structured and doctrined environment which defends democracy - as opposed to practising it.

[taranaki]

Good points T4.In some parts of the world it is still seen as a noble act to sign up for the armerd forces,but the reality is,unless you are actually at war,it's just a job,and a fairly cushy one at that [I've experienced it,so don't try to tell me it isn't].Once you are signed up though,you don't have any say in what you do for you go where you are told to go,you do what you are told to do,and if ordered to do so,you fight whichever person the Pentagon tells you to fight.Now it's a fact that troops who are not motivated to fight will always lose to those who believe in their cause,so soldiers from all sides are fed a constant stream of designed information to reinforce that what they are doing is unquestionably right,just,and the only way of dealing with the situation.The average soldier is discouraged from questioning the situation,they are there to act on orders from above,and the army spin doctors do their best to make sure the troops feel good about what they are doing.

[Pick]

Originally posted by taranaki






This kid however,appears to be hooked up in the'what we are doing is noble and just'bullshit that his superiors have fed us all at every opportunity.Isee nothing in that article to indicate that there is a single idea that he ever thought up himself.I have far more respect for his mother.at least she is trying to gather as much information as she can before acting on her instinct.

He is not a kid, dang-it. He is more of a man than any of us will ever be.