MileHighSailor
10-19-2005, 01:07 AM
I wrote this quite awhile ago during the initial push on Falluja. Some of you may remember a young Marine putting down a wounded insurgent. I didn't have a problem with it, but I felt the need to write this in response to the general outcry from the left. It is my fervent prayer, that all of my brothers and sisters come home healthy and whole.
War. A word comprised of a mere three letters that despite its apparent simplicity seems to be gravely misunderstood by the media and the liberal thinking people of this country. War is hell. How is it that Americans can say a Marine fighting for freedom and democracy is a murderer? To shoot an injured man in what would appear to be an execution to most civilized people is nothing more than the reality of armed conflict. What would be called unacceptable in the "civilized" streets of downtown America, is mere prudence in war. An enemy with breath in his lungs is an enemy that can kill. An enemy that can kill must be neutralized. How many soldiers, sailors, Marines and airmen, have been killed by an apparently incapacitated enemy combatant? I am sickened by the thought that those among us who have not the stomach to fight for our freedoms can villify one who does. War is not kind, nor is it pleasant or fair. To stand against the might of this nations military is to invite death upon oneself. The enemy we fight in this, the war against terror must know terror himself. He must know that to stand against freedom, to stand against decency, is to die. I have not yet been called upon to serve my country on the field of battle, but my heart is with my brothers and sisters in arms who daily take the fight to the enemy’s doorstep. We must support our troops, and come to grips with the fact that war is sometimes the only way to secure peace. We must accept that in war, the inherently evil act of taking human life is necessary. Those of us who proudly wear the uniform of any of the military services understand this, and I for one, stand behind the actions of that Marine in Falluja. He did what he was trained to do, and that is to kill the enemy. Let the warriors fight the war, and if you find yourself lacking the convictions, courage, and mindset to join us, do not presume to judge our actions in that horrid, hellish place.
War. A word comprised of a mere three letters that despite its apparent simplicity seems to be gravely misunderstood by the media and the liberal thinking people of this country. War is hell. How is it that Americans can say a Marine fighting for freedom and democracy is a murderer? To shoot an injured man in what would appear to be an execution to most civilized people is nothing more than the reality of armed conflict. What would be called unacceptable in the "civilized" streets of downtown America, is mere prudence in war. An enemy with breath in his lungs is an enemy that can kill. An enemy that can kill must be neutralized. How many soldiers, sailors, Marines and airmen, have been killed by an apparently incapacitated enemy combatant? I am sickened by the thought that those among us who have not the stomach to fight for our freedoms can villify one who does. War is not kind, nor is it pleasant or fair. To stand against the might of this nations military is to invite death upon oneself. The enemy we fight in this, the war against terror must know terror himself. He must know that to stand against freedom, to stand against decency, is to die. I have not yet been called upon to serve my country on the field of battle, but my heart is with my brothers and sisters in arms who daily take the fight to the enemy’s doorstep. We must support our troops, and come to grips with the fact that war is sometimes the only way to secure peace. We must accept that in war, the inherently evil act of taking human life is necessary. Those of us who proudly wear the uniform of any of the military services understand this, and I for one, stand behind the actions of that Marine in Falluja. He did what he was trained to do, and that is to kill the enemy. Let the warriors fight the war, and if you find yourself lacking the convictions, courage, and mindset to join us, do not presume to judge our actions in that horrid, hellish place.