Thursday, May 5, 2011

Not ready to board Obama's Kool Aid Train

The president went on TV Sunday night to tell us the news that Osama was taken out by U.S. Navy SEALS. Young Americans partied in the streets, and the mainstream media tells us we’re indebted to Obama for this victory.

It is, of course, a moral victory for all Americans in the War on Terror, not limited to those of us who supported the efforts from the beginning, but even for those who’ve criticized America’s war efforts and condoned or sup-ported the character assassination of our military, especially generals like David Petraeus.

Yes, if you believe the president, it’s a victory for even the Democrat leadership who criticized Petraeus during the crucial years of the war, unleashing and glorifying their pit bull, MoveOn.org, in its national ad campaign, refer-ring to him as Gen. Betray-us. (The Betray-Us ad was on MoveOn’s website for three years, by the way).

If you believe the president, Osama’s death was a victory also for the anti-military politicians who had harsh words for our troops. Such as failed Democrat presidential candidate John Kerry who, in a retro moment on Face the Nation in 2005, said, "There is no reason... young American soldiers need to be going into the homes of Iraqis in the dead of night, terrorizing kids and children...women..."

Remember Democrat Rep. John Murtha, in 2006, ruining the lives of his fellow Marines, the Haditha Eight, call-ing them all murderers in Time magazine and then refusing to apologize after they’d been cleared, one by one, of all charges?

Remember in 2007, Senate Democrat leader Harry Reid announced the war in Iraq was lost and the surge (the one Obama voted against) accomplished nothing? That year, the Dem controlled Congress voted to leave Iraq, no matter what, by 2008.

In 2009, Remember how Obama refused to champion that other SEAL team, the one who succeeded in capturing "Objective Amber," the mastermind behind the mutilation of American contractors in Fallujah? When the terrorist got a little roughed up, he sniveled, and the SEALS were thrown in the brig. Anyone hear of this story in the news, let alone of any support from this president? Hardly.

It’s so nice, isn’t it, that Obama could stand before us Sunday, after opposing almost everything to do with the War on Terror, voting against funding it, voting against the surge, criticizing military leaders, and changing the rules of engagement to make it much, much more dangerous for troops on the ground — and then put all that behind him and stand there and claim the victory. Subtle, but still...I’ve never heard a commander in chief talk so much about himself after such a big mission.

So all of a sudden, the president has an epiphany. SEALS are no longer brutish maniacs and Obama embraces them as professionals. The war, all of a sudden, is "just," though he still won’t call it that, will he? And this week, with his victory, we’re again all just one, big, happy family who worked towards this day for the last ten years to-gether.

Oh please.

When was the last time you heard a Democrat leader invoke images from 9-11 the way the president did the other night? Not in years. Might give credibility to the war against man-caused disasters.

When was the last time you heard a Democrat say that after 9-11, "We were united as one American family," as the president said Sunday? For years, especially during the brutal Battle for Fallujah and before the surge (the one Obama opposed) they and the mainstream media pounded us with the idea that this was "Bush’s war." He lied and men died, remember?

Meanwhile, don’t forget Obama’s indecision on sending more troops to Afghanistan in 2009, costing a surge of American deaths on the ground after more than five months of ignoring the Taliban build up, and then giving the generals only a fraction of what they had requested.

But to hear the president Sunday night, you’d think he’d had more than just a couple meetings with the generals and was right on board with the troops, as well as those of us who support the War on Terror and the spe-cial operators — the entire time.

"We will be relentless," the President said Sunday, apparently forgetting how he voted during his brief years in political office. And then he invoked, "One nation, under God...." Yes, he actually said, "under God," obviously caught up in the heat of his victorious moment.

He sort of threw himself under the bus this time, didn’t he?

Osama’s gone, that’s great. But I’m not on board Obama’s Kool Aid train, and neither is a good portion of our na-tion.

Here’s a question: If Obama loves the military so much now, how about turning back the move to hike military Tricare insurance premiums?

This administration, for all its talk, has been cavalier about keeping promises to veterans and active duty troops, preferring to stand behind public employees and labor unions on things like health care. Military.com reported today, the battle for military health care "has shifted from whether or not to increase the price of military health care premi-ums, to how much to increase them by."

So hey, Obama, If you really meant what you said Sunday, how about working to keep the promises Uncle Sam made to our troops and their families? Protect military Tricare. Stand by our troops. Earn their respect. You owe them after this.

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