Music: Marvin Gaye “What’s Going On” & Seal “Human Beings”

Beverage: Decaffeinated Green Tea (I don’t need caffeine for this subject)

“War is Hell……..when will it end?” is a verse from Marvin Gaye’s classic song ‘What’s Happening Brother’ from the ‘What’s Going On’ album. What’s Going On is without a doubt the best anti-war album ever made, and even though it was released during the Vietnam era, it’s as relevant today as it was when it was released in 1971. So just sitting here and listening to it, I guess it got me in the mood. Don’t worry, this won’t be your typical anti-war rant. As someone who has had the opportunity to blow stuff up (at the behest of my government of course), I feel I’ve earned the right to question the legitimacy of a war, especially this one. You see, the beauty of our democracy is that people can question our government when our government makes poor decisions. Unfortunately, there’s also a few folks who feel they have the right to question the patriotism of those who question the war. I spoke out against the Iraq War from the beginning, because I felt that it was foolish from the beginning. I argued with friends and co-workers until we were all blue in the face (and I don’t turn blue). I even talked one friend out of re-enlisting. Other friends and co-workers tried to pull that patriotism bullshit on me, and then I reminded them that I’ve given this country Real Service, and they’ve never given this country anything but Lip Service. End of Argument.

How was I able to withstand the heat that veterans like John Kerry and Jack Murtha couldn’t handle? How did I avoid being Dixie Chicked? Unfortunately, I never got the chance to do battle on the national stage, but I’m sure I would’ve held my own against the best. Why am I so sure? I’m so sure because I had the opportunity to serve in the last American failure in the Middle East. That failure was in Beirut, Lebanon, and that’s why I’ve always been willing to take on all comers in the war debate. That failure had a profound affect on me, and I’ve drawn from those experiences nearly every day of my life since. That failure has given me the right, and the obligation, to question any and every time our troops are sent into harms way. Over time I’ve lost contact with most of the men that I served with, but my thoughts are always with those who lost their lives. Every year, on October 23^rd (the anniversary of the Beirut bombing), I take the time to reflect back to those chaotic days, and then I make a toast to those who died for a lost cause. I then pull out my scrapbook, and immerse myself in the anguish of war. I don’t have any fancy medals, but I do have a citation from the Commander of the Sixth Fleet that closes with the following:

“Corporal Wooten’s proficiency in communication procedures and naval gunfire in no small measure contributed to the outstanding performance of his team. Often located in isolated positions in a terrorist environment, he not only continued to perform his normal observation duties but also assumed the additional burden of providing and maintaining their own security. On many occasions coming under sustained small arms fire, rocket propelled grenade fire, and heavy artillery and rocket barrages, he steadfastly continued to discharge his duties in true Marine fashion. Corporal Wooten’s professionalism and loyal devotion to duty reflected great credit upon himself, the Marine Corps and the United States Naval Service.”

Once a year I read that citation and tell myself that I was a bad motherfucker back in the day. I was never a sitting duck at the airport, like most of the Marines. I was in a special operations unit in the middle of the city, and therefore in the middle of the civil war. After I finish stroking my ego, I then try to make sense of it all. The truth is, it still doesn’t make sense, and neither does this current mess in Iraq. Let’s get to the nuts and bolts of it, shall we.

NOTE: B.S. = Bullshit

PRE-WAR  B.S.

I never bought that B.S. about WMD. None of it made sense to me. Saddam was an isolated dictator, who undoubtedly wanted WMD, but how could we be so sure that he already had them. After 9/11, when the finger pointing started, the G.O.P. made it clear that Pres. Clinton was at fault because he cut the funding for human Intelligence. With a shortage of human Intel, how could we be so sure? Especially when you consider the fact that Iraq was a closed society. But what if he did have WMD? Dictators are all about staying in power, so if he had them he’d surely use them. So we were basically sending our troops on a suicide mission, and as a former troop, that B.S. didn’t sit too well with me. Also, depending on what chemical agents were used, one of the best ways to decontaminate your equipment is the use of water. Guess what folks? There ain’t no water in the middle of the desert. This rationale was enough to make the friend I spoke of earlier, re-consider his desire to re-enlist.

I never bought the B.S. about Saddam having ties to 9/11. After all, 15 of the 19 hijackers were Saudis; so I always felt we should’ve hit Saudi Arabia after we hit the Taliban. That’s obviously extremist/wishful thinking on my part, but lets be real. The Saudi people hated the U.S. before 9/11 and hated the U.S. before we invaded Iraq. The Saudi people blame the U.S. for the commercialization of their society, instead of placing the blame where it truly belongs, i.e., with the greedy, corrupt, Saudi royal family. The Saudi royal family thanks its people for misplacing their blame, by allowing them to freely disseminate anti-U.S. hatred via Madrassas (religious schools). It’s these Madrassas that spread endless anti-U.S. propaganda throughout the Middle East. Saudi Arabia has also doled out far more cash to the families of Palestinian suicide bombers than Saddam Hussein ever did. Therefore, Saudi Arabia is not a true U.S. ally, but instead, they’re merely an ally of the U.S. oil companies, and merely an ally of the Bush family (who could forget former Saudi ambassador to the U.S., Prince Bandar Bush). Unfortunately, the Bush Administration (with the help of a certain cable news channel), was able to convince 60% of the American people that Iraq was behind 9/11. The rest is history.

I never bought the B.S. about Saddam using chemical weapons against his own people, because he never considered the Kurds his people. Plus, when he gassed the Kurds in 1988 our government didn’t say shit (maybe because we’re the ones who gave him the chemical weapons). So why was that old news such a big deal now?

I never bought the B.S. about Saddam invading his neighbors. We didn’t say shit when he invaded Iran, and we even provided him with Intel (among other things). To be honest, I wasn’t thrilled with us kicking Saddam out of Kuwait, because I didn’t like the thought of Americans dying so a bunch billionaire Arab princes could reclaim their wealth and fortune. When Sec. of State Baker said this war was about JOBS, and more importantly, that other Arab nations in the region were going to fund the war, I questioned no more.

I can’t say the same for the current Iraq War, because there were too many unanswered questions.

EARLY WAR  B.S.

Just for your info, I don’t believe in the B.S. that once the shit hits the fan, you shut up and get on board. When everyone shuts up and gets on board, you lose the most critical component of leadership, ACCOUNTABILITY. When leaders are not held ACCOUNTABLE to the people, they become ARROGANT, and ARROGANCE often breeds INCOMPETENCE (i.e., the response to Hurricane Katrina). Check out this B.S.

You don’t let people loot, because that B.S. creates an environment of lawlessness.

You don’t challenge the enemy with B.S. statements such as “Bring’em on,” when you’re not the one getting shot at.

You don’t make B.S. comments such as “You go to war with the Army you’ve got.”

When you’re the richest nation on the planet, and men’s lives are at stake, you develop the Army that you need, in order to accomplish the mission. That’s what leadership is all about, and the fact that we’re still trying to provide adequate armor is a perfect example of why you should never just shut up and jump on board.

You don’t send the Marines into a city, tell them to clean house, and then pull them out before the job is finished. That’s B.S. It demoralizes the men, and it tells the enemy that our leaders are sensitive to casualties, civilian or otherwise. Marines don’t care about casualties, civilian or otherwise (anyone who valued their life should’ve gotten their ass out of there). Prematurely pulling out of Falujah was a major mistake, because it told the enemy that civilian casualties was the way to our Hearts & Minds.

You don’t put people in positions they’re not trained for. The shortage of people properly trained to run a detention facility, and the “wink-wink-nod-nod” silent authorization to torture, officially lost this war. The B.S. at Abu Ghraib guaranteed that we’ll never win enough Hearts & Minds to be trusted by the majority of the Iraqi people. The B.S. at Abu Ghraib gave Al Qaeda the best recruiting tool they could ever have asked for. It’s been downhill ever since.

TODAY’S  B.S. and FUTURE  B.S.

The Democracy  B.S.

            I laughed my ass off when I first heard that B.S. Then when I realized that our President was serious, I realized that we were in some deep B.S. How could we have leaders so clueless? We’re talking about a part of the world that requires its women to be covered from head-to-toe. They cringe at the thought of Britney Spears climbing out of a car with no panties on. They see our women half naked, and they say “If that’s Democracy, we don’t want it.” Remember folks, a true Democracy must be for all; America is still paying for its past sins because Blacks and Women were excluded from the initial Democracy equation. Would the American people accept its sons and daughters giving their lives for a men’s only Democracy? Not a chance.

The Free Elections  B.S.  

           I laughed my ass off when I first heard that B.S. The only organized institution in that part of the world is Islam. So there was absolutely NO CHANCE of ever producing anything other than a Theocracy (can you say Pres. Muqtada Al Sadr). I realize I’m just a dumb, uneducated country boy from a little town in Ohio, and I was only in the Middle East for a few months, but to me, it didn’t take a genius to realize that Iraq would never become Turkey.  

The Blame Game  B.S.

            It’s not the media’s fault. More reporters have died in this conflict than any other. Are their good stories in Iraq? Yes. Guess what happens if you do a good story about a school that just opened? Someone will blow the school up the next day, that’s what. Plus, if it wasn’t for the media, we’d have never known about the terrible conditions at Walter Reed Military Hospital.

It’s not the Democrats fault. The entire nation was misled (we’ll be greeted as liberators, the war will pay for itself because of Iraq’s vast oil reserves, a smoking gun in the form of a mushroom cloud); so blame those who misled us. The Democrats are currently being ridiculed by the Left, for not cutting the war funding. The Democrats DON’T have the votes to cut off the funding or get us out of there, period. The Democrats are currently being called cowards by the Right, because many on the Right want the Democrats to cut the funding, and therefore assume partial responsibility for the loss of the war. This is George Bush’s war, and the Democrats aren’t going to do anything that will give them ownership, and George Bush is not going to leave, because leaving guarantees losing, and losing guarantees him a legacy lower than B.S. The Right also relishes throwing around terms like cut-n-runners, defeatists, losers, and quitters, but what will they say when September rolls around and the situation is even worse on the ground. How many of them will suddenly join the Democrats and become cut-n-runners, defeatists, losers, and quitters, in order to save their political hides? What’s the difference between now and September? About 300 more body bags, that’ll be the only difference. By the way folks, Pres. Reagan cut-n-ran out of Beirut. I find it amazing that the Right always seems to forget that fact, and the so-called Liberal media never reminds them.

STOP WITH THE  B.S. TALKING POINTS

I can’t believe people actually buy this B.S.: “If we pull out, they’ll follow us here” or “If we don’t fight them over there, we’ll have to fight them here.” Let me see if I’ve got this right? We’ve pissed off over a BILLION MUSLIMS, but they’re so tied up in Iraq, they currently can’t spare 19 guys to pull off another 9/11. Folks, the next attackers are already here. They flew to Mexico and walked here. They’re extremely methodical and extremely patient (remember, the two attacks on the World Trade Center were 8 years apart). The biggest problem the terrorists have is there’s too many targets to choose from. Between the unprotected sea ports and the unprotected chemical plants, they’re probably overwhelmed with choices. So think about that B.S. the next someone says we’re much safer today, because we haven’t been attacked since 9/11.

If we pulled out of Iraq tomorrow, would it become a training ground for Al Qaeda? Yes, but it already is.

So what’s the solution?

THE SOLUTION TO THIS  B.S. 

Either you have a draft and put at least a million troops on the ground, or you get out, period. Don’t give me that B.S. about the volunteer Army is just fine, because by all accounts, every military expert says it’s broken. We’re currently accepting gang members, people with felonies, people with serious misdemeanors, and people with hideous tattoos on their neck. Recruiters are also showing people how to beat drug tests. We’ve raised the age limit and lowered academic requirements. We’re stopping people from getting out, extending tours of duty, and sending men and women back for their third and fourth tours.

Throughout all of this B.S., the people who supposedly support the troops have blamed everyone except the people responsible for this mess. Some so-called news shows have minimized their war coverage to nil. Some so-called pundits open their commentary with “I was against this war from the beginning” and then spend the majority of their program bashing everyone except those who got us into this mess.

The bottom line is this:

If Iraq is the central-front in the War on Terror, and if the repercussions for leaving are as horrific as we’ve been told, then either we have a draft, put at least million boots on the ground and take full ownership of the place (like Sec. Powell said), or we get out. It’s the current President’s job to tell the American people that this is a time for all of us to sacrifice, not the next President’s job. If the repercussions of failure are as devastating as we’ve been told, and failure is not an option, then why are we sending a mere 30,000 troops? I’ll tell you why. This President is content to drag this out and pass it on to the next President. And in the meantime, we’ll continue to lose an average of 100 men per month. Either we commit as a nation, or we get out as a nation. Anything other than that (i.e., this silly surge), is nothing than more B.S. 

So there you have it; this war is a bunch of B.S., and as someone who sat in the middle of the last major Middle East civil war, I feel obligated to say that. And if anyone has a problem with that, I suggest you visit Camp Lejeune, N.C. There’s a nice big marble wall there with nearly 300 names etched in stone, and I’m quite sure if they could speak, they’d say “This war is Bull Shit!” 

Always remember Humpers and Humpettes: “Life is too short to Hate.”