Freedom, In My Name - Cadillac Frank

None of these are anything to be ashamed of (except maybe the last one). All kinds of people learn and are interested in different ways and in different things.

Now, I confess that I am not the end-all source for 100% accurate, endless information. But as an intelligent, open-minded, and reasonable man whose family has endured some of the hardships of that region first-hand, I consider my opinion and the view I take on the facts fairly credible and respectable.

And as just about all of you thought when you read the opening to this essay, the answer to: Why are our troops in Iraq? the first answer that everyone says is OIL.

And even for the naive, there is no denying oil as a reason. But imagine over 25 million suffering, starving people wasting away with no one to help them. What was their sin? What was their crime to warrant such a punishment? Simple. Their heritage.

And, of course, the obvious question comes up: "Well, what are they doing still living there if it's so bad?" That's their homeland. Baghdad was not always a wasteland; it was the jewel of the Middle East. The English had petroleum engineers there since the turn of the century and luxurious imported good from France would arrive weekly, long before supplies reached even the United States in the 1950's. Babylon and Mesopotamia (where civilization started) are there.

And since Gulf War I, it is nearly impossible for anyone to leave the borders of Iraq legitimately. Even less feasible for any free nation to give a native Iraqi a visa to enter their country.

But to put it in an even better perspective, would we, as Americans, abandon our beloved nation if a disaster were to strike it? Hell no! We, as Americans, would do everything we could to better our United States. In Iraq's case, a barbarian regime, masked by politics, strengthened by fear, mass murder, secrets, and totalitarian rule is the disaster. The Iraqi people don't want a new homeland, they want a better Iraq.

Twenty-five million people are suffering from things we take for granted. The flu and simple infections are debilitating people. Hunger is claiming lives. Sixty-two out of every 1,000 infants born do not live to see their first birthday. Our troops are fighting more than just a political war.

They are fighting an injustice to humanity. In 1915, 1.5 million Armenians were slaughtered, beheaded and raped in the Genocide. During World War II, roughly 6 million Jews were starved, tortured, and killed. All of the above punishments and more have been and are continued to be used against the 25,000,000 people of Iraq.

Which is what it all comes down to in the end. People. Humanity. Our troops are removing a man who holds no value for a human life having committed his first murder at the age of 10. Having slaughtered countless Iranians for a war that spanned eight long years. Having turned mustard gas, nerve gas, and other heinous chemical weapons on people living WITHIN HIS NATION'S OWN BORDERS.

Have you ever recycled a soda can? To "save the Earth"? This is a REALLY big soda can being worked on... to save those who are suffering. Those who want to be saved. And no, they aren't going to be hailing our troops with garlands of flowers and all that pomp like Rumsfeld says. Get real. They are still in fear for their lives. Keep a man in the darkness for 50 years, and he too will cringe away from the light... but still try desperately to see that light again. Same with the people of Iraq.

And keep in mind, when you wonder who we are fighting for, they are those people you see falling over themselves to offer blessings and prayers to our troops. Grown men kissing the faces, hands, and feet of those soldiers of their nation's salvation; crying tears of pure relief for when their own nation will be free. They are those mobs of innocent children gathered around each soldier to accept a candy bar, offer a little smile, even learn a new song or two. All this symbolized by our courageous men and women from all walks of life, wearing the universal symbol of freedom on their uniforms -- the flag of the United States of America.

Also for those few brave people like the man mentioned in the following article from the Washington Post. A real hero. I know, I probably shouldn't have just copied it, but it's important and I hope they will forgive me. It is truly a story too unbelievable to be anything but true.

For all of you who have a bulletin board with nothing better to post, feel free to print and post this message. For all of you who have an e-mail buddy who would appreciate reading this, please forward it to them. For all of you sending notes of support to our troops, please see that this message gets to them too. In fact, as many of our troops as you can because they all need to know that despite ANY criticism or protest, there are plenty of us back home who appreciate the sacrifices they are making in our name. No matter how many people put "No War In My Name" stickers on their cars, there are many more of us, just like me who want our troops to represent Freedom, in my name.

"Freedom, In My Name" by Cadillac Frank

The article to which Cadillac Frank refers to can be found at the WASHINGTON POST. The previous link will take you directly to that article. In the interest of not getting sued, I am not currently hosting the unauthorized reprint of the article.