Kind thoughts needed - our nephew is being sent to Afghanistan

[derby378]

Louis has recently graduated boot camp at Twentynine Palms, CA as an honest-to-goodness Marine. He has now learned that when he reports back from his Thanksgiving furlough, he will be deployed to Afghanistan.

I have had conflicting views of our continued role in Afghanistan for a long time. Hunting down the Taliban was (and still is) a worthwhile effort, as these fanatics are a clear and present danger to the future of Afghanistan. However, it turns out that Bush's motivation for going into Afghanistan wasn't so much to capture those responsible for 9/11 as it was to prop up a puppet government to build and secure a new trans-Afghani oil pipeline running to the Persian Gulf - which never resulted in cheaper fuel prices for Americans, but certainly resulted in a windfall for many of Bush's corporate campaign contributors.

So do we stay or go? Do we keep the Taliban from taking over Afghanistan by supporting an equally-corrupt Karzai administration, or do we pull out and save the American taxpayer from bankrolling an increasingly futile mission? In any case, our beloved Louis will find himself smack-dab in the middle of it all as a newly-minted Marine, in a rapidly deteriorating situation that may not be solvable either by his M4 or by a diplomat's pen.

ChickMagic and I ask that you keep Louis in your thoughts and prayers, that he'll make it through this tour of duty safe and sound, and that he'll return to his family soon.

[LWolf]

1. Kind thoughts his way. nt

[derby378]

5. Thank you

:hug:

[ClayZ]

2. Hoping that Obama announces the withdrawal

of allour armed forces aourIraq and Afghanistan. I hope your nephew is going to help pack up and come home!


Blessings your way!

[derby378]

6. A worthwhile hope, indeed

:toast:

[villager]

3. Good wishes for his safety, all the way through...

n/t

[derby378]

7. ChickMagic and I both thank you

:grouphug:

[derby378]

4. And some choice words to whomever unrec-ed this post...

You obviously have a hatred for those poor kids who serve on the front lines, so why don't you show them up by enlisting, getting shipped overseas, and leaving the rest of us alone?!?

:grr:

[SammyWinstonJack]

8. I rec'd this and will hope that your nephew returns home safely.

:hug:

[derby378]

28. Many thanks to you

:hug:

[Name removed]

9. Deleted message

Message removed by moderator. Click here to review the message board rules.

[derby378]

10. You will kindly apologize to my nephew immediately

I wager you've never seen him before in your entire life. Why do you hate someone you know absolutely nothing about, calling him names and slandering his family?

[Shell Beau]

12. I think that is worth ignoring because it is beyond ignorant.

[derby378]

15. And cowardly, too (n/t)

[Shell Beau]

11. Are you serious?

:puke:

[redwitch]

13. You disgust me.

n/t

[Uncle Joe]

17. I don't believe you. The mindset of a torturer or war criminal is consistent

with your pre-judgmental and lacking of empathy post.

The handcuffs as an avatar seal the deal.:thumbsdown:

[Forkboy]

22. I'd call you a piece of shit but that would clearly be an insult to pieces of shit.

[derby378]

24. At least shit serves a vital purpose in the grand scheme of things

It tends to make good fertilizer so that things can grow in the soil and bring more life and beauty to this world.

This disruptor, on the other hand - not so much.

[omega minimo]

36. Anchovies make good fertilizer also

[redwitch]

14. You've got them.

My nephew will be heading there soon too. :-(

[derby378]

16. Hugs to you, too

:hug:

[EnlightenedOne]

29. My nephew will ship out in July

supposedly, but I am hoping against hope that it won't happen. I feel for all these soliders and their families.

I pray for an end of all war.

[redwitch]

32. Our guy was in Baghdad last year .

Don't know when he will ship out yet.

[EnlightenedOne]

34. So sad

I feel for you - and all of these soldiers & their families, especially the ones who have seen 2,3, 4 and 5 tours. I send the best of wishes to you, your family and all the families. I continue to pray and hope that someday soon, there will be peace and the wars will end.

[Uncle Joe]

18. I wish you and your family the best, derby.

Semper Fi.

[derby378]

19. I appreciate that very much, Joe

:hug:

[bigtree]

20. best wishes

. . . regrets regarding the state of conflict he's deploying into, of course.

[derby378]

25. Understood and appreciated

:hug:

[rocktivity]

21. We'll never wipe out the Taliban

because it's our presence there that's radicalizing Afghans into joining and sustaining them...while the war machine keeps turning...

:(
rocktivity

[derby378]

26. The way I see it, the Taliban came out of Pakistan

The least we could do is chase the Taliban back over the border and let their fellow Pashtuns deal with them - but I admit it may be tougher than we first thought.

[Name removed]

23. Deleted message

Message removed by moderator. Click here to review the message board rules.

[TwilightGardener]

27. Good luck and best wishes for his safety.

[derby378]

35. Thanks, TG

Ironically, I'll be doing some gardening at my father-in-law's tomorrow - planting some rescued rose bushes. Someone actually thought that tossing perfectly healthy rose bushes in the dumpster was a good idea. I have to wonder about people sometimes.

I thank you for your kind wishes.

:hug:

[TwilightGardener]

37. Good on ya for rescuing the roses--

I am a rose nut myself, have a couple dozen rose bushes of various kinds--mostly Austins, polyanthas, and shrub roses. Hope your father-in-law's new roses take off in the spring. :hug:

[jonnyblitz]

30. the taliban had nothing to do with 9-11, al qaeda did. the taliban

is not al qaeda and the northern alliance militias who are supposedly on our side are just as nasty to the people as the taliban. there is no good or noble reason to be there.

that being said, as a vehemently anti-war vet who has been in a war, i wish and hope nothing but the best for your nephew. his main thing will be trying to keep himself and his buddies alive. :hi:

[PDittie]

31. Best to you and yours on T-Bird Day, derb

Obama seems set on moving in more troops. I expect your nephew to keep himself safe over there.

[derby378]

38. I expect he'll do just fine

The Marine Corps has been turning out good fighters since before Jefferson penned the Declaration of Independence. And Smedley Butler? He was a Marine and a Quaker - an unusual mix, but one that turned out the book War is a Racket and headed off a fascist coup of our government.

I'm sure they did a fine job getting Louis ready for duty with this sort of background.

And I'm also a sucker for any documentary programming featuring R. Lee Ermey, bless his Republican heart.

Thank you.

:hug:

[Mudoria]

33. Hope he returns safe and sound and a thanks to him for serving!

[tekisui]

39. I hope for a safe and timely return.

It is hard having a family member serve overseas.

[winyanstaz]

40. funny but I dont remember seeing any Afganistan names on that terrorist list....

on 9-11.
Interesting that the rest of the world thinks Obama is dead and has been dead for a long time.
Interesting that even the FBI says there is no evidence linking Obama to (9-11)...
so umm why are we in Afganistan again?
Sorry I just dont remember any goatherders over here attacking us lately.

The best of luck to your family member.
Please America... lets all work harder to end these wars and bring them all home safe.