I support the troops—send ’em home

Suppose you sent the Denver Broncos into a hockey game, with no uniforms or equipment, and then refused to let them take time outs, instead sending them back again and again. And suppose the Hockey players, who were trained as hockey players, were just KILLING the Broncos. At which point would you say that the Broncos should stop playing?

Thank for replying, Mr. Piker. I liked your creative response.

Before I rebut, I don’t want to lose the bigger point I was making before: if you’re telling someone to go home, you're not supporting them. Here, try it:

I support the __________, send them home!
[noun]

Whatever you put in doesn’t work. “Support Troops…send home” has become a cliché. We don't even hear the absurdity anymore.

Now to address your analogy: The hyperbole works if you see U.S. Solders, Marines, et.al. as victims. No one serving in our armed forces today enlisted or re-upped without there being a war in Iraq. These responsible adults joined knowing what they were doing, and for that they deserve our respect, not our pity.

You wrote:
…Denver Broncos into a hockey game…
THIS I agree with you. We have two teams playing by two different sets of rules imposed on them by politicians, or ‘referees,’ who are not in the arena. The hockey team has no rules – is there anything a terrorist will NOT do? They kill their own people, blow up their own Mosques, and strap explosives to their own unsuspecting children. Thank God we don't play by their rules, but we do need to keep this in mind when making the ‘rules’ for our side.

…with no uniforms…
On this you're dead wrong. Our guys have uniforms. The hockey team is disguised as fans and are killing people in the bleachers and in the arena parking lot.

…or equipment…
Actually we have the best equipped military in history. Since this seems to be a concern of yours, I hope you’re with me in my disgust of how the Senate Dems earmarked funds for eqt. AWAY from our soldiers to fund their own pork barrel projects. We COULD be better equipped, but it’s up to the majority party to equip them.

The insurgents are the ones who are not well equipped. That’s why they use IEDs—the “I” stands for “improvised.”

…refused to let them take time outs…
Not a single member of our US Armed Forces today joined or re-enlisted before they knew there was a war on terror. All those who joined before 9-11, served honorably, and decided this was not their fight are now rotated out.

But re-enlistments are high. Most of the armed forces overseas do not want to leave before the job is done. Really! Asked them!

… Hockey players…trained as hockey players …
I disagree with you here, too. They are certainly NOT well trained. They get a Koran, some explosives, learn a prayer, and are sent to their deaths. Maybe you think that’s training. I'm grateful our guys get more.

… And suppose they were just KILLING the Broncos …
Again, what's with the victim label on our troops? You might THINK our Broncos are getting slaughtered in the stadium, but that’s only because the Sports Journalists are just reporting goals made by the hockey team and ignoring our scores. ‘Bad news is good news…’ they believe. ‘If it bleeds, it leads…” For every goal the hockey insurgents get, our guys make 19 TDs, 51 FGs, but you only hear about that on page D-13 of the Style section.

‘VA’ stands for Veterans Affairs, not Victims Anonymous.

When should our Broncos stop playing? Actually, never. We can never stop playing this game until we win. The hockey team won’t let us.

How many Broncos did we have in Iraq when the hockey team stole four buses and crashed them into the stadium, killing thousands? Zero. To them, it’s not about Iraq. We are not at war with Iraq. We are not at war with Afghanistan. We ARE at war with a mentality that Islam will rule or die. They will never live at peace with us. We have to keep playing until they are either willing to tolerate non-Muslims or give up.

The Broncos are winning – it’s us in the stands who need to not give up.

I didn't mean to imply that our troops are helpless victims, any more than the Broncos would be. They volunteered too, though the pay is much better for your typical Bronco.

Nonetheless, our troops are a military force pitted against what is, essentially, a criminal element. They are the wrong tool for the job. Say you have a problem with muggers in New York city. Surely the most effective way to stop all of them at once would be a nuclear device. A little extreme? How about smart bombs? Who could object to THAT solution?

Its true that the Iraq is torn by sectarian violence and terrorism. When we leave, the sectarian violence will increase and the terrorism will decrease. If we don't leave, it will stay the same. The difference is we'll be able to repair and replenish our military to prepare for battles we CAN win.

And in either event, we toppled Saddam Hussein's governement. Is our beef now with the Iraqi people? If not, why are we fighting so many of them?

But wouldn't it be more fitting to have the Broncos playing hockey, referred by baseball umpires?

...stepped in because the coach kept insisting that his team was winning, and the scoreboad was unreliable because it had a pro-hockey bias.

Yes, I may have run-on a little. BUT: I am NOT the UniBomber. --just an FYI. :-D

Exactly - the terrorists are the Unibomber. If we had called in an airstrike on his cabin, would that have been an effective use of the military? Or was the FBI a better choice?

FBI. That's what I'm sayin'.