Knee Deep in the Hooah!

Sometimes Damon will mention something in passing just to get my Irish blood to boiling. Yeah, if there’s a nationality out there known for its temper, then it flows through my veins. Actually in person I am a pretty mild mannered lady.

My blog, on the other hand, is where my manners and my sanity meet — it’s where they clash and where I must say what’s really brewing in my heart or else all hell will break loose within.

Well, OK. I exaggerate again. Really what it will amount to is one too many a glass of Guenoc Petite Syrah, a crying time before going to sleep, a headache and indigestion the next day. Doesn’t rage sound nicer? I thought so too.

I do digress, so please forgive me. Today while we were passing each other in foyer — he was going down stairs while I was going up, and he whispered sweet nothings in my ear.

“Hey… do you want some news that will piss you off?” he whispered provocatively in my ear.

“Uh, maybe. Why?” I ask him with a coyly and come hither look.

“Because I thought it might get you on a rampage and you do your best blogging when your blood is boiling.” he impishly smiled.

“Oh.” I say with disdain and intense interest. “What is it?”

“Remember the Afghan surge? The one our son is headed out to soon?” he says with all seriousness. “Well, guess who thinks he knows more than the Generals? You know the Generals who led the successful surge in Iraq? Guess who thinks that we don’t need all those men? Guess who thinks we can do it all with less?” he teases with a growing intensity in his voice.

“That bast…” I stop dead in my words as Emma came skipping up the hall.

When he was talking, teasing and toying with me,  I already knew what he was saying. I read the news. I read the numbers. Mrs. Toy Soldier, my beloved daughter-in-law, already called me. We lamented together. We are both convinced that we could solve the world’s problems with a few Mimosas and a couple of months together.

When my son, Toy Soldier (Mike) left for the surge in Iraq, I was reading headlines from our chimerical and extremely slanted media, that the surge was a failure. These headlines were hitting the papers before his boots even hit the sand! They were declaring a failure before the troops even had a chance to do their work!

Of course, nearly a year later and statistics to back the claim, we know the surge was successful and we know they accomplished exactly what they set out to do. The violence has been curbed and it is safer to walk some of the streets in Ramadi than it is some streets in New Orleans — not to mention DC!

Of course the doubters still scoff. I am over it. I really could care less if they choose to not accept fact as fact. They want perfection. If there was never another death in Iraq due to violence and if the camels all smelled like flowers, and little beautiful children sprouted from the flowers near the Tigris, they would say that the landscape in Iraq has been altered and adulterated by Bush and his evil war. Yeah, yeah, yeah, we freaking get it already. It’s been crammed down our throats, beat over our head, and shoved up our noses for 8 freaking long years now!

Well, move over demon Bush … a new scapegoat is in town, and I am ready to unleash some Army mom rage at him. One good turn deserves another, right? I never had to criticize a thing Bush did because the critics were snarling and unleashing their hate before he even deserved it. Even when he didn’t deserve it and got it, no one ever said they were wrong for heaping it on the man.

Sure he made mistakes. Sure I hate some of the decisions he made about the war, but the one thing I can say he did and did well was he let the Generals — namely General Petraeus do the surge as he saw fit. Once the politics was taken a little more out of the equation and military strategy was the lead, we did it and we did it well.

Well, here we see it again. Politics are taking the forefront and our Generals are being told by a Washington insider how to run the war. Over a year ago in January, Obama was telling the media how he would cut war spending DURING the surge in Iraq! He declared over and over again during his campaign that he did not support the surge. We know. We know. We KNOW!

I know he did not support my son and what he was spending his young days doing! Yes. I know already. Now, the horrible irony is my son is under this man’s command, and  Obama’s insight to the military and the importance of adequate funding and adequate presence has not shown any public signs of a deeper understanding. One of the first things he did was cut the military budget… why how Partisan of you Mr. O!

Obama has announced that the surge does indeed need to happen. He has also announced that we really don’t need as many troops as the generals say we do. Then he says:

“This reinforcement will contribute to the security of the Afghan people and to stability in Afghanistan,” Obama said in a statement. “I recognize the extraordinary strain that this deployment places on our troops and military families. I honor their service, and will give them the support they need.”

You really know how this feels, Pres. O? Really? You really are going to “give them the support they need?” Their budget has been cut. Their numbers are being cut drastically. Just what exactly are you going to give them, President Obama? In the words of Blackfive:

“Any legitimate effort would certainly require an effort comprising all of his four years in office, and likely beyond. That will take a will to face up to calls of “quagmire” and “bring the troops home”. I hope President Obama can learn from the fact that he was dead wrong on Iraq, and will listen to Gen. Petraeus and the folks who gave us the winning strategy there as he and his team look for answers in Afghanistan.”

I have too much to lose in hoping that Obama will admit his horrible error in regards to Iraq. I have too much to lose in hoping that Obama will listen to the good General and will follow a winning strategy for Afghanistan. I simply don’t see any hope of that at this point.

Is there any reason I should hope for any of that? Really?

I am holding out hope that our men will do the best they can with what they have left. I am holding out hope that our military is not left decimated by an Administration that is not showing me any change outside of a deep regression back to the Carter years.

We all know where that got us.

God help us.

This is worse than Carter.