Subj : Iraq To : ALL From : BOB KLAHN Date : Thu Jul 03 2014 03:44:00 ..PID: SX 4.5/P/6.0W5 RB10275 ..MSGID: 1:135/382 974ea978 I keep reading, over and over, that so many people are hurt and angry that, after all those years, Iraq is being cut up by a handful of extremist invaders. Families who lost a child there are saying they don't want their child to have died in vain. They don't want their family member to have suffered wounds and psychological harm in vain. All that suffering and death and cost should not be allowed to have been in vain. Has it ever occured to anyone that is the worst possible reason to send troops to Iraq? That is why we couldn't win in the first place, our troops were sent there to serve our benefit, or, rather that of the oil industry. They certainly were not sent to serve the betterment of the Iraqi people. So why would the Iraqi people want our men there if they were only there for America's benefit? And why would it be any different now? We have Iraq, Afghanistan, Libya, the Ukraine, all in trouble and congress demanding Obama do something about all of them, yet not willing to say what, or to authorize anything. Time for a US president to affirm America's commitment to freedom. By which I mean, the president should announce the basic standards of freedom are freedom of speech, freedom of the press, freedom of religion and from religion, freedom to peaceably assemble, and free and honest elections. Then he should announce, if American forces are requested anywhere in the world, the price will be, all those freedoms be instituted. He should announce he will not send one single American soldier to any place in the world, other than to rescue innocent people and get out, or capture our enemies and get out, unless it is under those conditions. Requesting American military assistance requires accepting those conditions, and any government that attempts to renege on the agreement will be overthrown. That would set a standard that will dampen the enthusiasm of petty dictators under attack to cry for American assistance when he is to blame for his own troubles. Anytime and everytime an American soldier dies to shore up a dictatorship, his death was in vain. BOB KLAHN bob.klahn@sev.org http://home.toltbbs.com/bobklahn .... Fools rush in where fools have been before....BC> --- Via Silver Xpress V4.5/P [Reg] * Origin: Fidonet Since 1991 bbs.docsnetservices.com (1:123/140) .