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Dear Mr. President,
September 2004...the numbers change...the
message is the same...
Dear Mr. President,
In recent weeks, you
have taken a great deal of obvious joy in calling Senator
Kerry a "flip-flopper" over the war in Iraq. Your
assertion is that "he was against the war, then voted
for the war, and now is against the war again." However,
you have completely missed the point. If you hold all citizens
up to this lax standard, I would venture to say that almost
every American today would fall under your category of flip-floppers.
Here's why.
After the horrific reality of 9-11, our nation was galvanized
in a unified desire to hunt down those responsible, and bring
them to justice. At that point, you asked Congress, and the
citizens of our country to support your "War Against
Terrorists" with broad sweeping escalation of military
budgets, and a new initiative for "Homeland Security."
Believing that your primary desire was to catch Osama Bin
Laden and stop AlQaeda from spreading across the world, Congress,
our Allies, and almost all Americans supported your views
and efforts. We cheered as our troops entered Afghanistan.
We hoped for a quick solution with a minimal loss of life.
We prayed that those who were responsible for the deaths of
more than 3,000 Americans would be brought to justice. But
in our fervor to see justice done, we missed the subtle change
in mission.
In a few short weeks, our mission changed from "War Against
Terrorists," to "War for the Freedom of Iraq."
Suddenly, Osama Bin Laden was off the radar, and our greatest
enemy of freedom was now Saddam Hussein whom, we were told,
was poised to strike our allies at any moment with Weapons
of Mass Destruction. We were told that at an active weapons
program was underway, including chemical weapons and a growing
nuclear threat. Again, trusting your word, Congress gave you
the authority to breach our Constitution and invade Iraq to
"stop this madman." Americans held our collective
breath and, once again, supported your efforts.
In April of 2003, all of America watched with tears of support
and pride, as Saddam's statue was pulled from its pedestal
and our troops moved easily into Baghdad. On April 30th, you
stood in front of a banner proclaiming "Mission Accomplished,"
told us that there was still work to be done, and said fighting
terror was going to be an ongoing fight. At this point, U.S.
and Coalition forces had lost 172 lives winning the freedom
of the Iraqi people. Every lost life was a tragedy. But even
then, we were happy to know that the price paid in comparison
to other wars fought of this scope was small.
Today, three years after 9-11 and sixteen long months since
your "Mission Accomplished" speech, reality has
seemingly been turned on its head. And now, anyone who does
not support your current efforts is at the very least a flip-flopper
and at worst "Unpatriotic." What has changed? A
great deal.
As of today, we have now crossed the gruesome threshold of
1,000 lives lost in this "War for the Freedom of Iraq."
We have lost the support of the vast majority of nations around
the world. We have been told that faulty intelligence was
the reason that you were led to believe that Saddam's weapons
program was active, robust and poised to strike. The cost
of winning Iraqi freedom has ballooned from $87 billion to
more than $200 billion. Worst of all, there is no foreseeable
end in site, nor any discernable exit strategy. AlQaeda and
other terror groups continue to grow in number and geography
with more attacks each month. All the while, we continue to
lose lives, spend money better spent at home, and watch as
you degrade, denigrate, and attack anyone who does not support
your vision.
Mr. President, at this point in history, I am of the belief
that anyone who does not waffle, flip-flop, or in simple terms
change their minds regarding their support for you is lacking
in even the most fundamental common sense. I am also aware
that history is strewn with leaders who stubbornly continued
down the wrong course at the peril of their constituents.
In the corporate world, shareholders would never be asked
to stand silently at the side of a CEO who is moving their
company toward immanent and obvious failure. Good leaders
realize that modifying a plan, changing an opinion to meet
changes in the marketplace, and adapting to challenges that
are thrown in front of them is not waffling, but a solid,
common sense strategy for success.
The losses of 9-11 were horrific. More than 3,000 souls were
lost to terror that day. Now, three years later, another 1,000
Americans have been added to that total. The ratio of loss
is no longer acceptable. By shifting efforts away from Afghanistan,
to a country that was not formerly a center for terror, you
have subverted the very effort for which we supported you
after 9-11. You have misused our trust, wasted our resources,
and minimized our rights as Americans to call your actions
into question.
You sir, are this nation's CEO. And we as shareholders have
the right and responsibility to call into question actions
and motives that are not in the long-term best interest of
our nation. What is needed today is not a leader who stubbornly
refuses to see reason, or entertain other options. What is
needed today is a leader who has the common sense to know
when we are headed down the wrong road and make a change in
direction.
If this is a sign of waffling and flip-flopping, then please.call
me and anyone else with the common sense to question bad leadership
and judgment a flip-flopper. But then, for the sake of our
nation's future, either open your eyes to reality or step
aside.
Sincerely,
Cranky Old Guy
09-15-04
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