The Speech Part Deux

Be aware that what you are about to read will contain a wide range of thoughts & emotions. It may or may not make sense to you. I won't promise that it will sound educated :oP It's MY blog so just roll with it, k?

I sat down last night to watch Obama's speech on the troop expansion in Afghanistan. I won't lie, I sat there fully expecting to get pissed off and be indignant. I try hard not to judge but it happens, we all do it. I was incredibly surprised to find that I AGREED with what he was saying. As a military wife I realize that every decision this man, our President, makes will ultimately decide our future & the course it will take. If you don't think that's true then take your blinders off people.

The war in Iraq has overshadowed the purpose of the war on terrorism. The original intent was to go after Bin Laden. It is still our purpose today but it's been on the back burner. We got caught up in the mess in Iraq, did it serve a purpose? I'm sure it did somewhere along the lines. We are doing good things in Iraq & the war there is coming to an end. My husband is on his second tour there in less than 2.5 years. He WANTED to go to Afghanistan to "fight the good fight". I was terrified & when he had his opportunity to do just that, I talked him out of it. But from the way things are looking he'll still get his chance. I realize that he "signed up" for this, it's his career but that in no way makes it any easier.

I agree with the troop surge. I agree that it's time to do right by this war. I agree with setting a timeline. The lack of a timeline in Iraq is part of the reason why we've been there so long. Yes it's going to cost more money but isn't it worth it to be done with war? Don't we owe it to both the Afghans & Americans to do this right? Will the world ever be free from terror? I pray every night that it will but for now we have brave men & women who are working their asses off to accomplish that.

You know what burns my biscuits? The media & every swingin' dick who thinks their answer is the right answer. The ones who will argue for the sake of arguing. The ones who will find fault with anything. The ones who point fingers & blame. The Americans with their blase indifference. The ones who think that everything in the world is free. The ones who sit on their ass while the few warriors fight for their rights & freedoms. I firmly believe that every American should serve in some sort of military service, make the sacrifices that my family & friends have made. I'm tellin' ya so many people would look at life differently. It's like one of my favorite quotes states: "For those who fought for it FREEDOM has a flavor the protected will never know."

This lifestyle takes my patriotism to whole new heights. I cry during the pledge of allegiance, Star-Spangled Banner, Taps, speeches involving our troops, etc. I've never felt such pride in my country, troops, & my husband. All these things remind me of why we're fighting the war on terror, of why it's important this troop surge goes smoothly, & why we left back on the homefront need to stand tall & proud. So while I support the President's decision, I also dread the separation & fear that is inevitable for so many military families. It's not fun living with that knot of unknowing fear, it wraps itself around your life & while outwardly you seem like you're doing fine, it's still in there, embedding itself into every cell of your soul. It stays there until your Soldier gets back on American soil, safe & healthy. & the seed grows again when decisions like this surge have to be made. So please pray for our military troops, spouses, families, America, & most of all, the people of the world. We all deserve peace & tranquility.

I'm still trying to swallow the fact that I agree with Obama's decision. LOL! I think his exit strategy is what won me over. If he were to just announce the 30k+ troops with no time line for an exit or end to this war then yeah I would have been pissed. But wow, he seems to have got it right this time. I'm hoping with all hope I can muster that it plays out to our benefit. & that's all I have to say about that :o)