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Written by Steve Sanson
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Saturday, 28 April 2007 |
Democratic United States Senator Harry Reid of Nevada stated recently that "This war is lost." I placed a phone call to Senator Reid's Press Agent in Washington, DC on April 23rd and followed up with an e-mail on April 24th, but to date I have still received no response to these attempts for an interview.
Since President Bush announced the start of the Iraqi war on March 19, 2003, we have lost 3,334 American Troops over four years. Every American life that is lost is a great loss to this nation, but still, we cannot turn and run!
Let us look back at history:
During the Revolutionary War it was the French that helped us gain our Independence from the British Royal Army. In the fight for Democracy and the end of slavery we lost over 618,000 Americans lives.
During World War II we dropped the Atomic Bomb on the Japanese City of Hiroshima which took over 200,000 Japanese civilians in a single day. It took a second Atomic Bomb three days later on the Japanese City of Nagasaki taken and 140,144 more civilian lives before Japan finally surrendered.
During the battle for a small Japanese Island of Iowa Jima we lost 6,800 American Troops in 27 days.
We lost more than 58,168 servicemen over 11 years by the end of the Vietnam War. We lost the Vietnam War, one in which we instituted the draft, largely because we did not have the support of the American people.
Let me tell you something. We're smarter since the Vietnam War. Our troops have the most advanced weaponry, their training is superb, and their leadership will not give in to terrorist.
In a single day in New York City we lost 2,792 lives when two aircraft rammed into the Twin Towers on September 11, 2001.
What I am saying is the following: the loss of American lives in Iraq is low, compared to other conflicts in American History. It is a tragedy to lose one life, but we are at war.
Senator Reid said the War is lost, but let us take a look at the accomplishments the media has failed to publish:
1. The first battalion of the new Iraqi Army has graduated and is on active duty.
2. Over 60,000 Iraqis now provide security to their fellow citizens.
3. Nearly all Iraqis 400 court is functioning.
4. The Iraqi judiciary is fully independent.
5. Power generation hit 4,518 megawatts-exceeding the prewar average.
6. All 22 Universities and 43 technical institutes and colleges are open, as are nearly all primary and secondary schools.
7. Coalition forces had rehabbed over 1,500 schools, 500 more than scheduled.
8. Teachers earn 12 to 25 times what their former salaries were.
9. All 240 hospitals and more than 1200 clinics are open.
10. Doctor's salaries are at least eight times what they were under Saddam.
11. Pharmaceutical distribution has gone from essentially nothing to 12,000 Tons.
12. The Coalition has helped administer over 22 million vaccination doses to Iraq's children.
13. A Coalition program has cleared over 14,000 kilometers of Iraq's 27,000 kilometers of weed-choked canals which now irrigate tens of thousands of farms. This project has created jobs for more than 100,000 Iraqi men and women.
14. We have restored over three-quarters of prewar telephone services and over two-thirds of the potable water production.
15. There are 4,900 full-service telephone connections; 50,000 are expected by year-end.
16. The wheels of commerce are turning. From bicycles to satellite dishes to cars and trucks, business are coming to life in all major cities and towns.
17. 95 percent of all pre-war bank customers have service and first time customers are opening accounts daily.
18. Iraqi banks are making loans to finance businesses.
19. The central bank is fully independent.
20. Iraq has one of the most growth-oriented investment and banking laws.
21. Iraq has single, unified currency for the first time in 15 years.
22. Satellite TV dishes are legal.
23. Foreign journalists aren't on 10-day visas paying mandatory and extortionate fees to the Ministry of Information for minders and other government spies.
24. There are more than 170 newspapers.
25. Foreign journalists (and everyone else) are free to come and go.
26. A Nation that had not one single element now has a legislative, judicial, and executive branch of government that represents the people.
27. In Baghdad alone residents have selected 88 advisory councils. Baghdad's first democratic transfer of power in 35 years happened when the city council elected its new chairman.
28. Today Iraq chambers of commerce, business, school, and professional organizations are electing their leaders all over the country.
29. 25 ministers, selected by the most representative governing body in Iraq's history, now run the day-to-day business of government.
30. The Iraqi government regularly participates in international events. Since July the Iraqi government has been represented in over two dozen international meetings, including those of the UN General Assembly, the Arab League, the World Bank, IMF and the Islamic Conference Summit. The Ministry of Foreign Affairs announced that it is reopening over 30 Iraqi embassies around the World.
31. Shiite religious festivals that were all but banned are not anymore.
32. For the first time in 35 years, in Karbala thousands of Shiites celebrate the pilgrimage of the 12th Imam.
33. The Coalition has completed over 13,000 reconstruction projects, large, and small, as part of a strategic plan for reconstruction of Iraq.
34. Uday and Queasy are dead and no longer feeding innocent Iraqi's to the zoo lions, raping the young daughters of local leaders to force cooperation, torturing Iraq's soccer players for losing games, or murdering critic.
35. Children aren't imprisoned or murdered when their parents disagree with the government.
36. Political opponents aren't imprisoned, torture, executed, maimed, or are forced to watch their families die for disagreeing with Saddam.
37. Millions of long-suffering Iraqi's no longer live in perpetual terror.
38. Saudis will hold municipal elections.
39. Qatar is reforming education to give more choices to parents.
40. Jordan is accelerating market economic reforms.
41. The Nobel Peace Prize was awarded for the first time to an Iranian-a Muslim woman who speaks out with the courage for human rights, for democracy, and for peace.
A Dictator is gone. Saddam was tried and hung by his own people and Iraq is now a democratic country. Freedom is never free. President Bush has not faltered or failed.
Iraq, under the United States lead control, has come further in six months than Germany did in seven years or Japan did in nine following WWII. Military deaths from fanatic Nazi's and Japanese numbered in the thousands and continued for over three years after W.W.II victory was declared.
Let's not forget that during the Carter Administration our American Embassy in Tehran, Iran was taken hostage. 52 Americans were held in captivity for 444 days. Had former President Jimmy Carter did his job and declared war on Iran, we would have had a foot hold in the Middle East and the Gulf War would have never come to fruition.
During the Clinton Administration Iraq repeatedly disregarded the no fly zone. American Embassies in African Countries were destroyed, the American Battleship, the USS Cole, was blown up in Yemen, and there was an attack on the World Trade Center.
Where does it stop? Someone show me the backbone of Jimmy Carter and Bill Clinton. Former President Carter and Clinton seem to take the safe route, which in the long run puts America in more jeopardy. Sadly, it appears Senator Reid went to the same school the Carters and Clinton's did.
We finally have a President now that takes the fight straight to the terrorists and stands up for ours and others freedoms. We have a President that has a backbone.
Again, let us pray for all of our fallen troops. Despite what US Senator Harry Reid said, our troops need a positive outlook. Senator Reid never wore a uniform therefore he must not realize that his words affect the brave men and woman that are fighting and dying for our freedoms today. What we need now is to build moral amongst our troops, not knock it down.
They are the ones out there fighting for us. Let's support those troops and our United States President.
E-mail: SteveWSanson@cs.com phone 702 283 8088
Website: www.VeteransInPolitics.com.
Listen to Steve Sanson weekly every Saturday LIVE at our PERMANENT NEW TIME at 2 PM Pacific time on "Face the Tribune" at www.AllTalkRadio.net.
On May 13th Stacie Truesdell and Ricki Barlow Candidates for Las Vegas City Council Ward 5 DEBATE.
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Last Updated ( Sunday, 29 April 2007 )
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