Here we are on another Saturday evening in America. Some people are out
having Barbeques, while others maybe out for a night on the town. I myself am
sitting at home relaxing to some television and wondering what the Times of
London may have in store tomorrow.
It has become almost a weekly event that some new, secret British document
gets leaked to the Times showing more proof that we may not have needed a war in
Iraq at this time. The country we fought to leave because of a lying ruler now
has their own Deep Throat proving wrong doing in their government and also in
ours. If these documents lead to any investigation under our Republican run
Congress is something yet to be seen, but one thing is for certain – the media
has finally awoken.
We are seeing more and more coverage from the press on the Downing Street
Memos and questions are starting to be asked more about the validity of the
facts within them. Our administration has, what would seem to be, an guilt
ridden muzzle on it. Scott McClellan, whenever asked about the memos, always
responds with his predetermined answer of “this is an old matter that has
already been addressed numerous timesâ€ÂÂ. Ironically he won’t readdress it as what
could be a hope to make reporters drop the questioning; he just goes back to
that old statement on a daily basis. This is something that reeks of guilt.
When President Bush originally took office in 2000, he said he wanted to
return accountability to our government. This was a continual campaign point of
his as he ran against former vice-President Al Gore. They were riding on the
coattails of that hideous scandal of Bill Clinton getting a blow job, and the
ride stopped on Pennsylvania Avenue.
This is probably one of the worst broken promises we have ever experienced
from a Presidential campaign. Since 2000 President Bush has announced partial or
full wrong doing by his Administration a total of zero times. He is presenting
himself as a man of infallibility, and it is really scary. No man is perfect, we
all screw up, and the one man in charge of the most powerful nation on the
planet has had to screw up by now.
Pointing out this campaign promise that now seems to be broken; I would like
to give the President and his administration an opportunity to make amends. I
will start with the Downing Street Memo. If the intelligence was truly being
fixed to promote are reasons for war, was the President actually involved with
this or was it limited to members of his cabinet? This is a serious question
that has cost countless lives and hundreds of billions of tax payer’s dollars.
It is an honest question, with no means of implication. I feel the American
people have the right to the truth since we are the ones that put you in office
and pay your salary.
Another question that is probably of a more severe nature; Did our
administration ignore the plans put together by experts on the middle east
dealing with a post war Iraq and if so was our planning done so in such an
inadequate way that it has cost us even more American soldier lives than
necessary? We are almost certain the first part of the question is yes so I will
allow you to go on to the second part. You see, I am a firm believer that we did
not properly supply our troops with the needed gear to safely fight this war.
Your administration has previously acknowledged this and even said they would
correct it, but today a report came out in the
New York Times saying that the plan to equip our militaries Humvee’s has
faltered. If the answer to both parts of this question is yes, then a follow up
is in order. Do you feel that this inadequate protection for our boys and girls
who volunteer to fight and die for the very country they love is a direct
relation to the declining enlistment rates that is plaguing our military now?
I find it a total disgrace that these brave young people would be put into
harms way and not be protected. The same analogy would be sending a police
officer on patrol without his bullet proof vest, or a firefighter into an
inferno without proper gear. Even sadder is the fact that U.S. contractors such
as Halliburton are riding around in properly armored vehicles while our soldiers
aren’t.
My final question, in what I am sure may seem like a grilling session, has to
do with the alleged torture of enemy combatants. The American people still feel
that little Lyndie England and a few friends could not be the sole
responsibility of the Abu Gharib prison scandal. We also feel that the other
soldiers who have committed, what your administration calls “minor and
isolatedâ€ÂÂ, acts of torture could be acting alone. Isn’t it true that our fine
soldiers are trained to follow orders? In a
report released to the U.N. this week, we have now admitted to some acts of
torture. Since we seem to be plagued with a growing number of these “minor and
isolated†incidences, is there someone higher up giving the orders? If the
answer to this is yes, then I again must ask a follow up. Is it now the practice
of the United States to engage in torture as a tool for interrogations? We are
supposed to be a free and understanding nation, supporting human rights. If we
are abusing these humans then we are no better than they are.
I hope our President starts to give insight to some of these questions, as
they are in the minds of Americans from coast to coast and those fighting
overseas. Our nation is severely wounded right now and we need to heal. We can
not keep on surviving with the great divide we have between red and blue. We
must start seeing a purple nation once again. We also need to join the rest of
the world once again, instead of alienating ourselves from it.
September 11, 2001 was one of the darkest days this nation has ever
encountered in its short history, but some good did come from it. We had a
nation united and a world offering its support. As American’s were crying for
justice, you did a fine job in responding by sending our troops into Afghanistan
to track down those who did attack us. Four years later, here we are, still
trying to heal from that horrible day and once again divided. We seem to be
standing alone more and more in the world and our homeland does not seem anymore
secure for it. Our military is weakened and our ports still go unchecked. We are
seeing a growing rise in people turning to faith because their confidence in our
national security is failing. Faith is a good thing, but it has become a
necessity and our nation needs to restore it to spiritual guidance.
I will be watching you on television this Tuesday night, with hope that some
questions might get answered; however I am not very optimistic. In fact I am
sure I will be right here typing again wondering when our President is going to
give us this accountability and let our nation heal. Please Mr. Bush, I am
asking you not only as our President but also as a Christian and human to please
help pull our nation together. We understand that people do make mistakes, but
it is a bigger mistake to not fess up to it. If your mistakes are made known
then we as a nation can once again join together and try to right our wrong!