Monday, August 10, 2009

War Cry

Yesterday morning, Sunday, we received a gorgeous floral arrangement. It wasn't for either Martha or I, but for the young woman, Brooke, who lives next door. When Brooke came home, Martha took the flowers to her.

The occasion was Brooke’s second wedding anniversary. Gurgling in the background was Tucker, her three-month-old son. The flowers were from her husband, who ordered them on the Internet from . . . Afghanistan.

When Tucker was born, his dad flew home from halfway around the planet, stayed five whole days, and then flew halfway around the planet again, back to one of the hellhole fourth-world countries.

Sad. Newlyweds who have spent about four months, total, together. A baby boy who doesn't have a dad to coo at him and make goofy faces and tickle his toes. And for what—for daddy to hang around until he comes home in a black plastic garbage bag?

So I have what I think are three perfectly reasonable questions.

What the FUCK have we been doing in Afghanistan since 2001?

What the FUCK have we been doing in Iraq since 2003?

When the FUCK is Mr. Obama going to put his foot down and say, “Enough!"?



Proud member of a Commie organization,

17 comments:

kara said...

please put those questions on a card, attach them to a bouquet and send them to mr. obama via the whitehouse.

it's how bureaucracy would work if it was like an anniversary.

Pat said...

We had a top army bloke say on TV the other day that our troops could be there for another 20 years.
One forgets that for so many people it is still 'war time'.

Wandering Coyote said...

All I know is that we were supposed to pull out in 2009, Karzai begged us to stay, Harper capitulated, and now we're there till 2011. We had BETTER be getting out of there at that time or else I'll be more pissed off with the whole thing than I already am.

savannah said...

amen, brother! i do like kara's idea. what if we did try that? flowers to save the living...flower power might work again. xoxo

Kim Ayres said...

Yup!

Mary Witzl said...

Can't be too soon for me, Charlie. I'm sure they've got their reasons for taking this much time, but Afghanistan is a sad wasteland. It's terribly hard to help the deserving there, and the baddies could probably hang out in mountain villages and valleys until hell froze right over. Time to bring our guys back.

Attila the Mom said...

You said it!

Robert the Skeptic said...

I feel that simple answers to complex questions are usually wrong... now, having said that, I wouldn't mind our pulling up stakes in Afghanistan and leaving them to their usual passtime - killing each other. Yes, I know the opium funds the Talliban and Al Queida, but they are going to get money from rich Saudis anyway. Remember back when we didn't care that Iran and Iraq were at war with each other? Bring these men an women home.

Barbara Bruederlin said...

You are preaching to the choir, love.

WTF are we (your country and mine) doing in some of those places?

Meg said...

I'm with you on that one.

You can call me Sara or a(n) . . . said...

Ha ha! Kim took the words right outta my mouth. But really, I agree with what you said. War should always be a last resort.

(Somehow I finally found my way back to your blog, Charlie Bear. I musta gotten lost for the past couple days. . . . )

Tiffin said...

Charlie, we're wondering WTF up here in Canada too. Every time someone's son (haven't had any daughters lost up here yet) gets sent home for "repatriation" as they call it, I think of my two beautiful lads and how I would be feeling if that were me.

We used to be peace keepers. What the FUCK are we now?
Tui

Wandering Coyote said...

Tiffin: actually, Canada has lost two female soldiers: Nichola Goddard and Karine Blaise.

Tiffin said...

Thanks, Wandering Coyote, and profound apologies to their families for not having noticed their loss. I do try to say a few words in my heart for each one lost.

Wandering Coyote said...

Tiffin: yeah, it's getting really tough right now, actually. Everyone seems to know someone, or knows someone who knows someone...

Joyce said...

Obama can' leave totally--he's a Democrat and you know that Democrats are soft on war and big on Socialism. He has to have at least one war going so that all the talk show crazies and what Republicans are left in the Senate can only bait him so much.

Given the kind of "debate"--what a sickening use this word has had in recent days--on health car reform, what makes you think that any logical action of any kind is going to be acceptable? I mean, have you seen the posters with him with a Hitler mustache? Reminds me of the ones that were circulating through Dallas of JFK just before he was assassinated.

I'm surprised at you Charlie--expecting reason out of US politics. It has been my considered observation that Americans would much rather spend money on killing people--war--than on saving them--preventive medicine especially for children.

Joyce said...

And Charlie? You're so, so pre-Obama--imagine--being proud of being a member of a Commie organization when everyone knows that the in-thing to hate these days is socialism. Update yourself, man!