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Al Gore Places Infant Son In Rocket To Escape Dying Planet

Michael Ramirez

Lisa Benson

Eric Allie

Henry Payne

Gary McCoy

By Jason Meszaros
Article Last Updated: 07/29/2008 06:35:01 PM CDT
Article Last Updated: 07/29/2008 06:35:01 PM CDT
It was 10 years ago this month that I deployed with 13th Psychological Operations Battalion out of Arden Hills and headed off to Bosnia. The memory that sticks out the most was that of the political battle back home. Watching CNN and listening to the Republicans threaten to cut off funding for the troops because President Clinton, my commander in chief, had taken action in Kosovo, I remember thinking to myself: This is a political game. Here I am, sitting in a combat zone, and politicians are playing political games with the money. It is the soldiers heading into harm’s way and not the politicians. At that point I was angry with the Republican Party for the partisan games they were playing.

Fast forward six years to 2004. I was watching CNN in Afghanistan and listening to the Democrats threaten to cut off funding for the troops because President Bush, my commander in chief, had taken action in Iraq. Rest assured I came to the same conclusion. Politicians play political games, and the troops are caught in the middle. The troops on the ground deserve support from both sides.

My old reserve unit is the only one of its kind in the armed forces with the specific mission of Psychological Operations on Enemy Prisoners of War. Our mission in Bosnia was to influence the long-term feelings and beliefs of the Bosnian, Croatian and Serbian people.

We had to convince the three ethnic groups to live in peace and harmony. Sound familiar? Kurds, Shiite and Sunni, maybe? We started with Bosnia and moved to Kosovo shortly thereafter, and a decade later we are rebuilding Afghanistan and Iraq.

It’s an odd feeling to be in a foreign country wondering whether the people actually want you there. In the case of Bosnia, I learned quickly that what mattered was whom you were talking to. The Bosnia Muslims loved having the Americans there to protect them. The Serbians, on the other hand, did not want us there. They had been the dominant power for many years and wanted to maintain that role. We were preventing that.

My Serbian interpreter told us that when the Americans left, they would begin killing Muslims again. With that mindset in the world it is no surprise that Muslims feel threatened. I learned a lot during my tour in Bosnia. I experienced the first elections in the country, and remember them well. It was amazing to see how happy the people were to finally have their voice in the form of a vote. The same was true for Iraq; nobody will forget the purplefingers. Our soldiers need to know the situation on the ground in order to survive.

In a time of war, Americans should expect Congress to place partisan politics aside and have the courage and integrity to do what is best for America and not the political party. I have watched the war debate under administrations and Congress run by both parties and have seen the same rhetoric from both sides of the aisle. As a veteran, I expect more from my elected officials. I expect the same courage and integrity from the politicians representing me that I experienced in the military.

It is election season, and I want Americans to take an interest in whom they vote for in 2008. In 2006 we were losing the war to the Iraqi insurgents and al-Qaida in Iraq, and the soldiers on the ground told us that. In 2008, we are winning in Iraq but the partisan politics of the season is going to blur that line. If you want the truth about Iraq, ask a veteran who has returned from Iraq within the last year. Soldiers have the courage and integrity to tell the truth, good or bad.

Our mission in Iraq is not about partisan politics. Our mission is not about the candidates. Our mission is to establish a secure, stable, free and democratic society in the heart of the Middle East, in Iraq, in support of the policy to win the global war on terror. To forge a strategic ally in the region. To take away terrorist support and safe haven. To defeat al-Qaida no matter where members are hiding. The surge has provided the security for the political and economic progress in Iraq, and Iraq is taking advantage of that opportunity. The progress was earned through the hard work and sacrifices of our soldiers, not our politicians. We are on the verge of victory in Iraq by most accounts of the men and women who served there during the surge. I encourage all candidates for elected office to take partisan politics out of the war debate, listen to the soldiers and focus on finishing the job.

Jason Meszaros was a captain in the U.S. Army Reserve and deployed to Afghanistan in 2004. He is now co-captain for the Minnesota Chapter of Vets for Freedom and has appeared in the group’s recent advertisements “Finish the Job” and “Some in Washington.” His e-mail address is saintmichael@charter.ne

Reprinted with permission of the author
Original article is found here: http://www.twincities.com/ci_10034912?IADID=Search-www.twincities.com-www.twinc