[Mishmash] Report: American Troops should stay in Iraq:Churchill's Grandson

[Susan Flewelling]

>------- Original Message -------
>From    : Richard Barth[mailto:w3hwn at comcast.net]
>Sent    : 5/15/2007 11:26:38 AM
>To      : mishmash at mishmash.net
>Cc      : 
>Subject : RE: Re: [Mishmash] Report: American Troops should stay in Iraq:Churchill's Grandson
>
> I'm sure the American troops in Iraq would appreciate additional help 
>from those Canadians who think it's important that we stay there while they stay home and 
>make speeches.


For openers, this is not a Canadian war or a NATO war or a U.N. war going on in Iraq, it is a U.S. 
instigated war begun contrary to a U.N. Resolution and without the sanction of the United Nations.

Secondly, our troops (and the troops of several other countries) are in Afghanistan (also a conflict 
continued by the U.S. after Russia pulled out) as part of NATO. 
(http://www.nato.int/issues/afghanistan/index.html)

The Americans were there blowing that country to kingdom come - and then they set their sights on Iraq 
and suddenly wern’t there to any appreciable degree and now NATO is stuck with trying to clean up that 
particular mess.  Our troops are there on the front line, killing and being killed - though we don't 
have a fraction of the casualties the U.S. has had in Iraq.  I don't think this is commonly known or 
reported in the U.S. because a friend in California was amazed to learn this some months ago when I 
mentioned it.

 We do not have the military strength in numbers and equipment that the U.S. has so can't be in 
Afghanistan and Iraq at the same time.  Plus there would probably be a civil uprising here in Canada 
if it happened - the country is divided over our role Afghanistan as it is.

The first Canadian female member of the military ever to be killed in action belonged to my church so 
I see on a regular basis what war does to families.  Her family is crushed so just because we don't 
have the same number of casualties does not mean the deaths of these young people go unnoticed.

Hope this clears up some confusion.

Susan