Quote of the Week

Amanda White doesn't want anyone to feel sorry for her.

The 31-year-old Colton resident is proud of her husband, Washington National Guard Spc. Kyle White, and she doesn't appreciate being approached by people who oppose the war and are overly sympathetic about his upcoming deployment in support of Operation Iraqi Freedom.

"Don't feel sorry for me, or us," she said. "This is a career. We chose it. We're proud. I say, 'Our presence is still needed (in Iraq),' and remind them we could have a war on our land. That usually shuts them up.'"

- "Guard soldier tying up loose ends; Kyle White of Colton will bid wife, children farewell Monday to prepare for fall deployment to Iraq," Moscow-Pullman Daily News, August 16, 2008

So much for that whole "support the troops, oppose the war" argument....

Iraq-Pullman

There were a couple of stories in the Moscow-Pullman Daily News today about the Iraq War and its impact in Pullman.

In the first story, it was disclosed that the approximately 60 Pullman-based members of Detachment 2, Company B, 1-161st Infantry Battalion, 81st Brigade Combat Team (Heavy), Washington Army National Guard received their mobilization orders yesterday. After a stop at Camp McCoy in Wisconsin for training in August, they will be headed to Iraq once again this fall.

In the second story, it was reported that a group of five gathered at St. James Episcopal Church in Pullman last night for a vigil to mark the fifth anniversary of the Iraq War. This pathetically small number (for a college town) can perhaps be explained by a Gallup Poll that came out last Friday. The success of the surge has convinced a majority of Americans that victory is possible in Iraq and that U.S troops should not leave before the job is done.

65% of Americans feel the U.S. has an obligation to establish a reasonable level of security and stability in Iraq before withdrawing. That's exactly what our Pullman boys in the National Guard will be doing. 63% feel that it is likely al-Qaeda will use Iraq as a base for terrorist operations if the U.S. withdraws and 57% believe that even greater number of Iraqis will die if the U.S. withdraws. This despite the fact that 59% say of Americans think that involvement in Iraq was a mistake.

Not only is this bad news for the protesters at St. James, it's bad news for presidential candidate Barack Obama and his pledge to immediately withdraw U.S. troops from Iraq.

Beyond (Liberal) Borders

Note to Harry Reid: If you've lost Hollywood liberalati Angelina Jolie, you've lost the country.

Jolie, an ambassador for the U.N. High Commissioner for Refugees, had an op-ed published in today's Washington Post stating that the surge has worked and that U.S. troops must stay in Iraq to help the millions of displaced persons.