My letter (part I) that we talked about, Will.

I have been a Republican since I was 14 years old, typing up my own Reagan posters in 1976. I ranted every time I heard statements that the phony baloney actor cowboy from California would never win a general election. When the impossible happened and he was elected, I watched a good portion of Reagan's agenda go down to defeat against a Democratic Congress. I dreamed if only we could get the presidency and the congress, we could really lower the deficit, cut back on the government's size and intrusiveness, and make sure that US troops were never sent to a war that wasn't in direct defense of our nation, with their hands tied and given a mission they could never complete. In the year 2000, by 537 votes, my dream came true.
How well I have been rewarded;
Mark Foley preaching of morality while attempting to have a homosexual affair with a page and being covered up by those in power.
Finding out Newt Gingrich was having an affair at the same time as Clinton.
Listening to Rush Limbaugh from the day he started his talk radio on KFBK ridiculing people of the libertarian beliefs on drugs and then finding out he was smuggling and using illegal drugs himself.
Having to listen to Senator Craig try and talk his way out of guilty plea in a restroom stall bust.
Watching Bush and the Republican Congress create a huge deficit with pork barreling and spending to increase the power of the federal government.
Disregard for the Bill of Rights.
I have watched young men and women fighting and dying in a war with no clear objective, being sent on multiple deployments, then being hit with a stop loss when their enlistment?s were up and sent again to play the game of Russian Roulette in the 135 degree blazing sands. Even when they finally finish serving their country and try and build a life after combat they receive letters recalling them to active duty to serve yet another tour so that the politicians that claim that our country is in an all out fight for it?s survival can avoid instituting the draft because that might be unpopular and they might lose their job.
All the while I am choking out excuses against critics.
I voted for Bush in '04 because how could I vote for a guy that openly admitted to committing atrocities in Vietnam while he was an officer and should have had the leadership and moral courage to stop it?

My letter Part II

I have to admit I supported the war, which I can back up with a DOD DD form 214 showing my service in Iraq. Both Clinton and Bush told me of the WMD. God help our civil liberties if Saddam drops one of those on a US city, I thought. I served my tour at the same time my son in the Marines was in Falujah and it was after it was decided the WMDs would never be found. Many air missions I stood by my helicopter and saluted with tears in my eyes as the body bags containing the remains of my fellow US GI's (some weighting less than 30 pounds) were loaded on my helicopter.
Coming home from one of these missions, I read the string of increasingly frantic emails from my wife about the SuperStallion helicopter that had gone down in the western Iraqi desert. She was reading the partial list of fatalities and recognized the names of our son's Marine buddies on it. But God spared our son as him and a buddy were moved to Chock 2 at the last minute, sparing him the fate of 31 of his company comrades.
On one air mission as our flight of two passed over a road that was a MSR (Main supply route) that was torn and ragged from IED craters Chock two sighted a battered white jeep parked along the road. They diverted to investigate and caught a man digging a hole in the road, an almost sure sign he was planting an IED. When he caught sight of the American Blackhawk helicopter he jumped into the jeep and raced away. Chock two fired a string of tracers in front of him and forced him to stop. Our air mission commander felt we had to hold this guy until American infantry could investigate and question him. The radio on our helicopter wasn?t working so we took over guarding the jeep while chock 2 climbed to altitude to make a radio call. I was the right hand crewchief gunner and it was up to me to protect us against any action this man might take. Our blackhawk was a passenger ship and we had a mix of 14 Iraqi civilians and American troops aboard. Me and my M60 was all that stood between us and a possible RPG attack and my air mission commander (AMC) warned me to keep this man covered at all times as we orbited. The man dismounted the vehicle as well as his wife, a son about 10 and a daughter about 3. I find myself in the situation I most feared, having to make a judgement call like this. Had I not been one to argue with instructors about illegal orders I would have taken the easy way out and just kept my weapon trained on this family as I was ordered. Since all it would take was a slight bump of the trigger to unlease the first of 300 rounds of 7.62mm ammo I made the moral judgement call to lower the weapon. I could clearly see the man and knew I could react if he went for a weapon. For an hour we orbited and suddenly the man said something to his wife and son and they got into the jeep. Picking up the little girl the man headed for the drivers seat. I informed my pilot and AMC that they were attempting to leave. My pilot brought the helicopter to a hover, twenty feet in front, and broadside to the road. Our rotor wash blasted the man and little girl now standing in front of the radiator grill. For long minutes I stared at this man but what I was seeing was the clear, dark, scared, yet uncrying eyes of the little girl as her dark hair, driven by our rotor wash, whipped across her face. Though my grand daughters are blue eyed and blond but of the same age, they are what I was seeing in those eyes and face. ?Is this how I am protecting my own. My God this is insane!? I suddenly thought in anguish.
This image sticks with me to this day.

As I crisscrossed over thousands of square miles of Iraq I had high hopes for the country becoming a free and prosperous country. I was in Iraq for both of the first two Elections and hoped with all my soul that they would quit killing each other and of course us. I wanted so desperately to secure the borders so foreign fighters couldn?t get in and kill wantonly but realized this would never be possible. I believe that at least fifty percent of the people supported our presence to protect them from the killings but as we were unable to protect them from the bombings that killed them, hundreds a day we just became more of a detriment and they now believe we are attracting the killing to their country. Back home I followed the news every day just hoping for a glimmer of hope that the violence was abating. I listened in vain.
The war we should have fought is with Osama Bin Laden and his small group of radical Muslims like Congressmen Ron Paul voted to do. The battle of Iraq was a mistake of both the Democrats and Republicans that voted to go to war. Bush as Commander in Chief failed, unlike great generals in history who knew when they had engaged the wrong strategy in a war and had sense enough to withdraw and regroup and rethink their strategies. To do otherwise and the soldiers see that they are dying in vain that leader rapidly loses the support of his men and even more so when he is giving orders from the rear and they know he never served in the foxholes in his youth.
We need to get out of the Middle East and deprive Al Qaeda the rallying and recruitment point of American occupation. If some are thinking I have become an appeaser and pacifist and a cut and runner you could not be more wrong. It is my firm belief that all things in this universe are about force and counterforce and the struggle to survive. War and terrorism, which are one in the same, will always be in this universe and I will fight for my freedom and right to live without hesitation however it is a ghastly horrible thing that can bring out the worse elements of human nature. If we can find different strategies that cost less in human life and defuse the constant human struggles where it is possible and where they involve us we should go that route.

I feel I was wrong about the war and have to admit my mistake. As I looked around for a leader to replace Bush I had to go back in history and see who was making sounder judgments during the time of 9/11 hysteria and found it wasn't any of the well known Democrats and Republicans. That person was Congressman Ron Paul
Ron Paul is a man that has been married to the same woman for 50 years and stands by his principals even if it means standing against his party. He is a congressman that raises most of his contributions from small donors because big money knows his votes cannot be bought. He stands by his oath to defend the constitution, even when it is not popular. Paul voted against going into Iraq when most all America wanted to kick ass for he alone amongst the Republicans and most of the Democrats running had the foresight of what it would lead to and knew it was wrong to began with.

Sincerely,
Ssg Joel Horn Ret.

Joel,
Your dicription of your personal experiences in the police action in Iraq leaves me with a lump in my throat! I hope others will read and pass on this info. Thank you sir for your service to this country and for your continued efforts to get the truth out!!
Again I'm proud to have you as a group member.


Will Foster