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October 10, 2004

Another Veteran against Bush

I just had an interesting conversation with my LandLady's husband. I've known this family for about 17 years. And I knew from talking to both of their daughters that the family had lived in Guantonimo Bay for a period. Their father spent 23 years in the Navy and some of it was spent stationed at Gitmo.

So I asked him what he thinks of the detainees being held at Gitmo. He said it's wrong! From there he steered the conversation to Iraq and what he believes was actually the reason for President Bush invading Iraq - basically that it was a gift from son to father. Which is to say that he firmly believes that the reasons given to the American people were trumped up and disingenuous. This veteran clearly does not approve of what President Bush has done in Iraq. The two things that seem to bother him the most about it are the number of military members who have died for an unjust war and the billions of dollars being squandered on it. He pointedly stated that Americans traditionally only go to war in response to attacks. But he went on to note Reagan's little action in Grenada and Bush 41's action in Panama - both of which he sees as unjust and unAmerican. Not because of how good or bad the people we fought may have been... But rather because we hadn't been attacked or even threatened in any meaningful way.

One thing that I found interesting was that he never raised his voice or seemed to be on a rant. He's the kind of guy who looks you square in the eyes when he talks to you. And while the content of what he was saying was pretty strong and blunt, his demeaner was completely calm.

He expressed frustration with Congress too. The drive to make burning the American flag illegal bothers him greatly. He doesn't actually approve of people burning the American flag. But, he does see it as a fundamental civil right (freedom of expression) which he spent 23 long years of his life defending in uniform.

Bottom line: This veteran of 23 years is firmly opposed to George W. Bush being re-elected.

Posted by Kevin at October 10, 2004 07:54 PM