Obama wants to pay the Taliban?!?!?!?

While watching the evening news I heard that the President will sign bill which will pay the Taliban to switch sides. I had to hit the rewind button to make sure that I heard right. Now before I begin please remember this is "Just My Opinion" on this topic.

Please bare with me while I go back to Iraq to make my point. Several recent attacks in Iraq have been traced back to the some Iraq Police, some Iraqi Soldiers and possible higher. The terrorist infiltrated and gained knowledge of troop movements and tactics. So if this happened in Iraq who's to say the same thing will not happen in Afghanistan when you pay the Taliban to switch sides.

Now the President of the United States wants to pay the Taliban (terrorist) to switch sides. What makes him think that they can be trusted. These terrorist are killing our troops without remorse. These terrorist have our captured warrior. Our troops are giving their all everyday not excluding some giving their lives in the name of freedom. I don't think we should reward the Taliban for killing our troops by paying them.

Now I haven't personally talked with General McChrystal but I don't think he intended to pay the Taliban. I heard the General on 60 minutes when he stated that he wanted to reach the people of Afghanistan, but I didn't hear him say he wanted to pay the Taliban to switch sides.

In my opinion these terrorist cannot and should not be trusted. They will take the money to fund their terrorist groups, learn inside knowledge of troop movement and tatics. Paying the Taliban is putting our troops lives in more danger. Why not take that same money and send more troops, equipment and whatever else they need to get the job done.

While Obama is taking his time making the decision, troops and civilians are dying. Waiting to make the decision until the election in Afghanistan or before leaving for his trip to Asia is just allowing the Taliban to grow stronger.

General McChrystal has said what he needs to get the job done. He has said if he gets what he needs we can win in Afghanistan. If Obama respected General McChrystal's knowledge enough to send him to access the situation in Afghanistan, then he should respect his knowledge enough to grant his request.

Do Not Play Politics With Our Troops Lives. Candidate Obama said he would take the fight to the Taliban, but President Obama is taking his time making a decision that is costing our troops with their lives.

Terrorist are like termites!

I don't understand why you send a man to assess a situation and have him report back to you if you are not going to listen to him and send him what he needs to get the job done or if you are not going to heed his warning. General McChrystal has said he needs more troops on the ground in Afghanistan to get the job done or we will fail in Afghanistan. What is it going to take. Have they forgotten 9-11? Is it going to take another attack on American soil before they do the right thing. As the mother of an American Soldier I do not take any of this lightly. Did I want my son to go to war? NO! Do I support what he does? YES! No mother wants to see their child go to war but in his words, someone has to do it. He has told me repeatedly that he would rather die on his feet than to live on his knees. I think I can say that most all of us feel the same way.

We have the best military men and women in the world. They have had the best training in the world. Why don't they send them the troops, equipment and whatever else they need to get the job done. How many more troops have to die before they do what is right? I often wonder how those in congress sleep at night knowing they are not doing right by our troops. It is very frustrating to me that these people who are making or should I say not making these decision have very little regard for our military's needs!

Yes, war is ugly, It is very very ugly, but so was Sept. 11, 2001. I get so pissed off when I hear people ask why are we even in Afghanistan? Have you forgotten? Those monsters that took all those innocent lives were trained in Afghanistan. Do you not think if given the opportunity they will not do another attack on American soil? They are like termites, you have to stop them before they make it inside your home!

Finding Comfort

As I sit here drinking my morning coffee, I am reflecting on the events of the past year. In the past year I have lost a mother, brother, family friend, a beloved family pet and sent my only son into a war zone. I have had a heart attack, had a stent put in place while struggling daily with lupus, fibromyalgia and RA. Some days I wake up thinking "what's next?" and then I have to get myself in check and be grateful for the good things I have in my life. I know God never gives us more than we can handle. As you all know I lost my Glory girl day before yesterday but I have to tell you what almost happened on that same day. I got a message from my son saying "I almost died today"! My heart almost stopped when I read those words. I immediately responded, "OMG are you ok? What happened if you can tell me"? You always think the worse from a war zone, "did he get bombed?" "was it an IED?" "did he take small arms fire?" but this was not the case. He says. "while walking to work the driver of a humvee came hauling ass out of the motor pool and almost hit 4 of us walking on side the road. I had to pull one of my soldiers with me while jumping out of the way"! He said, " you are always on your toes because of where you are and had we not been "on guard" we would all be dead or seriously hurt". I asked if they were walking on the road and he said no they were on the side of the road on base. I am sure there is more than what he is saying being he mentioned it. But he felt he needed to tell me so I am not taking it lightly. I am not laying blame on anyone because that will be taken care of in Iraq. My point is that although I lost my pet it could have been so much worse. I believe things happen for a reason and even though I lost a family pet, my son's life was spared and that is a gift from from a higher power. He has a dangerous job and has had many close calls and I am sure he does not tell me everything. So while I grieve the loss of a pet, God blessed me by sparing the life of my child. It's easy to get on a pitty party because it seems easier to focus on the negative. But if we take time to find the positive things it our lives all to often the good out weighs the bad. I read blogs and realize how fortunate I am for having a love and support of a caring family. I am blessed with a son who has morals and values, who is willing to fight for what is right. I am blessed with a wonderful husband who is a cancer survivor of 12 yrs. I am blessed to have had a mother who taught me the importance of family values but yet could still be my best friend. Although I have lost both of my parents I am so grateful for the way they raised me and the lessons they taught that I was able to pass on to my child. Some days are so much harder than other that I will admit but then I will read a comment on twitter and it will bring me comfort when I didn't realize that was what I needed. I am blessed by my online family who all to often do not know the comfort they bring by their tweets or emails.

It's OK Not To Be OK!

Sorry but I am having one of those days. I am sorry that I can't say it's OK! I am sorry that I can't be strong today and you know what, that's OK! It's NOT OK that, due to the beliefs of some that I cannot send my son, my soldier a food that he is craving because of some's religious belief's. It's NOT OK that these same people step all over my religious belief's, starting with "thou shalt not kill" like the Sept 11th terrorist attacks on innocent people! It's NOT OK that these people come to my country and step all over American's and our belief's, yet we have to accept theirs in our own country and in theirs! It's NOT OK that this is their belief's not mine but yet I still have to abide by it. It's NOT OK that I am supposed to respect their Koran, yet they don't have to respect my Holy Bible! It's NOT OK for them to celebrate U.S. Troop withdrawl yelling "We Won, We Won" when our troops did the work. It's NOT OK for them to want the US Troops gone yet still want my tax dollars to rebuild their ecomony. IT's NOT OK that MSM is not honoring our fallen as it should, yet you know who is still making headlines. (Sorry I refuse to say his name aloud due to the fact he has had enough publicity!) It's NOT OK for anyone to disgrace my flag in the name of freedom of expression! It's NOT OK that our veterans are not getting the health care that they have earned. It's NOT OK that there are homeless veterans while those on welfare, who did nothing for this country get a free ride! So, NO I am NOT OK and that is OK!

Feelings of the Mom of a Deployed Soldier!

I am not really sure that I can put the feelings into words. Being over-whelmed with emotions of fear, anxiety, stress and pride are just a few of the emotions that you experience for months prior to the deployment date. The fear of the unknown has always been my biggest fear. A different type of anxiety and stress are now a regular part of your daily life. It's not something you have any control over but you somehow have to learn to live with. The pride I feel for what he is doing makes my heart swell and my eyes tear. You learn to live in faith and prayer becomes your second language. Some days you pray more than others but your faith never waivers. You find yourself praying while doing your chores, you realize you just missed half the movie you were watching or you can't remember what you just read because you started thinking about your child and immediately start praying for his safety and for his brothers in arms. It seems like the only thing that can hold your concentration is your soldier. I have written before of how I get angry over comments or remarks made about our troops but then I have to get myself in check and remember that one of the reasons our troops do what they do is so we can have freedom of speech even though we don't always like what some people have to say. When your soldier is deployed you are never far away from the phone or the internet because you don't want to miss any opportunity to hear from him. You go into panic mode when you hear of bombing in the area where your soldier is. Once you finally hear from your soldier you breath a sign of relief and you hold on to every word. You find yourself scouring the internet hoping for just a glimpse of your soldier. Sleep is not something that comes easily. I think the best rest I have had since January was the 2 weeks he was home on R&R. You become very friendly with your post master because you are in there more than ever before. Holidays aren't the same. It doesn't matter how many care packages you send or what the contents are you never feel like you are doing enough. Being the mother (parent) of a Soldier is a like being on an emotional roller coaster ride. Proud to be a Soldiers Mom!

Here we go again.

I am sitting here stewing over the missing media coverage. With the elections approaching in Aghanistan, our troops fighting the taliban, our fallen warriors in Afghanistan and Iraq and the bombings this morning in Iraq you would think that the MSM would give more than 2 minutes of news coverage. I am not taking anything away from those reporters who try so hard to report on the War On Terror. We American's are strong and we can handle the truth. Why is it that controversy dominates the airways? Why is it that "Cash for Clunkers" makes the headlines everyday? Doesn't our fallen deserve to be honored and mentioned in the MSM? Doesn't our brave men and woman deserve to be recognized for the great jobs they are doing? However, if a soldier suffers from PTSD, the media is all to happy to report the negative side of that. If a Soldier breaks the law MSM is all to willing to report that also. The MSM is so willing to report the negative side of our military instead of reporting all the positive things about our military. What is it going to take for the MSM to report the news and not government programs?

The Sack Lunches

This was sent to me by a very good friend of mine and I wanted to share it with you. Sometimes its the little things that make the biggest impact.

The Sack Lunches

I put my carry-on in the luggage

Compartment and sat down in my

Assigned seat. It was going to be a

Long flight..

'I'm glad I have a

Good book to read. Perhaps I will get

A short nap,' I thought.

Just before take-off, a line of Soldiers came down the aisle and Filled all the vacant seats, totally Surrounding me. I decided to Start a conversation. 'Where are you headed? ' I asked the soldier seated nearest to me.

'Petawawa. We'll be there for two Weeks for special training, and then We're being deployed to Afghanistan

After flying for about an hour, an Announcement was made that sack Lunches were available for five Dollars. It would be several hours Before we reached the east, and I Quickly decided a lunch would help Pass the time..

As I reached for my wallet, I Overheard soldier ask his buddy if he Planned to buy lunch. 'No, that seems like a lot of money for just a sack lunch. Probably Wouldn't be worth five bucks. I'll wait till we get to base '

His friend agreed.

I looked around at the other Soldiers. None were buying lunch. I Walked to the back of the plane and Handed the flight attendant a Fifty dollar bill. 'Take a lunch to all those soldiers.' She grabbed my arms and squeezed Tightly. Her eyes wet with tears, she thanked me. 'My son was a Soldier in Iraq ; it's almost like you are doing it for him.'

Picking up ten sacks, she headed up The aisle to where the soldiers Were seated. She stopped at my seat And asked, 'Which do you likeBest - beef or chicken?'

'Chicken,' I replied, wondering why She asked. She turned and went to The front of plane, returning a Minute later with a dinner plate from First class. 'This is your thanks.'

After we finished eating, I went again to the back of the plane, Heading for the rest room. A man stopped me. 'I saw what you did. I want to be part of it. Here, take this.' He handed me twenty-five dollars.

Soon after I returned to my seat, I Saw the Flight Captain coming down The aisle, looking at the aisle Numbers as he walked, I hoped he was Not looking for me, but noticed he Was looking at the numbers only on My side of the plane. When he got to my row he stopped, smiled, held out his hand, and said, 'I want to shake your hand.'

Quickly unfastening my seatbelt I Stood and took the Captain's hand. With a booming voice he said, 'I was A soldier and I was a military Pilot. Once, someone bought me a Lunch. It was an act of kindness I Never forgot.' I was embarrassed When applause was heard from all of The passengers.

Later I walked to the front of the Plane so I could stretch my legs. A man who was seated about six rows In front of me reached out his Hand, wanting to shake mine. He left Another twenty-five dollars in my palm..

When we landed I gathered my Belongings and started to deplane. Waiting just inside the airplane door Was a man who stopped me, put Something in my shirt pocket, turned, And walked away without saying a Word. Another twenty-five dollars!

Upon entering the terminal, I saw the Soldiers gathering for their trip to the base. I walked over to them And handed them seventy-five dollars. 'It will take you some time to Reach the base. It will be about time for a sandwich. God Bless You.'

Ten young men left that flight Feeling the love and respect of their Fellow travelers. As I walked Briskly to my car, I whispered a prayer for their safe return. These soldiers were giving their all for our country. I could only Give them a couple of meals.

It seemed so little...

A veteran is someone who, at one Point in his life, wrote a blank check Made payable to 'The United States of America ' for an amount of 'up to and including My life.'

That is Honor, and there are way too Many people in this country who No longer understand it.'

May God give you the strength and Courage to pass this along to everyone on your email buddy list....... I JUST DID