John Wayne and Snakes

"A man's gotta do what a man's gotta do." Supposedly that was said by John Wayne in a movie. I don't know what movie and I really don't know if he ever said it but I believe the basic premise of the statement to be true. What's this got to do with snakes? Ever since 9/11 and the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan I've been trying to come up with a way to demonstrate how I view the situations and why I believe one to be right and one to be wrong.
Let's suppose you buy a house and move in and shortly after moving in you discover that the house is inhabited by a couple of snakes. What kind? Whatever. What snake scares you the most? Rattlers, Black Mambas, whatever. For the sake of argument we'll just use the general descriptor "snake" but with the understanding that these are venomous, nasty critters. You think about this development and come to the realization that you're a fairly liberal minded person. You realize the snakes were actually there first and you're a live and let live kind of person so you resolve to live together in peace and harmony with some other of nature's creatures.
This goes along fairly well for a while, but nature being nature your family increases in size and so do the snakes. Now you see them more often in the house and as time goes by the house is getting crowded and its difficult to move without encountering each other and one night it finally happens. You get bitten. You call the ambulance, you get to the hospital and treatment is successful this time but now you have to make a decision. Its you or the snakes. A man's gotta do what a man's gotta do and so do snakes. A snake will bite you eventually. Its what they do. The snakes have to go. Period. They have to go.
That's how I see the situation with Afghanistan. Osama and his people are snakes, they're multiplying at an alarming rate, they're living HERE in our "house" and they have to go. Afghanistan is their main nest. Its where the snake leaders are and that's why we need to be there cleaning out all the nests of snakes we can find, mercilessly, swiftly and surely. We didn't do that though. George W. Bush wasn't happy with cleaning up the snake pit that is Afghanistan.
Which brings us to Iraq. Iraq is full of snakes as well. Saddam Hussein was one of the worst snakes you'd ever encounter in your lifetime. There's one problem and one major difference, though. All of Saddam's snakes were in one place. They were not living in "our house" and they really were not going anywhere. All we had to do was take care of the snakes in Afghanistan while keeping an eye on the snakes in Iraq. If some of Saddam's snakes had done something that indicated they were going to be more of a problem we could have acted against them, but they didn't. We spent so much time, money, energy......and lives in Iraq that we lost sight of the snake nests in Afghanistan, we didn't kill the snake leader there, Osama, and now things there are out of hand. The war in Afghanistan was NECESSARY. The war in Iraq was OPTIONAL and we spent way too much on the wrong one and not enough on the right one.
My son is now in Afghanistan. I believe in him, his mission and the need for the mission but I can't help but wonder: If George W. Bush hadn't been such a lying asshole and done what should have been done from the start maybe my son wouldn't have to be there now.
Gotta go. There's a John Wayne movie coming on AMC.
That's the View From The Mountain. What do YOU think?

This Bud may be for "you" but this particular entry or issue or whatever you call this is for me. I've now joined the thousands and thousands of families across the country who have had to watch a loved one pack up and head far across the world to go to war. In my case its my son, Billy, and this being Father's Day I have some things I'd like to put out there.
Billy is 27 years old, married to Rachel (she's sure to be nominated for sainthood if I have a say) and they have 4 beautiful little kids: Liam 7, Owen 5, Cassie 3 and Abby, born just this past Memorial Day. Her father has not seen her yet except in photos. Billy's Army Engineer Company deployed to Afghanistan in support of Operation Enduring Freedom at the end of April, departing from their home at his duty station at Fort Benning, Georgia.
Billy joined the Army just about a year and a half ago. He had been successfully employed in the construction industry as a heavy equipment operator and concrete specialist and had been a foreman of his own crew for a large contractor but decided he wanted to do more with his life, he wanted to make a contribution to his country and one of the prime motivating factors were the events of 9-11, so after some long and emotional talks with his wife and kids and his parents he enlisted at the age of 26 and upon reporting for boot camp found he was one of the "old men" in his training group. He was two years older than one of his drill sergeants but his age and maturity served him well and he was soon named to be the platoon leader and held the post through his graduation. Upon reporting for advanced training in equipment operation he was again named to a leadership position and scored higher in some of the practical exams than anyone had seen in a long, long time. Upon completion he was assigned to an Engineer Company.
My point is not to brag on him but to put a face on him. He's not some "support the troops" yellow sticker on the bumper of your SUV. Its high time we got around to honoring the men and women who serve and for the most part we're doing a pretty good job but there's a long way to go. Unless you have a family member or know a close friend who's serving or are involved with a troop support organization such as "A Hero's Welcome", "The Yellow Ribbon Club", "The Patriot Guard Riders", or "The Warriors Watch" or a host of others just what, besides hanging the little sticker on your car, are you doing to support the troops?
This morning, on Father's Day, I opened the morning paper to find the news that two American service members were killed in a rocket attack on Bagram Air Base near Kabul, Afghanistan. My wife told me, in light of the fact that Billy is there, that I shouldn't be reading that news as it would only upset me. What she said is what upset me. How many people actually read that article? How many people actually bothered to read it and determine the circumstances of their deaths? Did they publish the names? What branch did they serve in? Where are they from? Are their fathers being notified of the loss of their children.....on Father's Day?
READ THE FUCKING NEWS!! LEARN THESE KIDS NAMES!!
After 9-11 the New York Times started, every day, printing a short bio of all the people who wer lost in the attacks of that horrible day and well they should have. Has the New York Times published any bios of the kids killed since then in the actions in Iraq and Afghanistan? What makes the victims of 9-11 rate more than the men and women who volunteered in the aftermath to go and serve to avenge the attacks and attempt to bring the animals responsible to justice?
Our family has almost ten more months to worry about Billy's safety. I go to bed every night with the phone on the night stand. If you want to make me have a heart attack call my phone at 3 AM (if I survive it I will find you and kill you), but we know that we are just one of thousands and thousands of families across the nation who do the same things every day.
Don't do it for me or my son because I wrote this knowing full well that no one may ever bother to read it. We're nobody special. But every single one of our young men and women over there are. Do something this week to truly support the troops. Learn who these young people are. Take the time to read about them and learn their names if they are harmed.
Oh. And go out and buy a new sticker for the back of your car. That one's getting a little faded.

Another Blog?

Another blog. Why? Maybe I just have too much time on my hands. Maybe I think I have something to say that hasn't been said yet. Maybe one or two people on Facebook have told me they were interested in at least some of the things I had to say and suggested I try this. For these and a few other reasons I'm giving it a shot.
About me: My name's Bill, William if you're my mother or my wife and you're mad. "Mountain Bill" to my many friends in the motorcycle enthusiast crowd here in SE Pennsylvania. I've owned at least one (and at one time four) Harley Davidson motorcycles every day of my life since I was 17 years old. I'll be 55 in October - do the math. Harleys, the motorcycle community and the whole mystique surrounding it will probably be the subject of at least a few rants...er...blogs.
I'm a fan of the political world, well maybe fan isn't correct. I'm not a democrat or a republican or a libertarian or a conservative or a liberal. I've got views and opinions on some issues that would put me out there either to the right of Rush Limbaugh or the left of Karl Marx.
I'm married, the father of a soldier serving in the combat zone of Afghanistan (there's enough fodder there for 50 blogs) the grandfather of 4 kids whose future I'm plumb scared about, a retired police officer (27 years of service including substantial time in the ghettos of a major east coast city) and a former over the road truck driver. Some people call me a wise sage. Some call me a raving ranting lunatic. My wife thinks I've lost it. When I figure out what "it" is, first I'll let Bill Clinton know and then I'll clue you in. I hope you read this, if you like it tell you're friends and if not tell me....and your friends. If I don't get some readers I'll just fold it up and go but with your help and input maybe I can find my voice and not get too lost in the blogosphere.
Thanks.
See you real soon.