Comment of the Year, by Sergeant Lewis: (Paul's stance on Iran/foreign policy)

I support Ron Paul wholeheartedly and so does a lot of guys I know. Though, I've been one of the lucky few to not have to go overseas in support of our "war on terror" I have spent 2 years in South Korea helping to defend them against a starving people with no technology. I've spent those 2 years away from my Wife and 4 kids.

ALL of the other candidates are the same war-mongering bafoons and most of the military are sick of it. I will do EVERYTHING in my power to help this great human being and champion of liberty get elected. The thing is, us active duty cannot legally "support" a certain presidential candidate which makes it more difficult for activism.

I too cannot stand that same parroted line "thank you for your service". That has to be changed or stopped. Maybe "thank you for your sacrifices" or something because "service" in my eyes isn't what we are doing right now. I joined before 9-11 to serve my country NOT to serve corporations.

I've seen on many forums lately people asking the question in regards to the cut in military spending "what will the troops do if they come home because we cut spending?" To which I retort "there was a military before 9-11 and we had jobs then."

BRING US HOME DR. PAUL!!!!

Yes, I serve our country, but our wars do not.

SO GLAD to see that - thank you Sgt. Lewis. I feel the same way when I see those yellow ribbon "Support Our Troops" magnets on people's cars.

I live in the South - the wars are the only thing keeping us safe, so I am told, ad nauseum.

Come home safe Sergeant.

Support our Troops; Support Ron Paul

Among the many surprising facts about Ron Paul that do not get reported by the mainstream news media is the fact that he has received far more donations from active military service personnel than any other candidate for president (including their Commander-In-Chief, President Obama). In fact he receives more than all of the other GOP candidates COMBINED!

This actually continues a trend seen during his 2008 campaign for president when he was competing against that decorated war veteran and media darling Senator John McCain.

To listen to his critics, his proposed foreign policy of a non-interventionist, peaceful America is sheer lunacy.
Specifically, candidates like Rick Santorum, find Ron Paul's (and the CIA's) theory of "blowback" as being the cause of our unending Middle East conflicts as just plain "crazy" and suicidal.

The following was an article written today by another blogger who finds the media coverage of Ron Paul to be horribly biased. And buried in the comments following the article is a clue as to why Ron Paul enjoys such strong support within the active military ranks.

Ron Paul shines in Iowa; major media cheats him

But one of the commenters about this article had a very moving and dramatic response to the others who labeled Ron Paul and his supporters as "Paultards" and tried to portray his foreign and military policies as extreme. (I cannot verify the identity of this commenter. He may or may not be who he claims to be. But see if what he says does not ring true.)

I am a Sergeant in the U.S. Army. I support Ron Paul and I support his foreign policy. I am sure you would not dare call me a Paultard to my face.

No, you would give me the same parroted line I hear 100 times a day, "Thank you for your service". When I hear some flabby couch potato like you say that to me it makes me sick. Yes, I serve our country, but our wars do not.

I do my best to keep my men alive while we carry out this sick policy of sticking our noses in other peoples business. When was the last time you had a friend die in your arms or look for the leg that was just blown off of the man next to you? When was the last time you walked past dead children that were killed by U.S. weapons? I'm glad you can sleep at night, because many times I cannot. I have children myself you self righteous SOB. If someone killed my children you can bet I would do everything in my power to seek revenge.

You dare call me rabid and blind? I know what I am talking about. Why don't you grab a gun and head to Iran if you want to fight them so much. Ron Paul is right. They are no threat to us. We need to mind our own business. They hate us not because we are rich and free, they hate us because we are in their countries.

It is people like you that are the biggest threat to this country, not Iran.

BY SgtLewis on 08/16/2011 at 11:06

Maybe THIS is the kind of soldier that is keeping the donations rolling in to Ron Paul's campaign.
But you will never hear him being interviewed by Fox News or CNN.
Why?
Because he does not fit the stereotype of the American soldier that the political establishment would like to project.
He is a true patriot who is ready to fulfill his duty to his country, but questions the wisdom of the mission he has been given by the beltway politicians.

It is easy for armchair generals and "chicken hawk" politicians like Obama, Rick Santorum, Rick Perry, Mitt Romney, and Michelle Bachmann to talk about the grand missions of policing the world, nation building, and spreading "democracy".
But it is men like "Sgt. Lewis" that will ultimately pay the price for their failed foreign policies-- in broken marriages, lifelong disability, delayed careers; in life, limb, and fallen comrades.

And they would be more than willing to do it if it were truly necessary to maintain our freedom and safety.

But what if it isn't?

What if all of the blood and the trillions of dollars that we are pouring into the endless wars are doing nothing but making us LESS safe, LESS free?
What if all it is accomplishing is to support the massive industrial/military complex that President Eisenhower warned us about fifty years ago?
What if we create another terrorist for every one that we kill or capture.
What if we create ten "terrorists" for every innocent civilian killed as collateral damage?
What if the Al Qaeda terrorists have long since been replaced by men who consider themselves freedom fighters, defending their own homeland from an invading global empire or avenging the death of a child, brother, father or mother?
What if the specter of hordes of "Islamo-fascists" sweeping across the world in a global jihad is a product of neoconservative propagandists trying to demagogue their way to political power?
What if THIS is the reason that the greatest military power in the history of the world has been bogged down in the longest and most expensive war in its history, with no victory in sight, without even a clear definition of what victory would be?

What if we have set upon an endless cycle of death and revenge that can never end in anything but tragedy, for us or our "enemies"?

What if Ron Paul and Sgt. Lewis are right, and all of the warmongering politicians are wrong?

In that case it is high time that we had the guts and wisdom to admit that we were wrong.
Time to stop mistaking knee jerk support for ALL wars, ANY war, as "patriotism".
Time to stop wasting the most precious resource of our nation; the lives of our young fighting men.
Time to elect a leader who truly can and would change the ruinous course of our country.

Time to REALLY support our troops.

Time to elect Ron Paul as President of the United States.

They Murdered my fellow San Josean, Pat Tillman, a great American hero. Army Ranger through and through. The best of the best, that was Pat. You know those murdering bastards put a bullet into his shull at point blank range, because he said "I didn't sign up for this shit!" [Harvesting Drugs for shipment into the U.S. [That's Right!]

We will always remember Pat. I'm so angry I could spit on Rumsfeld and Cheneys Face.

Murdering bunch of pukes!

Now I'm Upset..Sorry..

It's a common sense approach to "minding your own business."

Imagine if your next door neighbor came to you and told you how to think, what to eat, what religion you can follow, how to raise your kids, etc. Imagine that at first it starts as a suggestion, but then they get forceful. They decide, because they think they know better, to occupy a room in your home. They decide that you're an unfit husband and replace you with a guy that they think is better for your household, etc, etc.

How long would it take you to react to this? Maybe at first it would be peaceful resentment, but how long til it got violent?

Honestly, this is a "nice" way of putting it because we have done worse with our foreign policy. In a way, we've chosen to "divorce" the couple (regime change) and give the wife a "real husband" (one that believes what we want him to believe) more forcefully and violently.

Why can't RP relate this (or any other common scenario) to people who doubt an interventionist policy?

Just my two cents....

I am a Veteran of the current Iraq "peace keeping mission."
I served in Iraq from 2005 - 2006. I joined the Active Army not long after the attacks on September 11th. I felt like I had some obligation to grab a rifle and head off to the front lines. At the time I was relatively young at 20 years of age. I was confused and scared and just thought that I had to do something, which of course the recruiters were more than happy to hear.

Now, several years removed from the military (honorable discharge), I have come to my senses about these wars. I have researched and educated myself. Ron Paul just makes it much easier to understand. I, in no way whatsoever, regret my service to this country. I am a proud disabled veteran. However, I now understand how useless these wars are.

Actually, I realized that while still serving in Iraq. We would be tasked with cordoning off and searching certain areas of Baghdad, which always resulted in us wasting an incredible amount of money and man power. We would find nothing more than whatever the regime at the time considered contraband. The real problems occurred at the end of the day, when everyone was so exhausted it was hard to think clearly. It was always on the way back home (to the fob) that we would be attacked. It wasn't the people that our leadership deemed it necessary to search, it was the people watching us drive back. This is when it gets serious. This is when lives, friends and millions of dollars of equipment are lost.

Active duty members of the military are prevented from having a real voice in elections, besides monetary donations, which we were all pretty good at. We veterans are a different story. We can tell our side of the story. We can campaign for whomever we wish. We can ensure that the people of this country know what we are actually doing in these foreign countries, which most people couldn't point out on a map.

If anyone has any ideas for ways that we veterans can help the good Dr. Paul, please respond to this. We may be veterans, but we can still provide some service to this country. We can help elect Ron Paul.

But how?