The Political Jungle  

I  recently left Active Duty with the Army a little over 2 years short of full Active Federal Service retirement to make this run. 

In my military career, I have served six tours in hostile fire zones including Desert Storm, Operation Iraqi Freedom, and the Balkans. These tours include almost three years in the Middle East (Iraq and Saudi Arabia) and a year and a half in the Balkans (Hungary, Bosnia, Kosovo, Croatia). My wife, Kasia, who was pregnant with our son at the time, and I were also in the Pentagon on 9/11.  This experience greatly invigorated my continued military service. 

I grew up an Air Force brat and lived in Taiwan while my father flew combat missions in and out of Vietnam. I was 10 years old when our next door neighbor, Captain Mareil Mason was shot down and killed.  I spent my pre-teen and teenage years fully aware of the effects of the US defeat in Vietnam on the Vietnamese and Cambodian peoples.

There is no politician who has done more damage to the United States in the War  against Islamic Radicalism than Congressman Murtha. His actions have done more to lead us toward political defeat in this war than the enemy could ever hope to accomplish by their own means. Congressman Murtha’s calls for withdrawal of our forces and limiting the authority of the Commander-in-Chief in executing this war, plays directly into the hands of our enemy. He is undermining our soldiers in the fight and encourages the enemy to kill more of our Soldiers and kill large numbers of Iraqi civilians on a weekly basis. The Islamic extremists, just like the communists in Vietnam, see such weakness of political resolve as the reason to keep fighting in spite of their military losses. Congressman Murtha must be replaced with a leader who understands the importance of a  political, military, and economic strategy that is good for the Iraqi people and the region, not his political agenda.  Freedom should not be a political issue. We need to achieve the victory that this war demands. We must do so for the safety of our children and grandchildren.

Very Respectfully,