{"id":805,"date":"2008-10-17T22:08:09","date_gmt":"2008-10-18T02:08:09","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.jasetaro.com\/blog\/?p=805"},"modified":"2008-10-17T22:08:09","modified_gmt":"2008-10-18T02:08:09","slug":"lest-we-forget-why-he-fought","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.jasetaro.com\/blog\/2008\/10\/17\/lest-we-forget-why-he-fought\/","title":{"rendered":"Lest We Forget… Why He Fought"},"content":{"rendered":"

From the Boston Globe<\/a> via Michelle Malkin<\/a>:<\/p>\n

The following is a blog entry written on Aug. 30, 2008, by Army Specialist Stephen Fortunato, who was killed Tuesday in Afghanistan when the vehicle he was riding in was blown up by an improvised explosive device. This entry was forwarded to the Globe by his mother, Elizabeth “Betty” Crawford.<\/em><\/p>\n

If I may …<\/p>\n

I’d like to say something….Just to get it out there so it is clear.
\nTo all the pampered and protected Americans who feel it is their duty to inform me that I am not fighting for their freedom, and that i am a pawn in Bush’s agenda of greed and oil acquisition: Noted, and [expletive deleted] You.<\/p>\n

I am not a robot. i am not blind or ignorant to the state of the world or the implications of the “war on terrorism.” i know that our leaders have made mistakes in the handling of a very sensitive situation, but do not for one second think that you can make me lose faith in what we, meaning America’s sons, daughters, fathers, and mothers in uniform are doing.<\/p>\n

I am doing my part in fighting a very real enemy of the United States, i.e. Taliban, Al Qaida, and various other radical sects of Islam that have declared war on our way of life. Unless you believe the events of 9\/11 were the result of a government conspiracy, which by the way would make you a MORON, there is no reasonable argument you can make against there being a true and dangerous threat that needs to be dealt with. i don’t care if there are corporations leaching off the war effort to make money, and i don’t care if you don’t think our freedom within America’s borders is actually at stake. i just want to kill those who would harm my family and friends. it is that simple. Even if this is just a war for profit or to assert America’s power, so what? Someone has to be on top and I want it to be us. There’s nothing wrong with wishing prosperity for your side.<\/p>\n

I am a proud American. i believe that my country allows me to live my life more or less however i want to, and believe me, i have seen what the alternative of that looks like. i also believe that our big scary government does way more than it has to to help complete [expletive deleted]-ups get back on their feet, a stark comparison to places where leaders just line their own pockets with gold while allowing the people who gave them their power and privilage to starve. I have chosen my corner. I back my country, and am proud to defend it against aggressors. Also, if you dare accuse us of being inhumane, or overly aggressive because we have rolled into someone else’s country and blown some [expletive deleted] up and shot some people, let me remind you of just how inhumane we COULD be in defending ourselves. Let me remind you that we have a warhead that drops multiple bomblets from the stratosphere which upon impact, would turn all the sand in Iraq to glass, and reduce every living thing there to dust. Do we use it? No. Instead we use the most humane weapon ever devised: the American soldier. We send our bravest (and perhaps admitably craziest) men and women into enemy territory, into harms way, to root out those whom we are after and do our best to leave innocent lives unscathed.<\/p>\n

…One last thing…a proposal. i know it has been stated time and time again but i just think it is worthy of reiteration. If you find yourself completely disgusted with the way America is being ran, and how we handle things on the global stage, you can leave. Isn’t that amazing? No one will stop you! If you are an anarchist, there are places you can go where there is no government to tell you anything. That’s right…you are left solely to your own devices and you can handle the men who show up at your door with AKs in any way that you see fit. Just don’t try good old American debate tactics on them because you will most likely end up bound and blind-folded, to have your head chopped off on the internet so your parents can see it. However if you insist on staying here and taking advantage of privilages such as free speach and WIC, keep the counter-productive [expletive deleted] to a minimum while the grown ups figure out how to handle this god-awful mess in the middle east.<\/p><\/blockquote>\n

I thank God everyday that this nation is blessed with men like Specialist Fortunato… Please keep him and all service men and women in your thoughts and prayers.<\/p>\n

Rest In Peace Specialist.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

From the Boston Globe via Michelle Malkin: The following is a blog entry written on Aug. 30, 2008, by Army Specialist Stephen Fortunato, who was killed Tuesday in Afghanistan when the vehicle he was riding in was blown up by an improvised explosive device. This entry was forwarded to the Globe by his mother, Elizabeth […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_genesis_hide_title":false,"_genesis_hide_breadcrumbs":false,"_genesis_hide_singular_image":false,"_genesis_hide_footer_widgets":false,"_genesis_custom_body_class":"","_genesis_custom_post_class":"","_genesis_layout":"","advanced_seo_description":"","jetpack_seo_html_title":"","jetpack_seo_noindex":false,"jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_access":"","_jetpack_dont_email_post_to_subs":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_tier_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paywalled_content":false,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":"","jetpack_publicize_message":"","jetpack_publicize_feature_enabled":true,"jetpack_social_post_already_shared":false,"jetpack_social_options":{"image_generator_settings":{"template":"highway","default_image_id":0,"font":"","enabled":false},"version":2}},"categories":[8,9,193],"tags":[1374,244],"class_list":{"0":"post-805","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","6":"category-culture","7":"category-life","8":"category-war-on-terror","9":"tag-afghanistan","10":"tag-specialist-stephen-fortunato","11":"entry"},"jetpack_publicize_connections":[],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"","jetpack_shortlink":"https:\/\/wp.me\/pfpI7-cZ","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"jetpack-related-posts":[{"id":3407,"url":"https:\/\/www.jasetaro.com\/blog\/2010\/06\/23\/mcchrystal-relieved-petraeus-to-replace\/","url_meta":{"origin":805,"position":0},"title":"McChrystal Relieved; Petraeus to Replace","author":"Jeff","date":"June 23, 2010","format":false,"excerpt":"President Barack Obama has accepted the resignation of General Stanley McChrystal, the commander of the International Security and Assistance Force in Afghanistan, he will be replaced by General David Petraeus: President Barack Obama accepted the resignation of Gen. Stanley McChrystal, the top U.S. commander and strategist of the Afghan war,\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Afghanistan"","block_context":{"text":"Afghanistan","link":"https:\/\/www.jasetaro.com\/blog\/category\/afghanistan\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"","width":0,"height":0},"classes":[]},{"id":2804,"url":"https:\/\/www.jasetaro.com\/blog\/2009\/10\/01\/michael-yon-dont-kid-yourselves-were-in-serious-trouble-in-afghanistan\/","url_meta":{"origin":805,"position":1},"title":"Michael Yon: Don’t Kid Yourselves; we’re in Serious Trouble in Afghanistan","author":"Jeff","date":"October 1, 2009","format":false,"excerpt":"Michael Yon has spent more time in Iraq and Afghanistan than any other journalist. His dispatches from the front lines are required reading for anyone who wants to know what's happening at the pointy end of the war on terror so when\u00a0 he say we're in serious trouble you should\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Afghanistan"","block_context":{"text":"Afghanistan","link":"https:\/\/www.jasetaro.com\/blog\/category\/afghanistan\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"","width":0,"height":0},"classes":[]},{"id":3006,"url":"https:\/\/www.jasetaro.com\/blog\/2009\/11\/19\/fred-thompson-the-war-in-afghanistan-has-been-lost\/","url_meta":{"origin":805,"position":2},"title":"Fred Thompson: The War in Afghanistan Has Been Lost","author":"Jeff","date":"November 19, 2009","format":false,"excerpt":"Oh boy, I wish Fred hadn't gone here but the said truth is someone had to say it out loud... From the Politico: Former Sen. Fred Thompson today intensified his party's criticism of President Obama's long deliberation over policy in Afghanistan, announcing that Obama's delay signals that \"the war has\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Afghanistan"","block_context":{"text":"Afghanistan","link":"https:\/\/www.jasetaro.com\/blog\/category\/afghanistan\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"","width":0,"height":0},"classes":[]},{"id":3042,"url":"https:\/\/www.jasetaro.com\/blog\/2009\/12\/02\/a-few-thoughts-on-obama%e2%80%99s-afghanistan-speech\/","url_meta":{"origin":805,"position":3},"title":"A Few Thoughts on Obama\u2019s Afghanistan Speech","author":"Jeff","date":"December 2, 2009","format":false,"excerpt":"First off let me preface this by saying I didn't watch President Obama's speech last night, instead I read the transcript this morning. The first thing about his speech that struck me is no where in it did he mention victory... A fact noted by LA Times blogger Andrew Malcolm:\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Afghanistan"","block_context":{"text":"Afghanistan","link":"https:\/\/www.jasetaro.com\/blog\/category\/afghanistan\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"","width":0,"height":0},"classes":[]},{"id":4751,"url":"https:\/\/www.jasetaro.com\/blog\/2012\/10\/10\/video-lara-logans-keynote-speech-at-the-2012-bga-annual-luncheon\/","url_meta":{"origin":805,"position":4},"title":"Video: Lara Logan’s Keynote Speech at the 2012 BGA Annual Luncheon","author":"Jeff","date":"October 10, 2012","format":false,"excerpt":"Lara Logan of CBS News delivered a chilling warning to American policy makers and the American people during her keynote address to the Better Government Associations annual luncheon on Tuesday, October 2, 2012: Lara Logan, a correspondent for CBS\u2019 \u201c60 Minutes,\u201d delivered a provocative speech to about 1,100 influentials from\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Afghanistan"","block_context":{"text":"Afghanistan","link":"https:\/\/www.jasetaro.com\/blog\/category\/afghanistan\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/img.youtube.com\/vi\/UXEsXAqO-DQ\/0.jpg?resize=350%2C200","width":350,"height":200},"classes":[]},{"id":987,"url":"https:\/\/www.jasetaro.com\/blog\/2008\/11\/13\/the-perils-of-talking\/","url_meta":{"origin":805,"position":5},"title":"The Perils of Talking","author":"Jeff","date":"November 13, 2008","format":false,"excerpt":"Ralph Peters has an interesting column on Afghanistan in today's New York Post. Peters directly addresses the difficulties of negotiating with the Taliban. THE TALKING TRAP: AFGHAN FOLLIES By Ralph Peters, New York Post, November 13, 2008 NEGOTIATIONS are the heroin of the chattering classes, blinding them to every reality\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Afghanistan"","block_context":{"text":"Afghanistan","link":"https:\/\/www.jasetaro.com\/blog\/category\/afghanistan\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"","width":0,"height":0},"classes":[]}],"jetpack_likes_enabled":true,"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.jasetaro.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/805","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.jasetaro.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.jasetaro.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.jasetaro.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.jasetaro.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=805"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.jasetaro.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/805\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.jasetaro.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=805"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.jasetaro.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=805"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.jasetaro.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=805"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}