But who will oversee the victory parade?
Yesterday, Iraq regained complete control of its cities under a policy instituted in the final months last year of the Bush administration. The Iraqi government declared it “National Sovereignty Day” and held a parade to mark the holiday.
This is good news for us that should have resulted in large banner, headlines, and news stories about VICTORY being plastered all over the country. We should be having parades in every major city at most, but our nation’s capital at LEAST. Unfortunately, our leaders in D.C. are planning no such thing that I’m aware of.
Instead of tasking the VP with overseeing the honorable return of our troops from Iraq or hailing the ones responsible for making “National Sovereignty Day” a possibility, President Obama instead tapped Vice President Biden with the task of overseeing overseeing the US departure from Iraq and Washington’s effort to promote internal political reconciliation there. Yes, the same man who so foolishly thought it would be a brilliant idea to split Iraq into three autonomous nations or zones.
The President yesterday recognized this event and praised the troops responsible for the security situation in Iraq that made this possible.
“[T]he very fact that Iraqis are celebrating this day is a testament to the courage, the capability, and commitment of every single American who has served in Iraq. (Applause.) That’s worth applause. Through tour after tour of duty, our troops have overcome every obstacle to extend this precious opportunity to the Iraqi people. These women and men are not always in the headlines, but they’re in our hearts and prayers, and we will forever honor their selfless service and sacrifice, as well as the service and sacrifice of their families. There is more work to be done, but we’ve made important progress in supporting a sovereign, stable and self-reliant Iraq. And everyone who has served there, both in uniform as well as our civilians, deserves our thanks.”
Of course, he didn’t mention that his campaign and rhetoric in the past two years was one of the “obstacles” our troops had to overcome, but the sentiment of this statement is welcome and needed. I extend a challenge to the President to take these words and put them into action. When our troops came home in 2001, Washington, D.C. held a HUGE parade celebrating the successes of our troops in Desert Storm. Our troops deserve another victory parade and the Command in Chief who made it all possible should be invited to attend as grand marshal!
The Desert Storm Victory Parade in Washington, D.C. on June 8, 1991, included the above battalion-size formation of 3AD troops representing various units from throughout the Division. At the lead is Maj. Gen. Jerry R. Rutherford (third from right), followed by his staff. Rutherford had taken command of the 3AD from Maj. Gen. Paul E. Funk in Kuwait following Desert Storm. The above Spearhead troops had flown from Germany for the event and are shown after crossing D.C.’s Memorial Bridge (with the Lincoln Memorial in distant background). About 9,000 U.S. troops took part in the parade, which included Constitution Ave. and ended at the Pentagon.
I wanted to add a quick update. Concrete Bob, a true and patriotic American, tried hard to have a victory in Iraq day. Unfortunately, he only met with friction from EVERYONE! Trying to drum up support was impossible, even among conservatives. A lot of people should really be ashamed of themselves for crapping on this man’s efforts to recognize our troops. The excuses and naysayings were just astounding.
We tried, CJ. We’ll try again if I get the same level of support from the milblog community.
Just say the word, Bro.
Semper Fi
Parade..or..No Parade The Victory is yours forever.
On behalf of this Vietnam Vet I wish to say to each of the troops who have served with great honor to our nation in Iraq.
Welcome Home. Mission Accomplish…Victory..Sweet..Victory
Thank You For Every Thing You Have Done For Freedom In Iraq.You have saved future generations from slavery..no one could do more of another nation.
You are a credit to America and we Vietnam Vets are honored to know we were replaced by todays new breed of military members,..Stand tall and know in your hearts you are one of Americas best..best..Past…Present & future.
America has been blessed with you.
May your God hold you safe & protect you always.
With My Deepest Respects
Thank You for your service.
All of the potential speakers and attendees I contact would still be willing to give it another go round in the future.
It’s a disgrace and a damn shameful time for this country. Haven’t we been here before? Why yes, I do believe we have. And who was it that screwed the Military out of the HONOR and appreciation they so deserved after Vietnam? The same folks that are screwing our Military of today out of the HONOR and appreciation they deserve. Unfortunately, this time the Republicans have been over on that side of the aisle way too much to even step up and back our troops.
We are in such a sorry state in this country.
Sam Adams would be talking about tarring and feathering the lot of them ~ and I’d be right with him.
Our guys and gals in uniform are the best this country offers and they most always get the short end of the stick. There is something so very, very wrong with that.
A Very Proud Army Mom and American, damn it!!!
Amen CJ! President Obama and all concerned should give our troops the welcome home that you guys all deserve! Our troops are the reason for success in Iraq along with President Bush but I am not holding my breath that this will happen.
We are all so proud of you guys and “Thank You” so much for your service to our country and for liberating Iraq! You guys are the best in the world!! May God Bless All of You!!
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I am not a big dog, by any stretch of the imagination, but I am happy to help out however I can. Just let me know what I can do.
Oh, and has Reid openly admitted that he is a complete and utter jackass for declaring the war a loss and the surge a failure? I guess I will see pigs fly over my house before I hear that man apologize to the troops for being in a position of power and making such a reckless and asinine statement like that.
“Yesterday, Iraq regained complete control of its cities”
That’s an absurd statement. Withdrawal didn’t even occur in some cities. Instead, city lines were redrawn to give that appearance. Meanwhile, more than 100,000 private American contractors remain in the cities influencing reconstruction.
It’s also interesting to note that, on the same day as the withdrawal, Iraqi oil was being auctioned off to foreign investors.
I wish Iraqis had complete control, but that’s not going to happen anytime soon. I wrote more about “National Sovereignty Day” here:
http://www.whyweworry.com/blog/2009/07/06/the-iraq-show/