21-year-old Dickinson soldier killed in Iraq
A 21-year-old soldier from Dickinson was killed Wednesday in Iraq, according to published reports. Nathaniel Given, a soldier with the Army’s 10th Mountain Infantry, is the fifth Galveston County resident to be killed in the Iraq war, according to the Galveston County Daily News.
When I read this story yesterday, my first reaction was to ask why this had to happen. Surely there must be a reason Nathaniel Given died? Surely someone can tell me what his sacrifice was for? And no, you cannot use the “he died for our freedom” canard/talking point. Our freedom is not at risk in Iraq; in fact the only thing that is at risk is Our Glorious and Benevolent Leader’s © legacy. I’d like to think that Given died for a reason, for a purpose that might lend some meaning to his sacrifice. Unfortunately, I can’t think of anything even remotely meaningful that he died for…and that’s perhaps the real tragedy here. A family has lost a young man who will never have the opportunity to get married, raise a family, or do all of the other things that are part and parcel of a life well-lived.
It would be comforting to think that Given’s family gave their son to a cause greater than themselves. Sadly, their son died supporting a corrupt and ineptly conducted war purchased by lies and propaganda. Nathaniel Given, and 3,000 other Americans, died for nothing, their lives wasted by a morally-bankrupt President more concerned with his own legacy than the safety and well-being of the men and women he continues into the Iraqi meat grinder.
My heart goes out to Given’s parents, who deserved better than having to bury their son.
NOW CAN WE IMPEACH THE LYING, MURDERING BASTARD???
I cannot imagine the grief that family, or any of the others, must be experiencing. My thoughts and prayers are with them.
But every adult wearing an American uniform serving in Iraq is a volunteer. It was his or her choice, based on their view of patriotic duty, to be offered up as cannon fodder. Our nation lacks the national will to demand mandatory military service. So we hire people to die for us, or rather as our president and elected representative see fit. I very much mourn the loss, but only when people quit volunteering to serve will this absurd nonsense end.
No...only when we stop condoning the corrupt, uncaring, self-absorbed behavior of Our Glorious and Benevolent Leader will this absurd nonsense end. There will always be a need for a standing army. What we should be angry about is the misuse of this army by a President who cares for little but his own legacy.
Saddam Hussein is (allegedly; I'm not sure they ever really caught him, he had so many doubles) dead.
There is absolutely NO reason for the US to still be in Iraq.
Impeachment is far too kind for Bush and Cheney.
I know that the sampling universe I have researched is small, but I am finding surprisingly strong support for bringing international charges of war crimes against Bush, Cheney and Rumsfeld. Sarah may be right - impeachment might not be sufficient punishment. What better way to demonstrate to the rest of the world that we are still governed by the rule of law?