From my aunt--PART I --an article on WWII and Comparison to the War on Terrorism --a MUST READ!

SOME OF YOU ARE NOT OLD ENOUGH TO REMEMBER THAT NEARLY EVERY FAMILY IN AMERICA WAS GROSSLY AFFECTED BY WW II. MOST OF YOU DON'T REMEMBER THE RATIONING OF MEAT, SHOES, GASOLINE, AND SUGAR. NO TIRES FOR OUR AUTOMOBILES, AND A SPEED LIMIT OF 35 MILES AN HOUR ON THE ROAD, NOT TO MENTION, NO NEW AUTOMOBILES. READ THIS AND THINK ABOUT HOW WE WOULD REACT TO BEING TAKEN OVER BY FOREIGNERS IN 2007.

This is an EXCELLENT essay by Raymond Kraft of CA. Well thought out and presented

Historical Significance

Sixty-three years ago, Nazi Germany had overrun almost all of Europe and hammered England to the verge of bankruptcy and defeat . The Nazis had sunk more than 400 British ships in their convoys between England and America taking food and war materials .

At that time the US was in an isolationist, pacifist mood, and most Americans wanted nothing to do with the European or the Asian war .

Then along came Pearl Harbor on December 7, 1941, and in outrage Congress unanimously declared war on Japan, and the following day on Germany, who had not yet attacked us. It was a dicey thing. We had few allies.

France was not an ally, as the Vichy government of France quickly aligned itself with its German occupiers. Germany was certainly not an ally, as Hitler was intent on setting up a Thousand Year Reich in Europe. Japan was not an ally, as it was well on its way to owning and controlling all of Asia.

Together, Japan and Germany had long-range plans of invading Canada and Mexico, as launching pads to get into the United States over our northern and southern borders, after they finished gaining control of Asia and Europe.

America's only allies then were England, Ireland, Scotland, Canada, Australia, and Russia. That was about it All of Europe, from Norway to Italy (except Russia in the East) was already under the Nazi heel.

The US was certainly not prepared for war. The US had drastically downgraded most of its military forces after WW I because of the depression, so that at the outbreak of WW II, Army units were training with broomsticks because they didn't have guns, and cars with "tank" painted on the doors because they didn't have real tanks. A huge chunk of our Navy had just been sunk or damaged at Pearl Harbor.

Britain had already gone bankrupt, saved only by the donation of $600 million in gold bullion in the Bank of England (that was actually the property of Belgium ) given by Belgium to England to carry on the war when Belgium was overrun by Hitler (a little known fact).

Actually, Belgium surrendered on one day, because it was unable to oppose the German invasion, and the Germans bombed Brussels into rubble the next day just to prove they could.

Britain had already been holding out for two years in the face of staggering losses and the near decimation of its Royal Air Force in the Battle of Britain, and was saved from being overrun by Germany only because Hitler made the mistake of thinking the Brits were a relatively minor threat that could be dealt with later. Hitler, first turned his attention to Russia, in the late summer of 1940 at a time when England was on the verge of collapse.

Ironically, Russia saved America's butt by putting up a desperate fight for two years, until the US got geared up to begin hammering away at Germany .

Russia lost something like 24,000,000 people in the sieges of Stalingrad and Moscow alone... 90% of them from cold and starvation, mostly civilians, but also more than a 1,000,000 soldiers.

Had Russia surrendered, Hitler would have been able to focus his entire war effort against the Brits, then America. If that had happened, the Nazis could possibly have won the war.

All of this has been brought out to illustrate that turning points in history are often dicey things. Now, we find ourselves at another one of those key moments in history.

Raymond S. Kraft is a writer living in Northern California who has studied the Middle Eastern culture and religion.

REiteration --America IS Behaving Badly About This War

People are being short-sighted, lacking wisdom, if they think they are protecting the troops by calling them home.

Terrorists will especially target our boys and girls in uniform, knowing Americans have no stomach for it --and knowing that's what makes our democrats want to pull them home. Remember the leader of the Viet Cong--he said they were just hanging on by a thread --but knew if they could just hang on a little longer, the Americans would quit, judging by the success of the anti-war movement in our country. Americans would and did win the war for the Viet Cong by giving up. We wasted the lives of our war dead by not winning!

It is our ability to identify with troops and their parents, our Judeo-Christian compassion and empathy for the families of the fallen soldiers --and for war-torn nations-- that makes us want to end all wars --a righteous desire --but these troops went into the military knowing there was a risk, knowing that freedom for any nation would not be free. Unlike the drafted soldiers of the Viet Nam conflict, these troops have had surprisingly great attitudes despite their injuries and fallen comrades, wanting to get back to their units as soon as their wounds heal.

I'd want my kid out of there, also --but I'd prefer that America looked like such a united and formidable foe that the terrorists would lay low in Iraq --go home --and that the Iraqi insurgents who stepped up the terror to MAKE us cut and run --would see it was futile.

Instead, the Pelosis of Congress are making our troops more vulnerable than they already are --and more vulnerable than necessary. The cross hairs are on our boys JUST because THAT's what makes us want to pull them home.

War Mythology

Myths --

that we just went to Iraq for their oil.

that we just went there because Sadam threatened to kill Bush's father.

that the pres. lied when he said we were going because they had WMD (everybody thought they did! They gave us no reason to think otherwise by their behaviors re: inspections --and toward the Kurds earlier.)

Personally, I don't mind if we go to war to keep the middle east oil available to us, because I'm not sure how we could defend ourselves in the short run against terrorism without the oil. Our lives would be very different if we suddenly had only our own oil sources, I bet. We had better be rectifying our dependence on foreign oil.

Doesn't the Constitution of the U.S. say the primary responsibility of fed. gov't is national security? Opening the Middle East to the West is part of that strategy.

I'll bet they are being opened up to Christianity and the Bible also --and Christians can thank Geo. Bush for that. Christianity is the light of western civilization --the difference between the bararian hoardes and the civilized folks.

Any body who thinks we don't have a long road ahead of us re; the middle east--IS believing in mythology.