I received this email below from John Hammerstrom, retired Navy pilot, responding to yesterday’s DeepDooDoo.Net.Mostly. I told John I felt his comments should be aired, but I needed to sleep on it. I also told him that I feel people like him, with a military background, who are coming forward should be saluted. I meant it.
Dear Sloan,
I’d prefer if you ask me before re-distributing a personal email quote.
If I’d known that it might find its way into print, I would have been more precise. You may use the following quote:
“There are a lot of current and former military folks that are VERY displeased with this administration. One of the most outspoken is retired Marine Corps General Zinni, who has said that “In the lead up to the Iraq war and its later conduct, I saw at a minimum, true dereliction, negligence and irresponsibility, at worse, lying, incompetence and corruption.” One of the dangerous and unintended consequences of the current war is that with Iraq removed as a credible military power in the region, Iran is now a major power broker, and that’s particularly tragic since in 1953, the CIA was responsible for overthrowing the democratically elected government of Iran to install the Shah, who in turn was overthrown in 1979 in the Islamic Revolution which has produced the current Islamic Republic of Iran.”
John
After making yesterday’s posting, I submitted the somewhat shortened version of the previous posting, “UncleSamDisease.Com.Mostly to the New York Times department for receiving guest editorials/comments, which is different from the letter to the editor department, which requires letters not to exceed 500 words. Guest editorials/comments should not exceed 750 words, but submissions of any length are considered.
I’d been told in dreams and waking spirit ways to make the submission to the New York Times, but I made it to Key West Citizen first, being the dumb ass that I am. Not a dumb ass because of the Citizen. A dumb ass because I didn’t do what I was told to do. Thus, I was wrenched around in dreams for my pig-headedness. Then, I made the submission to the designated place. What now comes of it, I haven’t a clue. If the Times does accept the submission, I’ll tell them that I need to replace John Hammerstrom’s original private comments with those above.
Meanwhile, I’ll vote for any presidential candidate who says he, or she, upon being sworn in, will call for the immediate withdrawal of all American troops in Iraq and Afghanistan. If there is no such candidate on the ballot, I won’t have a candidate. Maybe I’ll do what I did in 2004. Not vote. Or, maybe I’ll vote for one of the candidates who didn’t make it onto the ballot, who did make that promise, by writing that candidate’s name on the ballot. Yeah, maybe I’ll do that.