You must not realize that there are many veterans that are against the war including a friend of mine that was also at the rally. You are not very well informed....or maybe you don't think their opinion counts.

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I've been informed....don't blame Bush, he's "not in control"
That must make him out of control

Alright, I guess I am not making my points clear enough. There are a few vets out there that are agianst the war and they have EVERY right just like YOU do to protest the war. I was trying to give you an appreciation that the Freedoms that you enjoy including protesting are defended by the people that are at this very moment deployed overseas. From first hand experience, I can tell you that, although most are well meaning I am sure, protesting in some fashions do nothing but destroy the morale of those people deployed in combat. I took the time to look at the Russian broadcasst on You-Tube that you provided. I can tell you that my first take is , if I were still there I would just shake my head and say those people have no idea what they are doing. However, I would not say you could not protest. I do hope in some small way, that the anti-war crowd gets a real appreciation of the good people defending them and understands that even while deployed we had the ability to see the news and get on the internet. We could see pretty much all this , and I can tell you from my standpoint the last thing I wanted to see was people defacing the very flag I was defending all in the name of bringing me home while I was getting painted.... Again my goal was to give you and all the anti-war crowd some idea of how you are percieved by those that you are trying to bring home. I mean it when I tell you you have the RIGHT in this country to enjoy ALL the Freedoms paid for by the blood of millions of Americans and that includes your right to express yourself even if I amy not agree with you, hell man I I didnt get my ass shot at if I didnt have a deep belief in that.

Sure their opinion matters. But they don't represent the vast majority of the military by any means. And they also know that when they sign up....it IS all volunteer, you know----that they may have to go fight a war somewhere. That's their job. They are NOT the Commander-In-Chief or the Generals who make those kinds of decisions and have far more of the big picture than they do to base such decisions on.

I'd venture to say that most of the people there were NOT veterans, but the same people who attend every other protest or march. When I visited Washington D.C. last year, there were some protesters in front of the Supreme Court protesting abortion. They come quite regularly. It's America and everyone is free to express their OPINIONS.

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"This is a time for a national imperative not to fail in Iraq." Condoleeza Rice, January 11, 2007

Do I appreciate the troops? Of course I do. Do I realize the sacrifice they're making? Absolutely! Do the troop have a right to their opinion including those who disagree with me? Yes, Yes, Yes. Should I give up my right to express my opinion because others believe that it hurts the troop morale? ABSOLUTELY NOT. You don't give the troops enough credit, they're stronger than you think. What most likely hurts morale, is long troop deployments.

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I've been informed....don't blame Bush, he's "not in control"
That must make him out of control

Well amepro, I can tell you this. I spent 20 years in the Military and can tell you in all honesty that a long combat deployment is no picnic. Any long deployment is not easy on you or your family. However, you take the good with the bad and suck it up and do the job. Long deployments are nothing new to the US Military but they are and have been from day one a tough aspect of military life. The military, personality wise is no different than the rest of the country , we have all types of people and some are better at handling the stress than others. However, giving the troops enough credit is a something I do everyday my friend when I look in the mirror and every Saturday when I go and visit my friends V/A and those that are not here at the cemetary. I will never apologize for anything I did in the Air Force and am PROUD and honored to have served with some of the best (*)(*)(*)(*) people I know, some are still there and there is not a day that goes bye that I dont keep them in my thoughts for their safe return. To a person though , all of them will ttell you they have a job to do and they want to do it. I NEVER call into question anyones rights when I have seen so many people hurt and die defending them

Good, we agree. The troops are strong and for the most part, they can take long deployments....that must make hearing different opinions about the war from Americans a breeze. It must make them proud that what they fought for is being practiced in the U.S. That's what makes the United States of America so great.

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I've been informed....don't blame Bush, he's "not in control"
That must make him out of control

I have been to D.C many times and I can tell you , I have never been there where I didn't see someone protesting something or other. My point here is not to say that people should not protest but to maybe give the anti-war protesters a good idea of when they do excrcise their rights, that it actually is a big letdown to someone that is deployed overseas. I do honestly feel that if someone thought about it before picking up an American flag and hanging it upside down all in the name of bringing combat deployed troops home, they might think twice if they knew that it really did hurt morale of people in harms way.

So they can do long deployments but they can't take a difference of opinion? I think the troops are much stronger than that.

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I've been informed....don't blame Bush, he's "not in control"
That must make him out of control

So do I amepro, in fact most in the US Military like me feel that war protesters are misguided and misinformed and actually are just protesting because they have nothing better to do. I can tell you for a fact, that when you see someone marching down the street telling you the job your sacrificing your life for is a waste of time does make an impression on you.

The troops may or may not agree with me, but we do agree on the following:

Unfortunately the the troops we're "misguided"

"Almost 90% think war is retaliation for Saddam’s role in 9/11"

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I've been informed....don't blame Bush, he's "not in control"
That must make him out of control