Bob,

Do you have confirmation that this is actually a real soldier writing from Iraq? Maybe that soldier ought not to read your blog or mine, but listen to fellow veterans like Jon Soltz, Chairman of VoteVets.org or Paul Reickhoff, Executive Director of Iraq & Aghanistan Veterans of America.

Maybe hearing the same things we have said from "one of their own" might open up the eyes of those who can't see the forest for the trees.

Here's Soltz just yesterday on Countown.

Here's Reickhoff on March 14th.

What prompted this exchange, Bob? Was there something prior to this he was responding to?

I, for one, enjoy cartoons. Ass clown.

I, for one, enjoy Kung Fu Jimmy Chow.

I have had friends that served abroad, that have come back totally changed. They say it has something to do with the FoxNews pumped into their veins on a constant basis.

Bob, I am sorry you became the target of this soldier's misplaced anger.

My aunts grandson is on his second tour of duty, this time in Iraq. He recently came back stateside on leave. Though he was less than a 2-hour drive from his mom and grandmother (who he did visit after his first tour in Afghanistan) his mom and grandmother were bewildered and upset that he did not come to visit and did not want them to come and see him.

I agree with Alaska. This war is changing are troops, not for the better. I fear Dave is another casualty. It breaks my heart.

He wrote to me about my latest Huffington Post column. Totally unsolicited.

Something tells me not every soldier in Iraq is as pumped as Colonel Testosterone there...

Oh, and I had no idea you were a cartoonist.

Just watched my first episode of KFJC. The ad around the screen was for the U.S. Army.

Happy Awesome Irony!

A hawk is a hawk whether he's in uniform or not. It's just usually the assholes with no experience/background that say this kind of stuff. However, I have known a few guys like this, and I'll just say as a chick who isn't afraid of many dudes, these guys scare the piss out of me.

I would imagine that he's very angry at the fact that with all the schooling he's amassed and all the experience he has, he was still stupid enough to support Bush... twice!

I think if I were in his shoes, which I am not fit to shine either I might add, for fear of perpetuating a stereotype, I would be royally pissed to realize that all I've worked for all my life has been wasted by Bush, Cheney, Rumsfeld and all the other misguided souls that have ruined this country in ways we haven't begun to fathom over these last seven years.

Self loathing is so sad and pitiful. I'm glad he's protecting me though. I want him on that wall! I need him on that wall!

Actually, I doubt that He has any feelings, suppressed or blatant, of self-loathing or self-pity. He's a warrior, in the truest sense of the word. I don't agree with his philosophy at all, but, as a military retiree, I can easily understand it.

He is one of those "rough men" who ensure that we have the freedom to criticize incompetent leaders such as we have in power now. I wouldn't want to spend quality time with him, but I'm glad he's there.

bajasteve,

I was being a little facetious about the self-loathing comment, but I do find it ironic that a man, who has sworn to protect and defend the Constitution (including the First Amendment), would be so vocal in wanting to supress opinions that differ from his own.

I'm going to help crush Barack (God DAMN America!) Obama and his raving bitch of a wife.

Seriously?

I'd bet even money that Field Marshal Dave would have starved in the private sector, where he's never been and will never have to be. Thanks, my butt - I want my money back. This uniform-worship is nauseating.

Well.
You know, I don't like Michelle Malkin, Bill O'Reilly, Rush Limbaugh, Bill Kristol, and the rest of the Wingnut Chorus, but I don't waste any time writing them to tell them how ridiculous I think they are. I'd much rather spend that time more productively, doing things like pooping.

He should spend his time more productively, too. Perhaps he'd like to volunteer to be John McCain's Basra Precinct Captain. He should be rallying his fellow soldiers to John McCain's candidacy, not worrying about what a leftist like Bob is doing. What, with his easily quantifiable political experience (somewhere in the billions, perhaps trillions) he should have no problem convincing our men and women in uniform that continuing the war in Iraq is the path of a true patriot. With his advocacy, and John McCain's years of experience (somewhere in the billions, perhaps trillions), this electoral crush of Obama should be a slam dunk.

Dear Asswipe:

I'm a Vietnam Veteran, with a college degree, and speak two languages in addition to English. First, I seriously question your supposed credentials.....academic and military. Secondly, you are an idiot. We had lots of "you's" in Vietnam, too. Tiny, little, ignorant people....who used words like "gook" and "chink" and blamed the "fuckin communists" for our war of invasion. You're just cannon fodder, Asswipe. Bush thinks you're a chump, and for once....he's right.

Kudos to you, Bob, for XXXing out his email addy. If this had been a blog from his side of the aisle, his email address, physical address, address of his kids' school, address of the old folks home where his granny lives and phone number would all be in the public domain by now.

"a trillion times military experience you have."
That must hurt, knowing how much you pride yourself on your military experience . . .

Congratulations, Bob! You've gained a place in the pantheon of truly illustrious characters! Why, "Bob, you aging leftist pussy" is every bit as notable as "Jane, you incredible slut"!

If this guy is real, and has the history he claims, don't vilify him (as you haven't, BTW). Rather, pity him. His type are badly misused by the likes of Bush/Cheney/Rumsfeld/McCain, in their relentless pursuit of....what? He has to speak proudly of himself and his fellows; the alternatively is just too sad.

As in my earlier post, though, i'm sure he has no doubt that what he's doing makes him far superior to us mere mortals. I get the feeling, though, that he's not doing it so much to protect our liberties, as for the sheer ecstacy of killing.

Fuck that guy. Slap him with a dick.

For one, I don't believe he is in fact who & what he claims. But for arguments sake, let's say he is. Well guess what? He doesn't deserve my respect just because of his service. The opportunity for respect to be shown to this turd went out the window the second he began the name calling.

What a freak.

I get exactly this same stuff from my wife's cousin, a woman who was a major in Iraq. I have a long essay brewing in my head about how difficult it is for these people to reconcile the utter sacrifice they are making for an ideal that actually, in fact, exist. She believes whole-heartedly that they are saving Iraqis from certain catastrophe. Then in the next breath she refers to them in derogatory terms fit for farm animals. She takes particular glee in the fact that she had Russians washing her panties.

It's sad but, I have to say, I really do pity them. It's not easy dealing with that kind of cognitive dissonance.

Hi Eclectablog,

The thing is, regardless of their service, they have no right attacking others who have not chosen that path for themselves. It would have sufficed for this sicko (again assuming he is in fact telling the truth about himself)to simply tell Bob that he doesn't need him speaking for him. This twit took it about a thousand steps beyond what was called for.

I for one have absolutely NO PITY for people who behave like their existance on this Earth is above anyone else's. I don't care what their occupation is. And please let us remember that he chose the life he's leading.

Pity isn't called for here. This guy is a narcissist and his hate is palpable.

Wow! That is one bitter sounding dude.

I wonder....truly accomplished right wingers in reality go for the money, not the glory. Glory is something easily manufactured for their mutual mass consumption circle jerks and propaganda parties (Mission Accomplished, Captain Codpiece shots for the ladies, appearances in pleasant Indiana-like marketplaces......). Why is he in Iraq/Afghanistan when he could be bundling contributions for his favorite cause utilizing his superior academic, military and political powers for best effect?

The internal evidence provided by his e-mails seem contradictory to every thing I have ever learned about the genotype...or even well travelled, advanced degree types. Sorry, Bob; I think you are being punked. Sad, nonetheless.

Oh yeah. I completely agree nippersdad.

I'm not buying into this guys claims and neither should Bob.

Fifth war?? I can think of four wars in the last twenty years, not five...was there a war that we weren't informed of?
Too bad the system for treatment of veterans in is such shambles 'cause this guy's gonna need help if he gets out of Iraq alive.

I wonder if he's put those two supposed engineering degrees to use yet? You know, to find his way out of BUSH'S ASS.

"...this guy's gonna need help if he gets out of Iraq alive."

Funny, yet very sad at the same time. No worries; where there is a Mom, there is a warm basement with a computer and a lifetime supply of Cheetohs.

Ever since I first read this guy's diatribe, something has been niggling at me, something that doesn't rint true about his basic premise - that he's a career military man, with twenty+ years' service.

I spent 21 years in the military, and another 11 in civilian government service. I haven't paid any attention since I left govt service, but is the Hatch Act still in force?

For those who may not be familiar with the Hatch Act, basically it prohibits those in uniform or who are civilians working for the government to proactivity work for any partisan political candidate. the restriction is very specific, and very much enforced. The idea is not to allow govt employees use their position to coerce anyone else into voting for a particular candidate. Being on staff for a presidential candidate would be totally off limits. Of course, with BushCo, who knows? It still rings hollow to me, though.

Oh, and ceu: you really don't think the public has been told about each and every dirty little conflict our military has participated in, do you?

Baja:
Yes, the Hatch Act lives. There was some talk about the Hatch Act a while ago during the Federal Attorney scandals...something about a Federal Appointee using agency time for seminars on how best to advance GOP electoral chances. Lord! What was that woman's name?

Lurena Doan!?

It was Lurita and there is a good article by the Washington Post: The Hatch Act Meets the Digital Age, on it. It says that the rules were loosened in '93, but not to the degree that I think would be necessary for our friend to be on George's staff in '04.

Bob,

First, there is no way to know if this guy has the degrees or the military experience that he claims, and it really doesn't matter if he does. The beauty of the internets is that it is the ultimate meritocracy: your ideas are persuasive or entertaining, or they're not.

I read what you have to write because I find it worthwhile. If I didn't, I wouldn't. And for the record, I've got a few advanced degrees and have traveled extensively.

As to his claims of being smarter than you (or anybody else), that's rather simply refuted by his admission to working on Bush's '04 re-election campaign, isn't it?

As to thanking him for his service, my question is: what service? What has he, or any other soldier done to merit thanks during this campaign? Made us safer? Nope. More free? Increased our world-wide prestige? If he's done half the traveling he says he has, the answer is obvious. That doesn't mean I don't feel bad for these guys, but they're just following orders. The military is a tool, nothing more, nothing less. It can be used constructively or not. It may be a magnificent tool, but if it's badly used, so what? Even the guys at the Army War College think this little adventure may be the worst debacle in American history.

I've worked in VA hospitals for years, and I've got news for Dave that his engineering background may not have prepared him for. TBI is epidemic in the guys returning from theater, and the human and financial costs are and will continue to be staggering. If Dave thinks he knows so much about this war, maybe he can explain all the terrific benefits of the war that will make those costs worthwhile.

One more thing. I've been around enough vets to know that anybody who's been in harms way would never display as much arrogance as Dave. It's always the armchair warriors like Bush and Cheney and...well you know the litany better than I do...that spout the most macho bullshit. This guy's got keyboard kommando written all over him. Tell him a real brain surgeon says so.

Thanks, Baja, for saying that. "it prohibits those in uniform or who are civilians working for the government to proactivity work for any partisan political candidate." I started to write about that in my comment - "he was on staff? On a political campaign? While in the military?" - but erased it 'cause it seemed like I was picking up on a small thing in a truly nasty tirade of filth. But if it's bothering you, too, then I don't feel like it's a small thing.

Possibly off-topic: Sometimes I think the best part of the ass circus is when a whole bunch of ass clowns climb out of a tiny little ass car.

And, just to bolster my credentials, I'll note that I have eleven doctorates and I canvassed for Woodrow Wilson. Also, I invented soup.

ROTFLMAO!! Oh, shit! Thanks, Farmisht!

I can smell the stench of bullshit on this guy from a mile away. Dave is obviously a fake, a phony and a fraud. This is typical right-wing propaganda that I've seen so many times before on so many other blogs. His letters have all the earmarks of a neo-con, counter insurgent. A paid shill for the Republican war machine- not a soldier but most likely someone sitting behind a PC all day who fires off insulting diatribes to the liberal blogs in order to provide the illusion that there are actually people out there who still support the fucked-up, death dealing policies of the Bush administration. I think it's time our soldiers did something really brave and stand up to this crap and simply refuse to fight. Throw down your weapons. Despite your best intentions you are not and never were protecting freedom or an American way of life but simply allowing the military industrial complex to run amuck in their bloodthirsty campaign for petrodollars while fanning the flames of radical extremism around the globe for generations to come. I beg every soldier who reads this post to do something truly brave and THROW DOWN YOUR WEAPONS and refuse to fight. STAND UP TO THE REAL TERRORISTS IN THE WHITE HOUSE.

He was on staff for Bush in Ohio in '04 and he's on his 3rd tour in Iraq? I guess it's possible, but it sounds like bs to me.
Still, he could be dangerous (I'm glad I'm not serving with this psycho in Iraq -- poor soldiers all the crap over there PLUS this guy -- yikes!). Watch your back.

Well, his e-mails have done one thing: this is the highest number of comments on an individual thread that I've ever seen here! :o)

sounds like more anger then any reasoning defending anything that he is trying to stand for over there, he really should release that anger it will only consume him, anyways...i wonder what he thinks of glen mccoy?

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