An Air Conditioner and WikiLeaks

First and most important, the guys finally got an air conditioner!!! As Brian communicated to many of you through his e-mail he was finally able to get his first real rest in several months. He told us when they first hooked it up he just kept walking in and out of the tent so he could keep experiencing the feeling of the cool air when coming in from 130+ degree heat. We talked to him this week and he sounds good- he actually sounds different now that he can get some rest (we notice that stuff). The food situation still sucks but they are doing what they can to get by. As we all know, things remain very active over there and can change very fast. He is keeping his guys very busy with an eye on the finish line- but remaining very focused on what he needs to do each day. All of us have to run this one all the way through the finish line.

Last month we had Rolling Stone providing us the status of the war in Afghanistan. This month we have WikiLeaks releasing over 75,000 classified Afghanistan war documents to the general public through the internet. This is not exactly what I had in mind when I hoped we would keep this war at the front our country’s thinking. I continue to be amazed by the sacrifices being made in this effort by many, many Americans. And, I continue to be amazed by many who are oblivious as well. I know Lu and I would have likely been on the oblivious side if we hadn’t experienced what we have experienced first-hand.

I am all for the protection of our First Amendment rights. But, I am also about protecting our country and protecting those we have asked to protect us. WikiLeaks released these documents based on their belief that “it is only when the people know the true plans and behavior of their governments that they can meaningfully choose to support them.” (from their web site). They are using the US Supreme Court’s decision related to the Pentagon Papers (Viet Nam) as a foundation of their actions, “only a free and unrestrained press can effectively expose deception in government.” (also from their web site).WikiLeaks has positioned their actions as a “public service.” While I agree with the fundamental premise of these beliefs, I think releasing these papers now is simply bullshit.

Those advocating to get out of Afghanistan will certainly step up the rhetoric. The uninformed (and there are many) will likely form their view and take positions simply based on the fact that this is new information for most of them.


For those who have been following this rather closely over the past two years, the talking points raised so far is not new information ; Pakistan working with the Taliban? Who couldn’t figure that one out; Iran is supporting the terrorists? Surprise, surprise.; Bin Laden involved in some of the decisions made in Afghanistan? No big revelation there; We have problems with the Afghan government? Give me a break.; Our soldiers were frustrated due to lack of resources? You put up with some of the crap these guys put up with and see if you wouldn’t be frustrated- but they carried out their mission none-the-less (and remember, this is all pre-2010); Some of the missions didn’t go well and some mistakes were made? No big surprise considering the limitations our troops had to deal with; Civilian casualties were higher than we have let on? Probably, considering the zero-tolerance policy we have had to live with. War crimes? Get a life- especially considering we’re engaging an enemy who has no rules.

We lost two Minnesota heroes in Afghanistan within a day of each other last week. Their funerals were last weekend. Specialist Matthew Johnson and 3 of his “combat buddies” were killed by a manually detonated IED in Zabul Province. His father said, “Matthew knew the risks, but he knew he needed to serve anyway. He knew he had to take the war to the cowards before the cowards brought the war to us.” First Lieutenant Chris Goeke and two others were killed when the Taliban attacked their base near Kandahar city. Chris graduated from West Point, had been married only 18 months, taught Sunday school, and was an inspiration to many. He too knew the risks, but was committed to something bigger than himself.

1st Lt Christopher Goeke

Apple Valley, Minnesota

KIA Kandahar City

7-13-10

Spc Mattew Johnson
Maplewood, Minnesota
KIA Zabul Province
7-14-10

You can bet the enemy is scouring over the 75,000 (probably soon-to-be 90,000) documents to find anything they might not have known before. Our media channels will come up with their own spin- but will most likely only confirm what we should have known all along if we had been half-way listening. In my opinion, we are simply educating the enemy unnecessarily by releasing these classified documents and creating further conflict in an already conflicted situation. I just don’t get it.

I’m all for free speech and keeping government transparent and honest. But, I’d rather take my direction from people like Matthew Johnson and Chris Goeke than from an internet company started by a computer hacker getting his information from an unknown source with unknown motivations. I hope others take the time to inform themselves of all of the facts and take into consideration what is at stake before jumping on board with one side or the other. Unfortunately, our media today (including WikiLeaks) tends to create “Shirley Sharrod moments”. We shoot first and ask questions later. I hope public opinion doesn’t just do the same.

We seem to forget that Afghanistan was the base of the attack that killed 3000 Americans on our own soil and it could happen again. That’s a little different than Viet Nam.

Semper Fi