War on Terror

Iraq, Keeping the faith, War on Terror

Finish the job in Iraq, Marine’s father urges

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Marine LT John Wroblewski would say 'suck it up'

Today, in the Philadelphia Inquirer:

John Wroblewski’s son was killed in Ramadi in 2004. Now, he says, the U.S. should focus on winning the war… what the country needs, he says, is “more discussion about victory and how we’re going to win.” What he seeks is leadership. Courage, to stand up to a relentless, smart and brutal enemy. Patience, to see the nation through the inevitable dark days. Strength, to set priorities and see them through.
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The high school athletic director from Jefferson Township, N.J., is unapologetic in his support for the war and those fighting it – “You can’t separate the troops and the mission,” he says.

Often, he says, the news out of Washington makes you “grit your teeth.” Worse are declarations that the war is lost. “When [Senate Majority Leader] Harry Reid said that, it just turned my stomach,” Wroblewski says. “How can a leader of this country, when we have men on the battlefield, and we’ve shed the blood of our sons and daughters, how can he say we’ve lost?” he asks.

So Wroblewski speaks out. He calls in frequently to talk-radio programs. He campaigned against antiwar congressman John P. Murtha (D., Pa.) last year. He and his wife, Shawn, were among the counterprotesters facing off against Cindy Sheehan two years ago near President Bush’s ranch. He’s told the president to his face – twice – how important it is that the United States complete the mission in Iraq.

The Wroblewskis understand the cost of war.

The oldest of their four sons, Marine 2d Lt. John Thomas Wroblewski – “JT” to his family, “Lt. Ski” to his men – was killed in a Ramadi ambush on April 6, 2004. He’d enlisted only weeks after Sept. 11 and had been in Iraq for a little more than a month when he was shot. “He just loved being in the Marines,” his mom says. “Even if he could come back now and stand in front of us, knowing all the heartache, he’d say: ‘Suck it up. I’m doing it again.’ ”
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Even with all that heartache, the Wroblewskis are resolute about finishing the job.

“Do people really think that if we pull out, the terrorists will say: ‘We’re going to leave you alone now,’?” John asks.

9/11, Barack Obama, Iraq, Political wind, War on Terror

Debra Burlingame about Sen. Obama’s “invade Pakistan” speech

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Debra Burlingame spoke with syndicated talk-radio host Mark Levin this evening, leading off about Presidential candidate Barack Obama’s “illconsidered” speech where he suggested that the United States should invade Pakistan. In addition, she spoke of the Democratic Party’s deliberate undermining of our national defense and efforts in Iraq:

“I think there are people on the Hill who know perfectly well how strategically important Iraq is in this terrible war that we’re facing. But I think its politics. I think they have to beat down this President — and they started very quickly after 9/11 — to gain power back and they’re willing to put Americans and this country in danger to do it. I think that there are others who are naive, who believe what their advisers on the extreme left tell them. Maybe they’ve made a bargain with the devil, I don’t know, but it is a sad day when a Congressman of this United States says that a victory for the U.S. military is a bad thing for the Democrats.”

Here is the full interview:

Editor — Debra Burlingame is the sister of Charles Burlingame III, who was the pilot of American Airlines Flight 77 that terrorists hijacked and then crashed into the Pentagon on September 11, 2001. She is also a former lawyer, a director of the World Trade Center Memorial Foundation, and a co-founder of 9/11 Families for a Safe & Strong America.