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Other Poems I have come to the Conclusion that Politics are too Serious a Matter to be Left to the Politicians ... Charles De Gaulle

Poetry allows us to express our deeper feelings without appearing trite ...... Keith Scott

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A SOLDIER'S VIEW There is no glory in blood and gore That is the horrendous price of war Yet there is a cost that exceeds it still And that is the loss of our free will For if we fail to stand up strong And fight those who’d do us wrong As perennial victims we then would Be, and still, we’d yield our blood This next poem was written after 9/11 as a rebuttal to those who felt America and Britain should not attack Afghanistan. I believe now, as I believed then, that it was the right course of action; it was a necessary and moral course of action. But I strongly state that it should not be seen as an endorsement of the war on Iraq. This was a mistake from the moment of conception and made worse by the amateurish way in which the aftermath was conducted. As a veteran, I despise the political leadership that sent our troops off half-cocked and justified their actions with fabricated evidence. To make matters worse we re-elected the same president with delusions of grandeur that rivaled Napoleon and Labour’s majority closed ranks to protect his toady. Unlike Napoleon though, those two have neither the guts nor the commonsense to know when to cut bait. While Bush could only hear what he wanted to hear and see what he wanted to see, Blair lacked the moral courage to escape the situation he’d created for himself and the rest of us. Our troops deserve better leaders! I wrote the above in 2004 and, 10 years later, I feel even more strongly that the 2nd Gulf war was a serious error that has lead to today’s mess in the Middle East. Talk about unforeseen consequences! Unforeseen by Bush and Blair but not by those of us who knew the Middle East better. And by diluting the action in Afghanistan, it led to the failure there as well. It allowed the Taliban the respite it needed to retrench. WHY ARE SOME SO BLIND THEY CANNOT SEE? How blind can some people be? Why is it so hard for them to see That fighting evil frees the bound Allows the slave his freedom found? And, if some thoughtless stupid wuss Believes for a moment that it is us That's raping women, killing kids, Their brains it is upon the skids Who would equate that heinous deed Of murd'ring thousands without heed To careful targeting of those that choose Support and comfort for the terror's use How can any reasoning men who care Suggest that we with them do share Any similarity of mind or deed or With either Taliban or Al_Quaida. I seem to recall that Herr Hitler first Into the Rhine did quench his thirst Next were Czechs to feel his wrath Before the Poles then took a bath And each time that a rape was done The call to action some would shun Herr Hitler has all he yearned to have He'll never harm the Jew or Slav. And all because they could not Find the guts to stop the rot Before he was entrenched too well And millions more were lost in hell! I wonder if the pacifist would truly sit Quietly on the plane and watch the hit Or if he then would see a hundred dead As worth the price of a thousand's stead.