Eight Years - Afghanistan

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wow, Mary Ann. Theres a reality check at 0800 in the morning ( I knew it would be but I had to read it )

I cant believe its been eight years already. What the hell are we still there for? Jeez, its so sad...
you did a great job here, made me get all sortsa mad and sad... politics tend to have that affect on me

Re: Eight Years - Afghanistan (Score: 1 ) by maryanns on Thursday, October 08, 2009 (19:18:34)

Ah, me too, Jenna. Gnashing teeth year after year. Been through all the Iraq anniversaries, too... six years of them.
Fiends from Ft. Lewis still being deployed, brigade by brigade. Too sad. Thanks so much, my friend. Peace, Mary Ann


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very good write maryann but i think it will go on for some time yet ,but there has been too mony deaths or injured and i think we will all be glad when it is over

Re: Eight Years - Afghanistan (Score: 1 ) by maryanns on Thursday, October 08, 2009 (19:28:29)

You're probably right, Glen... John McCain predicted 100 year war even though he tried to retract it. Terribly sad, so many lives lost and no one wants to say for nothing. Thank you my friend. Mary Ann


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Mary Ann..i not only loved this as a poetic offering..but i respect and admire the voice you've shown here...it's painful to believe that so many are dying for a cause that isn't so boldy explained to us as civilians....i appreciate your honesty and with honor bow my head to you my friend..kev

Re: Eight Years - Afghanistan (Score: 1 ) by maryanns on Friday, October 09, 2009 (01:48:24)

Thank you, always, for your kind words, Kev. So much we don't know; we're uninvolved-untrusted-unconvinced... I can only be consistently against the misuse of a sacred trust that seems to have been lost in the dust of lower Manhattan. Very best wishes, Mary Ann


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after the russians had been in afganistan for eight years, they decided to pull out. most of the arms that were used against the russians were smuggled in to the country by NATO country's. a lot of the arms used against NATO forces are now smuggled in from russia......war is never without irony it seems. a good point, well made mary ann - the casualty figures look like something from the korean war...and we know how that one turned out - paul.

Re: Eight Years - Afghanistan (Score: 1 ) by maryanns on Friday, October 09, 2009 (01:57:51)

Ah, the Korean War still hasn't "turned out" yet, eh? New world order numero uno - wars no longer end, resolution is a foreign concept... lost along with unbiased consideration of the cost of war vs. what might reasonably be achieved ... Way beyond my pay grade. I have to stick with "if it feels wrong in my gut I will oppose it." Thanks ever so much, Paul. Take care, Mary Ann


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A perfect piece poet, poignant, perceptive, purposful, precise, passionate, and pleasing to peaceful people

Re: Eight Years - Afghanistan (Score: 1 ) by maryanns on Friday, October 09, 2009 (02:01:44)

Ah Ron...if only all the peaceful people in the world would stand up at once and tip the scales. Rocks and mud, I say - let the presidents, prime ministers and generals enter the ring and fight among themselves. Thanks so much, my friend. Mary Ann


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Wow, I dont know you at all... but after reading this I can say that we would probably get along well. I am currently in Iraq and I am telling you that you hit it on the nose with the work of art you presented us with this morning. Why are we still here. I work for the Army... but we dont do anything anymore. And yet we are still getting blown up like its our job. Soldiers and Civilians are still dying... Everyday! Thank You, I enjoyed this! Well done

Re: Eight Years - Afghanistan (Score: 1 ) by maryanns on Friday, October 09, 2009 (02:16:15)

At one time, and possibly buried somewhere in the federal archives, there was a promise to "us" that American soldiers would be sent into harm's way only after due deliberation of the cost vs. consequences of a conflict... Perhaps that died with the invention of the oft used phrase "National Security Interest", an acronym for greed, in my humble opinion.
I am very grateful for each and every word of your comments here. Thank you very much. Best wishes, Mary Ann


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Another classic here mary ann. Another truth that is ignored daily, another anniversary that few care to remember- or even know in the first place. More deaths that are statistics on a news channel, or a name in the paper at best and more evidence ignored that invading afghanistan is an utterly pointless task. I remember reading an article soon after the invasion that stated 'we' would not be involved in the same futile war as the russians were- because of superior technological warfare. I laughed then at their hopeless optimism and eight years on they are no further forward than the russians were. I understood the initial premise to be to 'find bin laden'- if that were the case they would never have fronted an invasion - there would have been far more success in special ops missions and covert infiltrations. Maybe the precursor to the fabricated oil war had another objective- like keeping unemployment figures down? Never mind- we'll know the truth in 50 years time- when it's far too late! Take care and keep shouting! spence

Re: Eight Years - Afghanistan (Score: 1 ) by maryanns on Friday, October 09, 2009 (02:33:02)

I have to agree with you, that one could draw a number of conspiratorial conclusions from events surrounding both the Iraq and Afghanistan conflicts... I don't doubt many theories are quite true and perhaps others I couldn't even imagine. Before this reply begins to read like a psycho's response I'll just say how much I appreciate and respect your thoughtful comments, Lee. Thank you ever so much. Take care, my friend. Mary Ann
ps: let me know how it turns out.


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Maryann you are still keeping us on our toes here.. The numbers are amazing.. What I don't understand is why we are openly fighting these people. Why aren't we (Secretly undercover going after the bad guys instead of putting them at risk as a war? I think more would get done if we went into the bush so to speak as they do.. we owe you a debt for not letting us forget that though we go on with our lives there are many that put themselves in harms way to protect us. Hugs Melly

Re: Eight Years - Afghanistan (Score: 1 ) by maryanns on Friday, October 09, 2009 (02:42:51)

Ha, Melly - you have a keen mind for command and control! I began this poem on 10-2-09, by the 7th, I had to revise the numbers upwards by 17. A pity, a crying shame... I don't even have the words to say how disheartening the loss of life must be for their families. As another commenoer said, we don't even hear of the contractors, interpreters and other personnel who die. Thank you for your dear comments, Melly. Sincerely appreciated. Hugs, Mary Ann


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Nice write how time flies by. Thanks Jon

Re: Eight Years - Afghanistan (Score: 1 ) by maryanns on Friday, October 09, 2009 (02:45:38)

Good to hear from you, Jon. Thank you so much, really appreciated. Best wishes my friend. Mary Ann


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Perhaps one day Mary Ann the worlds population of ordinary people will wake up and realise that it's been long enough that the tail has been wagging the dog, as they say. We are to blame simply because we allow ourselves to be manipulated by faceless men who in turn manipulate our politician's. Greed is at the centre of it all, alway's has been and alway's will be. Keep flying the flag Mary Ann. Cheers my friend, Lou.

Re: Eight Years - Afghanistan (Score: 1 ) by scriptum on Friday, October 09, 2009 (00:57:28)

OH DEAR GOD YES.


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Re: Eight Years - Afghanistan (Score: 1 ) by maryanns on Friday, October 09, 2009 (02:52:39)

Ah, scriptum... thank you so much for your emphatic comments, you always warm my heart. Take care, friend. Mary Ann


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Re: Eight Years - Afghanistan (Score: 1 ) by maryanns on Friday, October 09, 2009 (02:50:48)

Thank you so much, Lou. Let me know when the uprising begins on your side of the pond... I have a wee army of like-minded friends and fellow veterans...shhh. Greed, indeed... we're in full agreement on that! Flags at half-mast for them all and those who come after. Thank you, sir. Best wishes, Mary Ann


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We dropped on the barren ground of Tora Bora in December of 2001 to exact our vengeance on the man and his people who delivered such a deadly blow to so many innocents in NYC…I can’t not believe we are still there! We were held back then when we should have continued on to our objective - then it mattered and was the right time. Now, not so much, given what we are accomplishing over ther. Promises are made and then they are broken, all the while our soldier die needlessly. Awesome, awesome poem, Mary Ann!

Re: Eight Years - Afghanistan (Score: 1 ) by maryanns on Friday, October 09, 2009 (03:01:05)

Exactly, your comments and conclusios mirror my feelings... we had them fleeing through the mountains in disarray, we had the northern alliance on their heels, we were after the people involved in 9/11... Now the mission is unclear, disintegrating into nation building (my opinion). Thank you so much, Ridge, for your astute comments. I'm so grateful for your contribution to the discussion. May good sense prevail, eh? Thanks again, Mary Ann


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G'day Mary Ann...
A futile war that egotistical old men in faded uniforms continue to foster, and still try to convert the masses into believing winning is just around the corner...bulldust!
The dream was shattered the day the first troops arrived. Ask every army general who attempted to invade Afghanistan.
Keep it up Mary Ann.

Lindsay

Re: Eight Years - Afghanistan (Score: 1 ) by maryanns on Friday, October 09, 2009 (03:10:15)

Bulldust, indeed! Ah, Lindsay, those old men are so dead-set on continuing to sacrifice generation after generation... and they're educated, they study history and still don't apply it. The ultimate answer can only be that their pockets are lined with gold earned by the blood of dead soldiers. That break towards the end of the poem... that's where the reciter gets to breathe. Thank you so much for your comments, my dear friend. Best wishes, Mary Ann


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so sad how true this poem is
i wish it was all a lie,,,,but it isn't so
maryanns
you outdid yourself on this poem
and i enjoyed

Re: Eight Years - Afghanistan (Score: 1 ) by maryanns on Friday, October 09, 2009 (03:14:24)

Oh Libby, thank you so much. I truly wish and hope and pray the anniversaries stop - each and every one defeats us all, our humanity seems to be draining away. Thank you ever so much, I truly appreciate your comments. Take care, Libby. Mary Ann


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very powerful and very true.

Re: Eight Years - Afghanistan (Score: 1 ) by maryanns on Monday, October 12, 2009 (00:32:44)

Thanks Bonnie, so appreciated. I don't know if you read any comments above, I started this on 10/2... by 10/7 when I posted it I had to add 17 KIA... heartbreaken for all 17 and 16 were US personnel. Thanks again, my friend. Mary Ann


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Hi Maryann,

I wouldn't call this a poem but a reality check, we still live in a world where deadly power is in the wrong hands, misusing them. But no one does anything to control or curb the supply of weapons to places where it shouldn't be going. And as stated above in one of your earlier comments, we haven't seen the last of these selfless deeds. I wish we could get rid of all evil people on earth, but the truth comes back time and time again to haunt us. We can never be free, and it is evident if we just turn on the news.

But you keep sharing your work with us, thanks for the reminder

-Oswald

Re: Eight Years - Afghanistan (Score: 1 ) by maryanns on Wednesday, October 14, 2009 (12:26:04)

Thank you Oswald... very astute comments I agree with wholeheartedly. Now the whole premise of messing about in Afghanistan seems false; propping up a corrupt government, running a certain faction of Afghani's off to the tribal areas as outlaws, imposing our culture on theirs... I truly appreciate and value your comments here. Peace, Mary Ann


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Very timely poem. But i hope its not so at any point of time in the future. I think u should spread this poem as wide and long as possible through friends or social websites. Great work.... It evidently comes from deep inside u. Thats waht matters.

Re: Eight Years - Afghanistan (Score: 1 ) by maryanns on Thursday, October 15, 2009 (02:34:35)

Thanks so much for your kind comments... I sense a kindred spirit. Yes, it's spread around the activist community... now waiting to hear if 40,000 more of my brothers and sisters will be deployed in the name of the Global War of Terror. Be well, friend... speak out. Peace, Mary Ann


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How unbelievable the whole lie ( War )is and yet we live it day by day and I wonder where the outrage is?

Love and Peace, a needful thing, not a cliche !


Your poem is brave and true, honorable and needs to be nailed to the portal of the big house !

Re: Eight Years - Afghanistan (Score: 1 ) by maryanns on Saturday, October 17, 2009 (14:11:41)

Woo-wee, Marion. We're workin' every day to try and change the plot... news outlets no longer question the gov'ment speel, our population seems unaware and uncaring. I visited the "big house" in August, impressive - then guards ran us all off -get out, get out, off the sidewalk you average Americans. Ummmm, it's gotta be greed takin' over common sense. Thanks for reading, I truly appreciate your comments; right-on. Best wishes, Mary Ann


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Re: Eight Years - Afghanistan (Score: 1 ) by Tink on Saturday, October 17, 2009 (15:25:17)

....and I say it again, we have to go on and on, we can never stop.

it takes a million time more good to make a bad better.

Oh Mary Ann, we got to come together and not stand for it, let our children know we did not sit silent by ( I could go on and on too )


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its crazy what people are capable of...this is excellent

Re: Eight Years - Afghanistan (Score: 1 ) by maryanns on Friday, October 23, 2009 (12:23:29)

Oooh Ray... thanks for stepping back and reading this one, really appreciated. I've been down with a cold or something, slept a whole day I think, an interior war felled me like a tree. I totally agree with your comments. I wish "O" would tell the militarists NO... Very best wishes, Mary Ann


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Maryanns, people with cool heads like yours are needed to calm the rhetoric. I spent 13 months in Afghanistan in 2005, between the north and south and actually went over to Pakistan with a relief team after the earthquake shook the Kashmir. Death whether by war or nature is always hard to take, but I lived with this, up close and personal. The world is populated by bad people, Maryann there are people who will cut your throat and go eat a sandwich. Killing is like breathing to them. So yes there is a need to go after these people, but there is a right way. Sorry, soapbox..I really liked your write, eight years!! OMG, sweetie its been too long. We need a break

Re: Eight Years - Afghanistan (Score: 1 ) by maryanns on Monday, October 26, 2009 (23:52:29)

My friend, I would give almost anything to know who left this remarkable set of comments... I can sort of figure out who it is not but then I'm left guessing. I cannot even be sure you'll ever read my reply since yours is an anonymous post. I appreciate your words so very much, boots on the ground of the country they are, besides the selfless aspect of your generosity to the people living there. I don't for a minute believe I have the whole picture or even a valid answer to what should be done in Afghanistan, but I am committed in my heart and soul to losing no more soldiers of any nation for nothing.I wrote this poem on 10/02, by 10/7 when I posted it seventeen soldiers died, 16 my fellow US brothers... Please, if you drop back by to read my reply, do send me a private message at least so I can thank you properly for your words of wisdom. I am dying of not only curiosity but also gratitude. Thank you. Peace my friend, Mary Ann


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Amazing.
These are very inspiring words.
Just amazing.

Re: Eight Years - Afghanistan (Score: 1 ) by maryanns on Friday, October 30, 2009 (22:39:55)

Hey, thanks so much, Robert... I really appreciate your comments. I went back and re-read all the comments... in the case of this poem they really mean a lot to me. The person who posted just above your post contacted me privately later on, a woman from Pakistan. This website is a real joy to get to meet people from all over the world. Sorry, I seem to be writing a book, I just think you will surely enjoy this site. Very best wishes, Mary Ann


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Re: Eight Years - Afghanistan (Score: 1 ) by forwind14 on Friday, October 30, 2009 (22:44:24)

oh dont worry I do enjoy this cite (: I've been a member for JUST over a year now (:
and out of curiosity (if you dont want to say it's fine), where are you from?


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Re: Eight Years - Afghanistan (Score: 1 ) by maryanns on Friday, October 30, 2009 (23:14:20)

Oh shoot, why did I think you were a new poet... I'm laughing at myself. I am from Astoria, Oregon originally. Been all over the place and I now live 60 miles north on the coast of Washington state. And you? Or we could pm...


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Re: Eight Years - Afghanistan (Score: 1 ) by forwind14 on Saturday, October 31, 2009 (00:09:11)

I live in Ottawa, Canada (:
ahhhhh D:
I'm watching ammityville horror currently D: (happy hallows eve by the way )
whats pm?


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i was positive that i had rated this poem! great write maryann. keeping it real as per usual. best wishes, conor

Re: Eight Years - Afghanistan (Score: 1 ) by maryanns on Wednesday, November 04, 2009 (12:03:28)

Me too... lost in gp bits 'n bites perhaps. Thanks so much for coming by again, it drew out such a wonderful outpouring of comments I treasure. Somehow we must get out...
Peace, Mary Ann


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