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Young vet questions if it was worth it

Disagreeable

Well-known member
Come on, Memenpa, call this guy a coward or that he doesn't know what he's talking about, or he's been listening to liberal media bias.
Link below.

"President Bush came and sat by the side of Sergeant Brian Fountaine, a 24-year-old tank commander from Dorchester, a gung-ho soldier who had lobbied to be deployed a second time. Now Fountaine was among the wounded at Walter Reed Army Medical Center, his legs amputated below the knees after an explosion June 8 ripped apart the Humvee in which he was riding.
The president chatted about the sergeant's beloved Red Sox, but made no reference to the war, the soldier said.

If the topic had come up, the president might not have liked what Fountaine had on his mind. In a dramatic change of heart, Fountaine now considers the war a military quagmire in which American soldiers are caught in a deadly vise between irreconcilable enemies.

In his view, troop morale has plummeted, suicide has increased, and the sacrifices being made in American blood and treasure suddenly seem questionable.

The war began with the justifiable goal of toppling a reckless, dangerous dictator in Saddam Hussein, the soldier said. But as the country slides toward civil war, Fountaine added, the goal of a democratic Iraq seems more distant by the day.

``You have to wonder, what exactly are we doing?" Fountaine said. ``In my opinion, [Iraq] is a country that has been at war with itself and with other enemies for thousands of years. And we're supposed to make them happy? I don't think so. I don't see it happening."

When asked if history will justify the life-altering sacrifice he has made, Fountaine paused for several seconds, lowered his head, and slowly replied: ``If in 10 or 20 years, if Iraq is in the same spot and America is still losing boys over there, then, no, I think my sacrifice will be as futile as anyone else's."

That sacrifice has been profound, excruciatingly exacted from Fountaine's body by two large bombs on a dusty road a dozen miles north of Baghdad.

The pain has been both physical and psychic. On June 30, while visiting the Marine Corps War Memorial in a wheelchair he was still learning to use, Fountaine lost control and fell over. Nothing he experienced in the explosion outside Taji -- not the searing burn, not the loss of blood, not the experience of binding his own mangled legs with tourniquets -- equaled the humiliation of that moment.

``It was like a hammer to the face," Fountaine said this week as he sat on his hospital bed. ``I just sat there for about 5 minutes, and I said, `How does one go from being a combat-hardened tank commander to being a poor wretch on the ground?' "

That journey began in April 2001 when Fountaine enlisted in the Army, fulfilling a childhood dream to follow his father, a Marine Corps veteran of the Vietnam era, into military service.


More at the link. Read it; he deserves to be heard.
http://www.boston.com/news/local/articles/2006/08/02/a_soldier_maimed_by_warnow_questions_the_mission/
 

memanpa

Well-known member
I would never call him or any other person that serves in the armed forces na coward

i only call people who try to tear down our commander in chief and our armed forces by spreading the hate and DIS content that you and your bosses at the L.I.F.D cowards for they do not look at anything except a way to hurt the soldiers like this young man!
yes DIS i am calling YOU the coward.
I ASK you once again to show where i have EVER called one of our fighting men a coward!!
PUT UP or SHUT UP!!!!
you cannot so you will run like a thief in the night! COME ON MOUTH
put your big mouth where your TINY BRAIN is and show the whole board where i have ever called one of our fighing personel a coward!!!

Come on miss DIS information cut and paste and show us all where i have called a fighting soldier a coward!!!
either do that or hit the road like the DIS qusting person you are!!
I CHALLENGE YOU!!!!!
 

Steve

Well-known member
Dis wrote:
Come on, call this guy a coward

why would you imply or even use such a question?

have you no shame? or conscience?

he is a hero, he is dealing with a horrific loss.....to question is human, even the tone of his discouragement can be admired, (something we could never say about you).....

and yet even with Questioning the sacrifice, he would again serve.....what a Hero.....

Despite his reservations about the course of the war, Fountaine said he would return, if he could, to serve the remainder of his tour with the First Brigade Combat Team of the Fourth Infantry Division. The bonds forged in war between soldiers, he said, are reason enough to sacrifice one's life and limbs for the good of the unit.

``Those guys over there are my family just as much as that guy over there is my father," Fountaine said. ``I wish I could have stayed there, and I wish I could come home with them."

Despite the incessant drumbeat of bad news, Fountaine said there are small positives that occur every day in Iraq, whether soccer games between soldiers and children or offers of water to thirsty farmers.

``Regardless of everything that's going on and the anger you may have," Fountaine said of the war, ``. . . just know it's a lot of regular guys, just like you, who have volunteered to serve their country."

so much charactor,and strenght from this soldier,.....(and yet you only show the negative...the doubt)......May GOD bless him,
 

memanpa

Well-known member
HEY DIS loyal
if you want to cut and paste articles that is fine but PASTE the entire thing not just what fits you agenda! it just proves that you are trying to spread more DIS information

``I was patriotic before Sept. 11 happened," said Fountaine, a 2000 graduate of Whitman-Hanson Regional High School. ``It doesn't take a tragedy to make me realize I'm proud to be an American."

i didn't see that in your paste
or this

During his first deployment, Fountaine said, his unit routinely came under attack from mortars and rifle fire. But he volunteered for mission after dangerous mission, he said. Although the potential for death or injury was everywhere, he added: ``I accepted the fact that I was a soldier. And I expected this to happen, either a loss of limb or a loss of life."

OR THIS

Despite his reservations about the course of the war, Fountaine said he would return, if he could, to serve the remainder of his tour with the First Brigade Combat Team of the Fourth Infantry Division. The bonds forged in war between soldiers, he said, are reason enough to sacrifice one's life and limbs for the good of the unit.

``Those guys over there are my family just as much as that guy over there is my father," Fountaine said. ``I wish I could have stayed there, and I wish I could come home with them."

OR THIS
Despite the incessant drumbeat of bad news, Fountaine said there are small positives that occur every day in Iraq, whether soccer games between soldiers and children or offers of water to thirsty farmers.

``Regardless of everything that's going on and the anger you may have," Fountaine said of the war, ``. . . just know it's a lot of regular guys, just like you, who have volunteered to serve their country."


I still await your PROOF i called any soldier, airman,nave personell national gaurd person a coward, or did i say at any time that they did not know what they were talking about,
I DID say YOU were clueless, but we ALL knew that before i brought it up!

NOW PROVE me wrong or hit the road,


[/b]
 

Disagreeable

Well-known member
memanpa said:
HEY DIS loyal
if you want to cut and paste articles that is fine but PASTE the entire thing not just what fits you agenda! it just proves that you are trying to spread more DIS information

``I was patriotic before Sept. 11 happened," said Fountaine, a 2000 graduate of Whitman-Hanson Regional High School. ``It doesn't take a tragedy to make me realize I'm proud to be an American."

i didn't see that in your paste
or this

During his first deployment, Fountaine said, his unit routinely came under attack from mortars and rifle fire. But he volunteered for mission after dangerous mission, he said. Although the potential for death or injury was everywhere, he added: ``I accepted the fact that I was a soldier. And I expected this to happen, either a loss of limb or a loss of life."

OR THIS

Despite his reservations about the course of the war, Fountaine said he would return, if he could, to serve the remainder of his tour with the First Brigade Combat Team of the Fourth Infantry Division. The bonds forged in war between soldiers, he said, are reason enough to sacrifice one's life and limbs for the good of the unit.

``Those guys over there are my family just as much as that guy over there is my father," Fountaine said. ``I wish I could have stayed there, and I wish I could come home with them."

OR THIS
Despite the incessant drumbeat of bad news, Fountaine said there are small positives that occur every day in Iraq, whether soccer games between soldiers and children or offers of water to thirsty farmers.

``Regardless of everything that's going on and the anger you may have," Fountaine said of the war, ``. . . just know it's a lot of regular guys, just like you, who have volunteered to serve their country."


I still await your PROOF i called any soldier, airman,nave personell national gaurd person a coward, or did i say at any time that they did not know what they were talking about,
I DID say YOU were clueless, but we ALL knew that before i brought it up!

NOW PROVE me wrong or hit the road,


[/b]

Liar. You're pitiful to the core. I posted the link to the entire article; I encouraged everyone to read the entire article. I didn't selectively paste what I wanted to be read. :roll:

This young man would go back and serve. But he's now wondering if the whole thing isn't a mistake. While you bash me because of what I post and say it hurts morale, this young man knows what they're going through and still speaks out. Chuck Hagel speaks out, John Murtha speaks out, top generals in this country speak out. This war has gone very, very bad. Denying it, blaming it on the press or the nay sayers won't make it any better. Get our troops out now. They'll come out, hopefully by the end of the year. The only question is how many will needelessly die before that happens. You can't come up with a scenero that will allow them to come home, yet you say it's not time. Tell me when? Saddam is gone, they had an interim government, they have a constitution, they have an elected government. What else do you expect these fine fighting men to do? You don't answer that question, nor will George W. Bush or Donald Rumsfeld. The Iraqi elected government won't even denouce terrorism! If they won't denouce terrorism while they've got 130,000 US troops on their soil, what do you think the odds are that they'll denounce it when we're gone. How many of those American trained troops will Israel face in the next few years? How many will our own troops face as we support Israel? Bush has made a terrible mess in the Middle East. Blaming me won't change that.
 

Happy go lucky

Well-known member
Blaming Bush won't change the fact that the middle east has been against one another for 100's of years, a big power struggle and one our Boy saddam was on top of. The middle east is a bee hive and will continue as such until terrorist orgs are cleaned out and more people can have common sense.

The point is these orgs are against all the U.S. stands for and will if given the chance try and destroy our way of life and many others. Freedom has not been a thing many over there have ever had, if you give them a taste they may come around to becomming more global citizens and not in the mess there in.

Woman have zip for rights and people are treated very badly, you go against the grain you can be killed, cheating on your husband is death in some countrys. The very idea of freedom scares the hell out of the radical groups and know that if that happens in their country, all power will be long to a majority and not a minority bunch of thugs,killers and terrorist. They only know how to rule in one fashion and that is with an Iron hand, do as I say or die. Many have such negativity aginst freedom because they have been brainwashed to be that way.

This isn't a Bush thing fool!!!! This has been something brewing for the last 100 years!!!! If we do not stand up against these acts of terror those in charge will become more powerful and groups banding together to come take away the very thing they hate the most "FREEDOM". We have it and they don't want us to be free. We have zero choice but to stand our ground or be takin over by these wacko's in the next 20-30 years!

The UN is a freaking joke has been and will be, a group with zero power, because no one could give a rip about snactions as those in control don't care, they have one mind set and that is to rid the world of freedom and have control. Why did we get attacked on 9/11? Why did they try and bomb the basement years prior? Find a reason why we deserved that Dis? Tell me why over 2,000 working Americans had to die? The biggest heros where the people that stood there ground private citizens and made sure the 3rd plane didsn't get the reward they wanted, common veryday folk standing up for there country. Do you want this war on terror and anti american sentiment to be fought in your back yard? Yes or NO. No other answer will be tolerated, oh look I sound like Saddam now LOL. Hide your head a little deeper in the sand, as it is either fought in there back yard or ours but either way it has to be done for the future of our children.
 

Econ101

Well-known member
Happy go lucky said:
Blaming Bush won't change the fact that the middle east has been against one another for 100's of years, a big power struggle and one our Boy saddam was on top of. The middle east is a bee hive and will continue as such until terrorist orgs are cleaned out and more people can have common sense.

The point is these orgs are against all the U.S. stands for and will if given the chance try and destroy our way of life and many others. Freedom has not been a thing many over there have ever had, if you give them a taste they may come around to becomming more global citizens and not in the mess there in.

Woman have zip for rights and people are treated very badly, you go against the grain you can be killed, cheating on your husband is death in some countrys. The very idea of freedom scares the hell out of the radical groups and know that if that happens in their country, all power will be long to a majority and not a minority bunch of thugs,killers and terrorist. They only know how to rule in one fashion and that is with an Iron hand, do as I say or die. Many have such negativity aginst freedom because they have been brainwashed to be that way.

This isn't a Bush thing fool!!!! This has been something brewing for the last 100 years!!!! If we do not stand up against these acts of terror those in charge will become more powerful and groups banding together to come take away the very thing they hate the most "FREEDOM". We have it and they don't want us to be free. We have zero choice but to stand our ground or be takin over by these wacko's in the next 20-30 years!

The UN is a freaking joke has been and will be, a group with zero power, because no one could give a rip about snactions as those in control don't care, they have one mind set and that is to rid the world of freedom and have control. Why did we get attacked on 9/11? Why did they try and bomb the basement years prior? Find a reason why we deserved that Dis? Tell me why over 2,000 working Americans had to die? The biggest heros where the people that stood there ground private citizens and made sure the 3rd plane didsn't get the reward they wanted, common veryday folk standing up for there country. Do you want this war on terror and anti american sentiment to be fought in your back yard? Yes or NO. No other answer will be tolerated, oh look I sound like Saddam now LOL. Hide your head a little deeper in the sand, as it is either fought in there back yard or ours but either way it has to be done for the future of our children.

The question isn't that terrorist mentality is to be fought. It is how do we do it and are we effective at it. Some ways just aren't. They should be avoided and other ways should be employed.

Bush made his case on handling it the way he wanted to and was allowed to do it. Whether or not it works is not based on idealogy, but on facts. Bush should be held accountable for his success or failure as a leader on the subject because he was the decider and got everything his way as far as the execution of the strategy. There was no hand tying by the Congress nor was there enough debate.

I hope we prevail in Iraq and the middle east. Whether we do or not is not dependent on our hopes, but on our results.

Yesterday's analysis on Iraq on PBS Leher Report was sobering and a little scary. I hope they are doing some real planning that works out better than what we have seen so far.
 

fulton

Well-known member
DIS QOUTE "Liar. You're pitiful to the core. I posted the link to the entire article; I encouraged everyone to read the entire article. I didn't selectively paste what I wanted to be read."

Yes you did. It is painfully obvious what you wanted to do here. Paste the negative parts of the article with hopes to mislead everyone else as to what the article is really about. This man has made a tremendous sacrifice, whether you agree with him or the current situation in Iraq, DO NOT drag his name through the mud! Words cannot describe how terrible a thing this is to do to this young man. UNBELIEVABLE!!! :mad:
 

Faster horses

Well-known member
This type of DISgusting thing is what is meant by "aiding and abetting terrosrists." That's exactly what she is doing. Furthering their (and her) cause. Even if she has to lie and manipulate to do it.

Thanks for bringing us the "rest of the story."
 

memanpa

Well-known member
DIS
you of all people calling someone a liar!!!

show me where i lied!!!!!
come on ms DIS credable prove that i lied


YOU got caught in another attempt at DIS crediting somethng and now YOU resort to calling ME a liar! hummmmm who is LYING?

and while you are at it prove i called any soldier a coward!

it is very obvious that you only pasted the negitive as seen by your angeda, as has happened in the past!

ONCE AGAIN DIS qusting prove it or hit the road!!!!

every post you make anymore is just degrading your self lower and lower

POST PROOF OR say BYE BYE

any credibility you may have had is leaving every second, and that sure as heck will not further yoyr agenda of spreading HATE and the folks at L.I.F.D. won't like that might lose a paycheck
 

memanpa

Well-known member
Disagreeable said:
memanpa said:
HEY DIS loyal
if you want to cut and paste articles that is fine but PASTE the entire thing not just what fits you agenda! it just proves that you are trying to spread more DIS information

``I was patriotic before Sept. 11 happened," said Fountaine, a 2000 graduate of Whitman-Hanson Regional High School. ``It doesn't take a tragedy to make me realize I'm proud to be an American."

i didn't see that in your paste
or this

During his first deployment, Fountaine said, his unit routinely came under attack from mortars and rifle fire. But he volunteered for mission after dangerous mission, he said. Although the potential for death or injury was everywhere, he added: ``I accepted the fact that I was a soldier. And I expected this to happen, either a loss of limb or a loss of life."

OR THIS

Despite his reservations about the course of the war, Fountaine said he would return, if he could, to serve the remainder of his tour with the First Brigade Combat Team of the Fourth Infantry Division. The bonds forged in war between soldiers, he said, are reason enough to sacrifice one's life and limbs for the good of the unit.

``Those guys over there are my family just as much as that guy over there is my father," Fountaine said. ``I wish I could have stayed there, and I wish I could come home with them."

OR THIS
Despite the incessant drumbeat of bad news, Fountaine said there are small positives that occur every day in Iraq, whether soccer games between soldiers and children or offers of water to thirsty farmers.

``Regardless of everything that's going on and the anger you may have," Fountaine said of the war, ``. . . just know it's a lot of regular guys, just like you, who have volunteered to serve their country."


I still await your PROOF i called any soldier, airman,nave personell national gaurd person a coward, or did i say at any time that they did not know what they were talking about,
I DID say YOU were clueless, but we ALL knew that before i brought it up!

NOW PROVE me wrong or hit the road,


[/b]

Liar. You're pitiful to the core. I posted the link to the entire article; I encouraged everyone to read the entire article. I didn't selectively paste what I wanted to be read. :roll:

This young man would go back and serve. But he's now wondering if the whole thing isn't a mistake. While you bash me because of what I post and say it hurts morale, this young man knows what they're going through and still speaks out. Chuck Hagel speaks out, John Murtha speaks out, top generals in this country speak out. This war has gone very, very bad. Denying it, blaming it on the press or the nay sayers won't make it any better. Get our troops out now. They'll come out, hopefully by the end of the year. The only question is how many will needelessly die before that happens. You can't come up with a scenero that will allow them to come home, yet you say it's not time. Tell me when? Saddam is gone, they had an interim government, they have a constitution, they have an elected government. What else do you expect these fine fighting men to do? You don't answer that question, nor will George W. Bush or Donald Rumsfeld. The Iraqi elected government won't even denouce terrorism! If they won't denouce terrorism while they've got 130,000 US troops on their soil, what do you think the odds are that they'll denounce it when we're gone. How many of those American trained troops will Israel face in the next few years? How many will our own troops face as we support Israel? Bush has made a terrible mess in the Middle East. Blaming me won't change that.

DIS where did you encourage anyone to read about this young man!


YOU cut and pasted exactally what you thought you could get by with and now you are caught in DIS INFORMATION which is exactly what the enemy wants!.

proof i called any one of our fighting men a coward!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
prove i am a liar!!!!!!!!!!
do it or pull a DISAPPEARING act!
YES i did call you a coward for not addressing my questions!
and i will again! prove what you slanderously claim.
 

Faster horses

Well-known member
By the way Dis. Since you started this thread, here is something that should finish it up. This is from Fox News, Bill O'Reilly Show.

Back of Book Segment
The ordeal of Sgt. Brian Fontaine
Guests: Sgt. Brian Fontaine & Fox News analyst Marvin Kalb

The Factor described The Boston Globe's portrayal of a wounded soldier for its article "A Soldier Maimed by War now Questions the Mission." "Sergeant Brian Fountaine, from Dorchester, Massachusetts, was wounded in Iraq, lost both legs below the knee and is currently recovering at Walter Reed Hospital. In an article for the Globe, reporter Brian MacQuarrie wrote, quote, "In Fountaine's view, troop morale has plummeted, suicide has increased, and the sacrifices being made in American blood and treasure suddenly seem questionable," unquote." Fountaine appeared on the Factor to dispute the Globe's interpretation of his story: "I told them what I thought. And I think he just spun it way out of control. And he put it to his newspaper's point of view, which I did not know was anti-war at the time. I mean, it just makes it sound like I'm against the war and I'm against everything that's going on over there, which isn't true." FNC analyst Marvin Kalb had this to say: "My understanding was Fountaine objected to the photograph that was used and to the headline but he told me that all of the quotes are accurate. It is simply the way in which the story is presented. Every story is the result of a reporter's instinct." The Factor responded: "Here's the mistake. The New York Times and the Boston Globe are not serving the American people. This reporter is anti-war. He injected his point of view into what should have been a hard news story."
 

Econ101

Well-known member
Faster, you brought up a good point. What we see in the media often has a slant given to it that just may not be there.

The example is the quote from the reporter, not the soldier:
In an article for the Globe, reporter Brian MacQuarrie wrote, quote, "In Fountaine's view, troop morale has plummeted, suicide has increased, and the sacrifices being made in American blood and treasure suddenly seem questionable," unquote."

This reporter is anti-war. He injected his point of view into what should have been a hard news story.

The only problem with this argument, is that is exactly what Fox does all the time.

Our news media is something to be desired. It is shallow and not in depth. Much of it comes to us through the bias of the reporter---the bias is okay, as long as it is not the news and is understood as such.
 

Faster horses

Well-known member
In my opinion, FOX NEWS tries to balance out the far-leanings to the left of the other news media. Why do you think it is #1 watched news network? I'm sick and tired of the huge slant put out by others. It is
de-moralizing to say the least. I'll take Fox News anytime.
 

Cal

Well-known member
Good job FH! I saw this young man on O'Reilly last night. He said they used the picture of him that he didn't approve of, and was taken totally out of context...par for the course.
 

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