Iraq

Cpl. Samantha D. Cross has just returned from a 12-month tour of duty in Iraq where she served with convoy security. Her photo has been added the Veterans window at Nicholasville Baptist Church. She is a member of the church and routinely brings nine to 14 children and youth to Sunday morning services.

Dear Editor, I saw the latest AP wire. It said there was another terrorist video. In that video, Ayman al-Zawahiri, Al Qaeda's No. 2 man, claims that, with all the homicide bombings, Al Qaeda has "broken the back" of the United States military in Iraq! Hmmm... Oh, you mean the Al Qaeda that has absolutely no connection with Iraq? Wow... Those guys are really talented to have no connection and yet still do all that damage. Melissa Thompson Liberty

The Bush administration is being understandably quiet about the explosion of a nerve gas-filled artillery shell over the weekend in Iraq. The administration is right to be cautious because the favorite cause of Iraq war critics has been the allegation that President Bush lied about Saddam Hussein's arsenal of weapons of mass destruction. Right now, U.S. officials are more concerned about the threat the sarin-laden bomb presents to our soldiers in Iraq than making a point against critics of the war. Since the artillery shell was not labeled as containing nerve gas, it raises the question of whether thousands of others might also have been mislabeled to fool United Nations weapons inspectors.

Dear Editor: To start off, I would like to say "Hi" to all the people in my hometown of Danville. I would like to say thank you to all of the people who showed support for all of us troops in Iraq. We have been here for a while and hopefully we will be coming home soon. I would like to say thank you to my mother, Doris Provence, and my father, Pat Provence, and also to my brothers, John Watts, Chris Watts and James Shearer, and my wife, Rebecca Watts, and two daughters, Brittany Watts and Kristin Newby, and my family for being there for me showing support.

Pvt. Christopher S. Carl, of the United States Army, has been deployed to an undisclosed location in Iraq. Carl, an infantryman in the 3rd ID of Ft. Stewart, Ga. will be serving as part of a special troops battalion. He has served in the Army since June 2006. He is the son of Gerald and Barbie Abney, the husband of Elizabeth Carl, the brother of Elisha Newmyer, Angela and Matthew Abney and his second family, Casey and Melanie Miester and their children Karl, Jess and Trish.

WASHINGTON - The problem with the debate over our future course in Iraq is that the two sides are not even talking about the same things. For supporters of the war, the primary issue is Iraq itself and what happens if we leave. For the war's opponents, the focus is on how the conflict in Iraq is sapping our energies, weakening our military, and diverting our attention from our other interests in the world. The bottom line of the testimony this week from Gen. David Petraeus and Ambassador Ryan Crocker is that even after the surge, what gains have been made in Iraq are, as Petraeus put it, "fragile and reversible.

WASHINGTON - Quietly, the real debate over Iraq is beginning. It's not about whether the United States should pull out troops. That is now inevitable. The real challenge is to figure out the right timetable for withdrawal, whether a residual force should be left there, and which American objectives can still be salvaged. This is not the debate President Bush wants to have come September, when a slew of reports will be issued assessing the results of the troop surge. Already, the administration is preparing the ground for kicking the real choices into next year.

Dear Editor, No one that I know likes war, but it sometimes becomes necessary to engage in it. The war in Iraq is a different kind of war, one that we've never fought before. We are not fighting an enemy that is defined by any geographical boundaries or any national sovereignty. We can't bomb the cities and strategic infrastructures that would lead to negotiations and eventual conflict resolution, as has been done in previous wars. In short, we have very little on which to benchmark any actual progress.

Spc. Derick S. Hudson of the U.S. Army will be deploying on or around Oct. 8, from Fort Riley, Kan. In the past year, Derick's specialty has been field Artillery Tactical Data System. Derick will be home Sept. 13 through 20 on deployment leave. A farewell get-together and picnic in honor of Derick will be held on Sunday, Sept. 14 at 3:30 p.m. at the City County Park Shelter. All friends and relatives are invited to this event. Derick is the husband of Aubrie Hudson and the son of Ron and Debbie Hudson of Nicholasville.

Dear Editor, Maybe it's just me. They are talking about drafting a Constitution for Iraq. Why don't we just give them ours? It was written by a lot of really smart guys. It worked for us for over 200 years and we are not using it anymore. Frank Durham Danville

He has spent the last year in Kuwait and Iraq with the Kentucky National Guard. Now Mercer County native J.R. Dean is glad to be back home, especially in time to enjoy the high school and college football seasons. “It's the greatest feeling in the world to be back,” said Dean, who now lives in Danville. “We got back Saturday and just missed by four or five days being gone for a year. I would say, though, it was a great learning experience. You don't appreciate the little thing you have while you are here, but once they are taken away you have a greater appreciation for family and modern conveniences.

LANCASTER - Dozens of people from across the region came to a job fair Tuesday hoping to snag an electrical technician position in Iraq or Afghanistan that pays more than $100,000 a year. Sustainment Solutions, also known as SSI Worldwide, is based in Garrard County and has secured a contract that will send qualified workers overseas for a year. Workers must pass extensive security and medical clearances, said SSI Worldwide CEO Scott Shinn. Ideally, each hired worker will have a degree or equivalent experience in electronics.

For Sgt. Ian Howes, music was a way to escape and entertain troops while stationed at Joint Base Balad in Iraq. “It's been a huge outlet. You know you go crazy there, just the constant bombing and shooting, everything going on. You've got to have some kind of outlet: put your headphones on, or you have really close buddies,” said the 27-year-old Howes, who just returned to Winchester. “This time, I got my guitar over there, so I played for everybody. We didn't have the USO because everybody was getting out. ... We usually have stuff like that, but it was dead.

I finally had my blood pressure under control until I read Roger Bowman's recent letter to the editor. I served 21 years in the Air Force, 13 years of which we were at war under Democratic presidents. I have great respect for the office of president. I would never, as Mr. Bowman did, call the president an idiot, even when he is. Of course, Mr. Bowman was referring to G.W. Bush. The highest responsibility of any president is to protect the American people as Roosevelt and Truman, both Democrats, did during World War II. They used the full force of American power to end the war. We could end the Afghan war in a few days if our current president was willing to do that.

Rather than give Saturday's game ball to a player, Kentucky coach Joker Phillips elected to present it someone he felt was much more deserving for his performance one day before the 10-year anniversary of 9/11. Phillips said the wife of a U.S. Army soldier (Marcos Alaniz) stationed in Iraq came to the Kentucky¿football office to present him with a UK¿flag and plaque. He said the inscription, “This flag was flown in the enemy's face,” was something he really liked. “I had a chance to get on Skype, something (assistant coach)

Generations mark the passage of time by significant events. The oldest generation among us can recall Pearl Harbor or VJ-Day. Subsequent generations remember the assassinations of John and Robert Kennedy and Martin Luther King, Jr., and younger baby-boomers will recall where they were when they heard the Berlin Wall had fallen. All of these milestones marked the end of the world as the reminiscer knew it. The end of US neutrality in World War II, the end of Camelot or the end of the Cold War. What ended on 9-11, the newest milestone and a first  for our youngest generation was the end of our nation's immunity from terrorism.

Army Spec. Matthew A. Reho has deployed to Iraq to serve in support of Operation New Dawn, the formerly named Operation Iraqi Freedom. This transition signifies a formal end to U.S. military combat operations in Iraq. Operation New Dawn shifts the U.S. emphasis from predominantly military to predominately civilian as the U.S. officials assist Iraqis in accordance with the Strategic Framework Agreement. The three primary missions of U.S. forces include advising, assisting, and training the Iraqi Security Forces; conducting partnered counterterrorism operations; and providing support to provincial reconstruction teams and civilian partners as they help build Iraq's civil capacity.

Roger D. Bowman’s recent letter was “so on cue.” I was among the many who thought President Obama’s actions would be as sincere as his “great speeches.” Oh, how we can be swayed by a smooth tongue! Although registered a Democrat, I have always voted for the man, not the party. I guess we “baby boomers” were praying for a miracle. Well, we sure got something — but what? We stick our noses into everyone’s business, and then we stick our money and armed forces.

Mr. and Mrs. John Goggin of Danville are pleased to announce the engagement of their daughter, Katherine Lewis Goggin, to Andrew Wayde Banks, son of Mr. and Mrs. Stuart Banks of Springboro, Ohio. The bride-elect is the granddaughter of Walter Goggin of Danville, and the late Iris Goggin, and Mr. and Mrs. William Rosson, also of Danville. She is a student at Eastern Kentucky University, studying agriculture. Banks is the grandson of Mr. and Mrs. Earl Banks, of Franklin, Ohio, and Mr. and Mrs. Hubert Short, also of Franklin, Ohio.

The big fight in Washington is over the budget. What to cut and how to balance it. I have a suggestion that is sure to help. Get out of Afghanistan today. End that stupid, stupid war today. Get out of Iraq today. Don’t wait. These decade-long wars are proving to be impossible. We have spent $1 trillion in Iraq. We are spending $2 billion a week in Afghanistan. And where is the benefit to the United States? There is none. Still, we continue to wage these ridiculous wars. Why?