Kulongoski in Iraq
Kari Chisholm
At the O, Jeff Mapes reports that Governor Ted Kulongoski arrived in Iraq yesterday to visit with Oregon troops. Despite being in a combat zone, Kulongoski told reporters that the troops are concerned with how things will go when they arrive home:
Kulongoski said in a conference call with reporters that morale was high among the Oregon National Guard soldiers he has met so far. But he said several expressed concern about what would be facing them economically when they return home in the spring. Nearly 3,000 members of the 41st Infantry Brigade Combat Team, headquartered in Tigard, are now deployed in Iraq. ...Kulongoski said he supported Oregon Sen. Ron Wyden's "soft landing" proposal that would allow soldiers deployed in a war zone to stay in the active military - and on the federal payroll - for 90 days after returning home.
"They worry about jobs," he said, either if they can find one or if the job they did have will still be there when they get back. Now, the governor said, they only have about two weeks to muster out of the military when returning.
One of the terrible ironies of recent history is that the Bush Administration was so gung-ho about sending our troops overseas to fight and die for their country - and so unwilling to make sure that they had the gear they needed to fight and the services they needed when they came home.
It's almost like no one in the Bush administration had any experience with being a veteran returning home from war.
Oh, right.
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12:48 p.m.
Nov 10, '09
An economy that wasn't in the toilet would have probably been nice to return to, as well. Of course, it's kind of hard to blow tens of billions of dollars a month on wars overseas and expect any type of improvement in the economy.
Nov 10, '09
"It's almost like no one in the Bush administration had any experience with being a veteran returning home from war. "
The senior officials in the Bush Administration should be in The Hague just now for their roles in the Iraq war. So should several Democrats.
Nov 10, '09
Of course, let's blame Bush.
2:34 p.m.
Nov 10, '09
I like Governor Kulongoski’s concern for our soldiers in Iraq (and Afghanistan). He is right to honor them as they die and as they serve, and to be concerned about the welfare of the living when they return. I give him high marks for his concern and attention.
But his concerns have had a very traditional focus. He has avoided, IMHO, a significant national security responsibility as governor. He has avoided giving our soldiers the foreign language skills needed for counterinsurgency and nation building in Iraq and Afghanistan. For example, see my blog post “Marines studying Dari, Pashto & Urdu.”
Further, he has also avoided preparing our next generations for the challenges that China will pose. China, recall, is forecast to have an economy twice the size of the US in 2050. They will also have a modernized military to match. Students in Oregon schools today will face a formidable China in their mid-careers. Preparing them now is a responsibility of our Governor (and other educational leaders). Governor Kulongoski has done nothing (to my knowledge) to support legislation in the past two legislative sessions that would have increased Mandarin programs in Oregon (both K-12 and higher ed) and that would have created a Go Global High School Study Abroad Program to send high school students to China. On these issues, Governor Kulongoski has been missing in action.
3:31 p.m.
Nov 10, '09
Of course, let's blame Bush.
Who else you gonna blame? It was his war.
Nov 10, '09
No, it wasn't Bush's war, it was the damn Saddam Hussein and his secret support of the World Trade Center attack that MADE us invade. I thought everyone knew that.
As for Kulongoski and all those other politico stuffed shirts visiting Iraq, I'd like one of them to have the honesty to tell us what George Romney told us after his trip to Vietnam in 1967: "I was brainwashed". But I guess that will have to be deferred a bit and the venue shifted to Afghanistan.
Nov 10, '09
"Of course, let's blame Bush. "
And all his accomplices: His administration, everyone in Congress who gave him authority to go to war, the military-industrial complex, the mainstream media, and the gullible public who went along with the whole pack of lies.
Nov 10, '09
Sounds too me like our soliders are worried about coming back to no jobs as usual Oregon, thanks to years and years of Democrat rule obviously.
Unfortunately, War is good for our economy as most of the stuff used is actually still made in America silly.
and those are government contracts, the only job growth you knuckleheads support/promote.
I see our DHS grew its budget by over 30% recently, maybe our soldiers can get a Govt job handing out stuff to Illegal aliens and American workers displaced by their cheaper labor then.
Nov 10, '09
"It's almost like no one in the Bush administration had any experience with being a veteran returning home from war."
But they are no slouches when it comes to wheeling and dealing to take care of themselves.
Nov 10, '09
Corvallis protest on AlJazeera
Nov 10, '09
Funny that the right bitches about spending $90B on health care for Americans but not one word about the $680B defense approp bill recently signed. It doesn't even include the spending on the Bush Wars.
Priorities I guess.
Nov 10, '09
Just imagine how a President Kulongoski would have handled 911.
Nov 10, '09
hey how about and where is kulongoskis same concern for all of the unemployed in oregon?
Nov 10, '09
Our Governor has backed our troops 100%, and he has done so 100% of the time.
As Veteran's Day commences, I thank him 100 times over. I'm proud that he represents us with his experience, passion and grace.
Nov 11, '09
Posted by: Richard | Nov 10, 2009 8:25:18 PM
Just imagine how a President Kulongoski would have handled 911.
Never quite understood how attacking our basic freedoms was "handling 9/11".
Other than that, what did he do? Never did deal with the Taliban. You'll have to use your Rush induced trance to help me visualize, but how could K have done worse?
Guess it's comes to debating degrees of pitiful with the right. Life is so cheap.
Nov 11, '09
matthew, not to worry, I suspect they have a cunning plan. Seen what the suicide rate among OR unemployed is? We're taking care of the prob ourselves. Unemployed for four years, I'm going to be 50 next month. Not going to do anything drastic, but I can tell you I don't hope to see another one!
Nov 11, '09
That's right, Richard, imagine how a President K or a President Gore would have dealt with 911. Demonizing all dissent as treasonous? Gross assault on our civil liberties? Concocting a tissue of lies about Iraq to justify an invasion? Sharing the neocons' wet dream about the New American Century?
Nov 11, '09
I see our DHS grew its budget by over 30% recently, maybe our soldiers can get a Govt job handing out stuff to Illegal aliens and American workers displaced by their cheaper labor then.
In the actually existing world ...[t]he result for DHS is a proposed budget that is expected to fall 16.6 percent below the amount needed to maintain existing service levels for the growing number of people requesting assistance.
But WTF, yeah, I know that "handing out stuff to Illegal aliens" is a booming business, personally directed by Michelle Obama in her spare moments when she is not teaching her children to hate America and scheming with B. Hussein to nullify US sovereignty and create a North American Union to be ruled by The People Formerly Known as Mexicans.
Nov 11, '09
Rep. Buckley is absolutely correct. I disagree with 90 % of the decision that come from Mahonia Hall but the grace and respect that he has continuously shown Oregonian's service men and women (and their families during the darkest of hours) should be applauded by us all.
Nov 11, '09
I disagree with 90 % of the decision that come from Mahonia Hall but the grace and respect that he has continuously shown Oregonian's service men and women (and their families during the darkest of hours) should be applauded by us all.
Gee, I wonder why politicos cater to family religion and military? He has been supportive. Can't see why the homeless are any less deserving, though...
Nov 11, '09
Rep. Buckley, was it Kulongoski's "experience, passion and grace" that led him to declare his wholehearted support of the Iraq debacle, and that George Bush was his commander-in-chief? Or that led him to be used in a White House photo-op promoting "bi-partisan" support of the war? Or that led him to turn against the war only after the occupation went horribly wrong? Or was it just that special blend of ignorance and spinelessness we've come to expect from our governor? There ought to be a special place in hell for liberal hawks like Kulongoski who supported the war at a time when dissent from those in leadership positions might have stopped this tragedy.
Nov 11, '09
Jason "Of course, let's blame Bush."
You have the following blame options...
A. Bush B. Cheney
Those are the only potential truthful blame options one has to chose from. Anything else is lies.
Nov 13, '09
Posted by: Adam503 | Nov 11, 2009 1:29:31 PM
Jason "Of course, let's blame Bush."
You have the following blame options...
A. Bush B. Cheney
Those are the only potential truthful blame options one has to chose from. Anything else is lies.
Ever heard,
You have the following options to discribe Obama...
A. Socialist B. Islamofascist
Those are the only potential truthful options one has to chose from. Anything else is lies. ?
It's a defense mechanism. It's called projection. It's used to deal with insecurities...like your cocktail weenie peenie!
Nov 15, '09
So I waited the week, to see, and no one has addressed how his going there helps anything. He stood for all those issues before. Getting around censorship? Communicating sweet nothings from family?
How much more important is Measure 66/67? Do you honestly think this doesn't hurt that?
Nov 16, '09