Theodore's World: Change Coming for U.S. Troops ~ Obama Visits Marines Met With Silence

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December 30, 2008

Change Coming for U.S. Troops ~ Obama Visits Marines Met With Silence


Barack Obama with US Marines in Kailua, Hawaii. Obama, on vacation in Hawaii, made a Christmas Day stop at a Marine Corps base in Hawaii, where he greeted troops and their family members during holiday dinner



They Know There's Something Wrong—Obama Visits Marines; Met With Silence

Move America Forward

by Catherine Moy


The election of Barack Obama as America’s next president has many of our troops confounded. Six out of 10 active service members are worried about Obama as commander in chief, according to a Military Times poll.


“Being that the Marine Corps can be sent anywhere in the world with the snap of his fingers, nobody has confidence in this guy as commander in chief,” said one lance corporal who asked not to be identified.

For eight years, members of the U.S. military have served under a Republican commander in chief who reflected their generally conservative views and led them to war in Afghanistan and Iraq.
Now, the troops face change not only at the very top of the chain of command, as Obama nears his Jan. 20 inauguration, but perhaps in mission, policy and values.
Underlying much of the uncertainty is Obama’s stated 16-month timetable for pulling combat troops out of Iraq, as well as his calls to end the “don’t ask, don’t tell” policy to allow gays to serve openly in the military, according to survey responses and interviews.
“How are you going to safely pull combat troops out of Iraq?” said Air Force 1st Lt. Rachel Kleinpeter, an intelligence officer with the 100th Operations Support Squadron at RAF Mildenhall, England. “And if you’re pulling out combat troops, who are you leaving to help support what’s left? What happens if Iraq falls back into chaos? Are we going to be there in five years doing the same thing over again?”

It is no surprise that U.S. troops are leery of change. President Bush is a veteran and his father was a war hero from WWII. Bush also shows great respect for the U.S. military, where as Obama has had a difficult time giving kudoss to American troops for the relative safety inside Iraq.

This video shows troops giving Obama a cool reception. It contrasts the excitement of American troops when President Bush visited them in Iraq.


Troops They Know There's Something Wrong


The troops are not alone in their trepidation of our president-elect.

Move America Forward just returned from Guantanamo Bay and, as I have described earlier, the hardcore terrorists live in cushy surroundings. Prisoners in American prisons would give their eye-tooth to go to Gitmo, which the media and leftists have branded as a torturous environment.

Mr. Obama wants to close gitmo - a huge mistake. If he does such a thing without going to Gitmo and visiting the prison facilities himself, he will act in a careless and dangerously uninformed way.

That is not change we can believe in.

Here is another video as well..................

Barack Obama visits Marines on Christmas; met with silence



Wild Thing's comment..........

I worry that the same Marxist candidate who chose to visit a gymnasium rather than our wounded troops in a European hospital (and his close friend, a terrorist who bombed the pentagon) will do what they can to undermine our military. I also think keeping Gates on as Sec Def was just a smokescreen to conceal things to come as far as Hussein’s real agenda, as well as a sure signal that Hussein simply needs him there, needs things to stay in place in that realm for the time being, because Hussein has not a shred of a microscopic clue at all how to handle military affairs and worldwide conflicts.

Obama is anti-American and has no respect for our military, he has proven that.


Posted by Wild Thing at December 30, 2008 02:55 AM


Comments

Well, the media played out everything Bush did was wrong or bad in some way, so the public believed it and now we have an extremely uneducated, untested and untrustworthy President to be. I understand how the military feels. They did the same thing with the Clintons. People need to remember that these terrorists have followed us home already and are chomping at the bit to do something heinous again. (and I was taught Islam was a religion of Peace--yeah, right!) Wonder how long it will be before those who voted him in turn on him, too?

Posted by: Lynn at December 30, 2008 04:13 AM


As a veteran, this does not surprise me. The troops are not stupid, they can smell a poser a mile away.

Posted by: Gothguy at December 30, 2008 10:03 AM


I'm even more prouder of our military now that they are reacting to that imposter who bodes them ill. Like Lynn has noted he showed his true colors during his campaign stops and by snubbing the wounded in Germany. A prime example of the religion of peace is being played out on the world stage in Gaza where once again the media is on the wrong side of history. Obama has ignored the atrocities perpetrated against our troops as they have been butchered if captured, don't forget also that on August 14, 2006, Fox Newsman Steve Centanni was kidnapped by Palestinian gunmen while on assignment in Gaza City, along with Olaf Wiig, a cameraman from New Zealand. During a time when the ragheads were beheading their captives, after being freed, Centanni stated "We were forced to convert to Islam at gunpoint and don't get me wrong here, I have the highest respect for Islam, and learned a lot of very good things about it, but it was something we felt we had to do, because they had the guns, and we didn't know what the hell was going on."

Quite a choice given for two neutral newsmen amidst the ragheads that were trying to give an honest and balanced account of the conflict. Convert or lose your heads.

Remember Daniel Pearl, at the time of his kidnapping, Pearl served as the South Asia Bureau Chief of the Wall Street Journal, stationed in Mumbai, India, and had been investigating the case of Richard Reid, the shoe bomber, and alleged links between Al Qaeda and Pakistan's Inter-Services Intelligence (ISI), for which he went to Pakistan, and was subsequently beheaded there. In March 2007, at a closed military hearing in Guantánamo Bay, Cuba, Khalid Sheikh Mohammed said that he had personally beheaded Pearl.

This is the type of people the Democrats rally in support of the bloody butchers and demand that they be removed from Guantánamo Bay. Muhammedan butchers that were captured on the battlefield by the very troops they dishonor in their BDS.

Fine, so be it, as long as they are quartered inside the homes of those zealots who do the demanding. How about in the kids bedroom with your own daughters, Barak and Michelle?

Posted by: Jack at December 30, 2008 10:08 AM


Reminds me of when billy jeff paid a visit to USS Theodore Roosevelt CVN71 shortly after he took office. The picture of the CINC being saluted by the Rainbow Sideboys. 8 young non-rates with really pained looks on their faces. A bud of mine was in VAQ141 onboard TR at the time and he said no one wanted to give billy jeff the time of day. Those of us from my generation know a useless, spineless commie socialist when we see one. Same goes for the annointed one.
The good thing is being on the permanent retired list. I can call him for what he is.

Posted by: Glenn M. Cassel AMH1(AW) USN RET at December 30, 2008 11:09 AM


The military at all levels is at the least unsure of Obama's competancy. At worst, they are worried about his intentions. Obama carries too much baggage from his past associations with Marxist radicals and his recent statements of degrading military capabilities(as in no war in space and no more anti missile funding).

The troops are not trusting Obama. They are going to be waiting to see what he does, how he handles matters regarding the military. If Obama negates the costly efforts and final success in Iraq, if he flounders in Afghanistan, if he preaches against the military, if he enacts massive defense cuts then he will find himself vilified by the military.

This is an all volunteer force now. An anti-military Obama can destroy it. There would be a shortage of new recruits and reenlistments and early retirements could make it a hollow force. Bad morale and lack of faith in the CinC could effect the efforts and efficiency of any needed deployment.

Obama has had a spectacular and fairly easy ride up to the White House. Reality now is about to set in. The world is dangerous. The world is a lot less manipulative and supportive than the Chicago machine that brought Obama here. Obama may find the rest of the world tossing his ass under the bus and he may discover that it is in his best interest to have a strong, motivated military.

Posted by: TomR at December 30, 2008 11:27 AM


LMAO!!!!!!!! What did he expect? That the same men and women he has critisized and crapped on would jump up and greet him with open arms?!?!?!!

Obama (yuk.....hate saying that name!!) doesn't have a clue and the sad part is.....HE DOESN'T KNOW HE DOESN'T HAVE A CLUE!!!! He isn't fit to even clean their shoes let alone be their CINC!!!! So sad!!! And it is only going to get worse.

He will never gain the respect of these outstanding men and women of the armed services until he can learn to show respect!!! With Michelle at his side, that is never going to happen. And with the stupid cabinet members he has picked, the military is royally screwed!!!

A wise man once said: "People don't care how much you know or care until they KNOW how much you care about them". Obama has already made it pretty clear how much he DOESN'T care about our military!!! So why should they care about him?!

Posted by: John at December 30, 2008 11:40 AM


Chronic complainer and anti-military candidate Barack Obama for the first time in his life has the real responsibility and ability to act on his words and campaign promises to demonstrate how sincere he was/is. Will he prematurely withdraw all combat troops from Iraq in 16 months? Will he cut the military budget by 25% including new weapons systems? Will he support and defend the troops when attacked by Congress, radical left wing liberals and the MSM or will he throw the troops under the bus as he did when Senator and presidential candidate? Will Barack Hussein Obama earn the respect of the military or will he do the Obama shuffle of staged photo ops?

Posted by: Les at December 30, 2008 01:26 PM


Not to worry John, call him as I do, O'Vomit. I will never respect this 2 bit half breed commie hack and I gotta think our wonderful people in uniform will feel the same way.

Posted by: cuchieddie at December 30, 2008 03:48 PM


Slick Willie was despised by a lot of us in uniform, but we loved Ronald Reagan and Bush #41! Believe it or not, on our Air Force Base, there's a lot of minorities and liberals that despise the GOP and we see it in their actions, gestures, body language, attitudes, and the way they disgrace their military dress and appearance! How ever, thank GOD for our US MARINES!

Posted by: darthcrUSAderworldtour07 at December 30, 2008 05:34 PM


Dang good thing I was not there. I would have stood to attention, then turn my back on him. (Farting, if possible)

This dip-shitte IS NOT President of the USA...never will be.

Posted by: Steve Gaston, Extreme Marine at December 30, 2008 05:38 PM


He says that we are not just "Bitter Americans clinging to our Guns and Religion" but also that all we do is "Air raid villages and kill civilians." He says that and then people wonder why he got such a cold reception. Those Marines just proved that true Americans are above the opposition to Bush. We are not as nasty as the left. We give respect even when respect isn't due.

Posted by: JohnE PFC U.S. Army at December 30, 2008 06:26 PM


Lynn, your right, the terrorists are not done and never will be. Only taking them out keeps them from doing more harm.
LOL Obama must have had his eyes bulging open when he was shown the things Bush had to tell him about regarding this stuff.haha

Posted by: Wild Thing at December 30, 2008 07:38 PM


Hi Gothguy, yes they sure can. They won't forget the things he said about them during his campaign, that's for sure.

Posted by: Wild Thing at December 30, 2008 07:40 PM


Jack,excellent point thank you.

Posted by: Wild Thing at December 30, 2008 07:44 PM


Glenn M. Cassel AMH1(AW) USN RET, thank you for sharing about that with billy jeff. Yes there are a lot of similarities.

I love our military and they are very wise and see through the baloney of a person. And your right too, they know who support them and who don't.

Posted by: Wild Thing at December 30, 2008 07:49 PM


Tom, well said......

"The world is dangerous. The world is a lot less manipulative and supportive than the Chicago machine that brought Obama here."......


He will find out soon it is not Chicago. Chicago is Disneyland compared to what the terrorists are doing around the world and especially in the USA. When I look at the live feed map of hot spots and things happening, just threats most of them but every day in so many States something is being stopped. It is full time.

Posted by: Wild Thing at December 30, 2008 07:53 PM


John, hahahaa it is really funny isn't it. LOL

I love in the video's too how slowly they would stand up and only because they had to.

Posted by: Wild Thing at December 30, 2008 07:55 PM


Les, it will be 99% staged photo ops.

LOL I was thinking of how much Obama complains and how much our troops put up with stuff. He would not last one hour going through what they have to do or put up with.

Posted by: Wild Thing at December 30, 2008 07:58 PM


cuchieddie, I think it is funny how that one soldier with his back to Obama just keeps eating and does not turn around at all. hahahahhaaha

Posted by: Wild Thing at December 30, 2008 08:00 PM


Darth, that would have been awesome to serve when Reagan was in office.

Posted by: Wild Thing at December 30, 2008 08:03 PM


Steve Gaston, Extreme Marine, LOL I LOVE your comment.

(((hug ))

Posted by: Wild Thing at December 30, 2008 08:05 PM


JohnE PFC U.S. Army, big difference your right.

Those Marines were not thrilled, but they knew what they had to do.

Posted by: Wild Thing at December 30, 2008 08:07 PM


JohnE PFC U.S. Army, big difference your right.

Those Marines were not thrilled, but they knew what they had to do.

Posted by: Wild Thing at December 30, 2008 08:08 PM


PS: WT and Team Theodore,
I served from 1976-1997 and here's my Commander-In-Chief scorecard:
1976-1981: Defeatocrat Peanuts Carter - LOSER!
1981-1989: Ronald 'Dutch' Reagan - WINNER!
1989-1992: BUSH #41 - WINNER!
1992-1997 (Retired): Slick Willie Clinton - 666!

Posted by: darthcrUSAderworldtour07 at December 30, 2008 09:45 PM


Darth, thank you, I agree with your labels on these.

Posted by: Wild Thing at December 31, 2008 01:12 AM


Someone help me remember who it was - Hillary, maybe? - that had the photo op with some of our fine servicemen and one of the men had his fingers crossed - or did something with his hand - to show that he was smiling and acting "happy to just be there" under duress...

I hope we see MANY of those kinds of photos with the a$$-clown thug that just got elected.

Posted by: BT in SA at December 31, 2008 04:14 AM


Hi BT in SA, you are right it is Hillary.
Here the photo. It is a large size so the fingers crossed are easy to see. giggle I agree I hope we see a lot of this with the thug. haha

http://www.theodoresworld.net/pics/1208/largesizephotoHillarysoldiercrossedfingersImage1.jpg

Posted by: Wild Thing at December 31, 2008 07:10 AM