The commander told them to ‘stand down’
To the editor:
I am an American veteran. I joined the service and swore an oath to defend this country against its enemies. Our code of conduct in the face of danger or in a firefight is to defend our post at all times, never leave a fallen soldier behind, and if we have to give our life for our country, so be it.
We were told that our fellow soldiers were under attack in Benghazi. They needed help, they were outnumbered. We were 90 minutes away. Our commander-in-chief, Barack Obama, and his aides told us to stand down. They watched on live video as our ambassador and the few soldiers trying to defend this consulate were murdered. They sat, doing nothing to stop this slaughter.
I ask you, fellow Americans, how can I fight to defend this country when our commander-in-chief will not watch our backs, will let us die in combat just because he does not want to offend the Muslim community? Where is his allegiance? I have lost respect for him. How can I trust the commanders in battle knowing that backup help may not be there when needed? We could have helped. We were ready to go into harm's way.
For this president to sit and watch our fellow Americans give their lives defending our consulate is cowardly.
SAM SCALETTA
HENDERSON
'Bump in the road'?
To the editor:
What are we to think of a president who sits in the Situation Room in the White House, watching what was going on in Benghazi as the attack was being shown, and refuses, not once but three times, permission to send in security help?
Wouldn't you think these killings of our ambassador and three more Americans were more than, as he called it, "a bump in the road"?
Others must have been told to call it a spontaneous attack caused by an offensive video, all the while knowing the truth.
R. ANDERS
HENDERSON
Muslim pals
To the editor:
The apathy of Americans is disgraceful. Not one word has been said about the highly touted "rapid deployment" forces that were formed, years ago, to immediately handle, anywhere in the world, situations like the one that developed in Libya.
Why did President Obama refuse to deploy this rapid deployment force, despite repeated pleas to do so, as the American consulate and its personnel were under a terrorist attack?
Could it have been because the Muslim insurgents attacking America and its consulate, killing Americans, were the same Muslim insurgents he had funded, furnished weapons and provided air cover to overthrow the Libyan government in the first place?
There is no other reason. There is a Muslim in the White House, as Madonna reminded us, who also withdrew U.S. support from a pro-American Egyptian government, then gave more than a billion dollars to the anti-American Muslim Brotherhood, who then took control of Egypt and allied itself with terrorist Iran, which is becoming the dominant power in the Muslim Middle East.
Why is Mr. Obama negotiating with the IMF to give the anti-American Muslim Brotherhood another $4.8 billion?
ALBERT WENGERT
BOULDER CITY
Willful
To the editor:
I want to commend the Review-Journal editorial writers for the Nov. 1 editorial "Benghazi blunder." It was an excellent, hard-hitting account of a shameful performance by our current administration. Benghazi has provoked much anger not only against the administration, but against most of the mainstream media that want to protect the "unworthy commander in chief," in your words.
What got my attention were the words on the economy, citing "a perverse and willful attempt to destroy our prosperity." I've been saying this throughout President Obama's term. I read a lot of editorials and conservative commentary. Most seem to hesitate to state it as clearly as your editorial.
JIM MORRISON
LAS VEGAS
Stay positive
To the editor:
Last Wednesday we woke up after a long verbal attack on our values, those values that our forefathers fought for. Generations have been raised basking in the American sun of prosperity, rags to riches, dreams that become realities.
Today we have a new concern for the future of America's children. What can we do today to keep the American Dream alive and not fall prey to class warfare and revenge?
We must do what we and those before us have always done. We must get up, brush our teeth, wear something that makes us strong, maybe a pair of cowboy boots. We get our kids ready, we take a picture of the sun rising over the Rocky Mountains, Pacific Beach, wherever you live.
Be proud, work hard and laugh as much as we can. Politicians come and go and we must know our best days are still ahead. We shall keep the light burning in that shining city on the hill, we cannot give up for the futures that need America to be strong. Believe in yourself and each other and we will see the America we love become great again. It is a time to regroup and rebuild and take time to focus on all the good we provide to her every day.
God bless you and America.
MINDY McCOLLUM SLOVICK
LAS VEGAS
Inept GOP
To the editor:
Well, Republicans, you have finally succeeded in converting me from an active participant in the political process to someone who will remain on the sidelines. As I cannot vote for anyone associated with the dependency-taker party (Democrats), I was left with the Republicans.
Due to their ineptness, horrible campaigns and some miserable candidates (Bob Dole, John McCain and Mitt Romney to a lesser degree) I am now on the sidelines waiting for a party that will represent the makers. While I watch our beloved country fade into mediocrity and toward European socialism, which will certainly impact my grandchildren, you Republicans have become a waste of our time.
DOUGLAS MANOOKIAN
LAS VEGAS
Word of warning
To the Editor:
When you get down to the nitty-gritty, there is really only one overarching human right, and that is the right to not be killed or imprisoned arbitrarily.
No one owes you food, clothing or shelter just because you exist. No one owes you an education or student loans. No one owes you a job, retirement pay or health care just because you were born.
The government giveth and the government taketh away. So don't get too fond of the freebies, folks. It's best to have a contingency plan.
J. DALUGA
HENDERSON
