Obama lays wreath at Arlington for Memorial Day
President Barack Obama, center, with Maj. Gen. Michael S. Linnington, left, Commander of the U.S. Army Military District of Washington, during a wreath-laying ceremony at the Tomb of the Unknowns at Arlington National Cemetery on Memorial Day, Monday, May 28, 2012, in Arlington, Va. (AP Photo/Pablo Martinez Monsivais)
/ Pablo Martinez MonsivaisUPDATED 3:11 p.m. ET
(CBS News) President Obama on Monday paid tribute to missing and fallen U.S. forces, laying a wreath at the Tomb of the Unknown Soldier and marking the 50th anniversary of the Vietnam war at the Vietnam Veterans Memorial.
"They rest here, together, side by side, row by row, because each of them love this country, and everything it stands for, more than life itself," Mr. Obama said in his remarks at Arlington National Cemetery.
"Today we come together as Americans to pray, to reflect and to remember these heroes, but tomorrow this hallowed place will once again belong to a smaller group of visitors who make their way through the gates and across these fields, in the heat and in the cold, in the rain and the snow, following a well-worn path to a certain spot and kneeling in front of a familiar headstone. You are the family and friends of the fallen," Mr. Obama said.
Originally known as Decoration Day, Memorial Day is an annual celebration often celebrated with backyard barbecues that is intended to give Americans a chance to remember the sacrifices made by those who have served in the American military.
The Vietnam Memorial event was billed as the start of a 13-year program to mark the 50th anniversary of the war in which 58,000 soldiers, sailors and airmen died before the war's end in 1975.
"You looked after one another. You cared for one another," Mr Obama told the assembled crowed, which included Vietnam veterans.
"Just as importantly, you didn't just take care of your own. You cared for those that followed. You made it your mission to make sure today's troops get the respect and support that all too often you did not receive," he added.
"Because of you, across America, communities have welcomed home our forces from Iraq. And when our troops return from Afghanistan, America will give this entire 911 generation the welcome home they deserve," he told the Vietnam veterans.
Mr. Obama's Republican rival for the White House, Mitt Romney, made remarks in San Diego with Arizona Sen. John McCain, a decorated war hero who lost to Mr. Obama four years ago.
Romney marks Memorial Day with call for continued military strengthThe race between Mr. Obama and Romney marks the first time in modern presidential politics that neither of the two main candidates for president have served in the military.
Mr. Obama noted that the war in Iraq is over and the war in Afghanistan is "winding down."
"This Memorial Day, we mark another milestone. For the first time in nine years, Americans are not fighting and dying in Iraq. We are winding down the war in Afghanistan, and our troops will continue to come home. After a decade under the dark cloud of war, we can see the light of a new day on the horizon," Mr. Obama said at Arlington.
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In the Mexican-American War, there were intense anti-war sentiments against President James Polk, a Democrat from North Carolina and the Democratic Congress. On the opposite side was the Whig party supported by freshman congressman from Illinois Abraham Lincoln.
It is time we remember and celebrate great American generals like Zachary Taylor (12th US President) and Winfield Scott (conqueror of Mexico and master strategist of the Anaconda Plan for the following Civil War). Every general serving in the US Civil War earned their experience from the Mexican-American War.
The Mexican-American War was the only war where there was a high number of US casualties compared to the relative population, according to one historian.
In the future, I would like to hear more of the Mexican-American War from future presidents and Congress. I would like high school and college students to have expert knowledge on this war.
The Mexican-American War is the most important war in US history as it resulted in the addition of 2 large states into the Union-Texas and California. With the completion of that war, the United State achieved its dream of Manifest Destiny and of a 2 ocean nation. Yet, year after year on Memorial Day, we keep on talking about useless wars in Vietnam, in Afghanistan, and in Iraq. What have these wars brought to this country but bankruptcy, shame and, bitterness?
A couple years ago he eliminated the National day of prayer initiated originally by President Truman.
Then he turns around and initiates a Muslim Day of Prayer which he attended.
In his speech at Arlington he encouraged people to pray for the fallen and their families as well as for those still in combat.
Obama is a very good orator, and he reads the words on his teleprompter very well.
But I think the public need to be reminded again that he does not write these speeches.
He has a very talented group of writers who know just what Americans want to hear; so the next time you espousing a load of BS; keep in mind it's just his voice and not HIS words.
As we pass this grim new milestone, the fate of the war remains unclear. Obama's troop drawdown is expected to leave twice as many American soldiers in Afghanistan by the end of 2012 than when he started his presidency, while a large majority of Americans want the war to end.
This casualties are around a third of who died in 8 years under Bush.
Obama against the wars but continued them and was supposed to end them. That is the what makes Obama worse than Bush.
Obama is a hypocrite and so are his defenders.
1,002 U.S. Troops Have Died In Afghanistan Under Obama; 2/3 Of Fatalities Under This President
By Zaid Jilani on Jul 9, 2011 at 5:15 pm
This past Thursday, on July 7, 2011, U.S. war deaths in Afghanistan hit a grim milestone. On that day, the thousandth American soldier died serving in Afghanistan under the presidency of Barack Obama. According to the web database icasualties.org, there have been 1,002 troop deaths in Afghanistan under President Obama so far.
As the foreign policy advocacy group Just Foreign Policy notes, not only have the vast majority of troop deaths in Afghanistan now occurred under Obama's watch — 2/3 of U.S. soldiers have fallen under the current president — but these deaths are occurring at an accelerated rate, given that the Obama administration has only managed the war for a quarter of its duration:
On July 7, 2011, U.S. troop deaths from the war in Afghanistan since President Obama took office reached 1,000. That means that nearly two-thirds of the U.S. fatalities in the war in Afghanistan have occurred during the Obama administration, which has managed the war for a mere quarter of its duration.
These Americans are not merely statistics. Each fallen soldier leaves behind loved ones and a community devastated by their loss. Take the case of 28-year old Army Staff Seargant Josh Throckmorton, who was killed this past Tuesday. Throckmorton served both in Iraq and Afghanistan, and in his death he will leave behind a wife and three children. Local news station
When obama does it he has EVERY media outlet. What an affront to Americans.
Even his killing of Bin Laden, that he touts so frequently, was an inconvenience. Just prior to the PHOTO OP, he was golfing. Real concerned.
You are clueless as usual.
Put this in your pipe and smome it MoronBishop!
US Troop Deaths in Afghan War Under Obama Now Twice That Under Bush
Submitted by Megan Iorio on 17 October 2011 - 4:07pm
This weekend marked a new milestone for the war in Afghanistan: the number of US troops killed in the war since President Obama took office is now twice the number that were killed during Bush's term, according to icasualties.org and our US Troops in Afghanistan: Obama vs Bush web counter. That means that two-thirds of the total US troop deaths have occurred in the last two years and eight months, which accounts for roughly a third of the duration of the war to date.
1728 US troops have died in Afghanistan since October 7, 2001, with 1153 of those deaths having occurred since President Obama's inauguration. 575 US troops died in Afghanistan during President Bush's term in office.
We've all heard the argument before: Bush ignored Afghanistan, Obama did what he promised by escalating the war, and since more troops means more deaths, we shouldn't be surprised by the increased death rate.
Back in June, when US deaths in Afghanistan under Obama reached 1000, I wrote a piece about this argument. I'm not going to address it further here, because there are more pressing issues of concern than looking to the past.
Just weeks before US troop deaths under Obama hit 1000, the President announced his strategy for a troop drawdown in Afghanistan. In this speech, he outlined a proposal for removing 10,000 troops at the end of this summer, with 23,000 more following at the end of next summer. After that, troops will "continue coming home at a steady pace as Afghan security forces move into the lead. Our mission will change from combat to support. By 2014, this process of transition will be complete, and the Afghan people will be responsible for their own security."
What many Americans inferred from this passage was that all US troops will be out of Afghanistan by 2014. This is quite understandable, and was perhaps the intention of the passage. To say that, by 2014, "the transition will be complete" and "the Afghan people will be responsible for their own security" seems to suggest little or no role for the US military.
Unfortunately, this inference is invalid. The key statement here is that "our mission will change from combat to support." It is this transition that will be completed by 2014 and not the transition out of Afghanistan. That means that there is still no deadline for the full withdrawal of US troops from Afghanistan.
Furthermore, if the Pentagon gets its way, it will be a long time before our military leaves Afghanistan. In August, the Telegraph reported that the Pentagon was in negotiations with the Afghan government to leave 25,000 US troops in Afghanistan until at least 2024. Just to give you a little context: there were 25,000 US troops in Afghanistan in 2007. So, a drawdown to 25,000 troops by 2014 would merely be a return to 2007 troop levels. Funny thing that a support mission would require just as many troops as a combat mission!
Guess you forgot about the surge in Iraq, how many were killed there under Bush. Bush forgot about Afghanistan, while waging his vendetta against Saddam, which was all that war was about.
What you can't stand the truth, about an un American that could care less about the military. Someone who wants to start wars as long as he or his family don't have to fight them.
Tell that to the men and women and their families that fought and sacrificed and many that paid the ultimate price for your freedom.
You are a coward and you disgust all of us who are grateful for our freedom they provided us with.