United States Marines are on the verge of exterminating the lawless thugs of Muqtada "Mookie" al Sadr today in Najaf. This is an advance for peace: there is nothing Arabs hate more than a loser, and once we demonstrate that Iranian-backed Islamists are losers, any support they enjoy will melt away.
To my brother Marines: I pray that God might give you safety and success. May your bullets strike home, and may the enemy lay down their arms, or else their lives. Let the name "Marine" continue to strike fear in the hearts of evil men.
UPDATE: This quotation is priceless. I wish I were in Najaf.
"We've pretty much just been patrolling and flying helicopters all over the place, and when we see something bad, we blow it up," said [Major] Holahan, executive officer of the 1st Battalion, 4th Marines Regiment.(full article)
To the U.S. Marines preparing for battle in Najaf: I ask St. Michael to be with you all. Good luck, good hunting, and Godspeed.
May God bless and keep the Marines and the citizens of Najaf.
Meanwhile, Eric, I don't know how you can get so excited about rampant violence.
Oh the humanity! (said with hands clasped to face)
Eric, I second that prayer. Some (democrat) members of my choir chastised me last spring for praying that our country's enemies be destroyed, but I pointed out how easy it was for them to be so SANCTIMONIOUS when decent men were laying down their lives half a world away.
That shut them up!
Nathan, the Marines are defending the legal authority of the Iraqi government against rebels whose only goal is to gain power for themselves. These thugs kill the innocent and if they ever held real power, they would kill many more.
There is no other way to deal with them, other than to fight them until they are dead or have surrendered. I wish that weren't true, but it is; I will thus pray that the Marines are successful.
Also, the Marines aren't using violence, they're using legitimate force. Violence is force with the intent to harm, whereas the Marines are using force with the intent of restoring justice, which is proper and right.
Eric:
That was the wrong answer. The right answer is:
"Chaplain Eric will tell you about how the free world will conquer terrorism with the aid of God and a few Marines! God has a hard-on for Marines because we kill everything we see! He plays His games, we play ours! To show our appreciation for so much power, we keep heaven packed with fresh souls! God was here before the Marine Corps! So you can give your heart to Jesus, but your ass belongs to the Corps!"
Praying "that our country's enemies be destroyed" has to be limited -- constrained to a sense that allows for their surrender, as Eric indicates in the comment above. Throw in their capture or conversion too as potential outcomes.
It is not licit for a Christian to wish to destroy a person. We can pray that our enemies be destroyed _as a source of danger_, but only that.
Even in using deadly force, we must not will to kill the man, but only to disable the power to attack.
Jonathan's fellow choir members were within their rights to be shocked. His complaint that they were "sanctimonious" seems strange, as he used the example of our brave soldiers overseas to shame people.
RC,
first, they weren't "fellow choir members," but choristers under my baton, so to speak.
It was last April; attacks on US servicemen were going on at a heavy pace, and casualties were increasing. The ones who raised objections to my praying for said servicemen and against their foes were the same ones who wear "Bush is the real terrorist" T-shirts. One is a pro-death "Catholic" democrat politician.
And since my dad spent 28 years proudly wearing this nation's uniform, yes, I am a *wee bit* protective of the armed forces, and when someone suggests that they (and by extension, we) are "war criminals," that boils my blood. I am a pretty tolerant person (why else would there be democrat politicians in my group?), but that sets me off. And did I really "shame" them?
No more than they deserved.
And I guess we'd better reduce the number of the book of Psalms, since a good many of those wouldn't pass muster with you either.
I agree with Eric that there is a significant, qualitative distinction between "violence" and the use of just and legitimate force, and I will not be ashamed that my countrymen (and -women) are placing their lives on the line in defense of our freedom, or pretend that it is somehow dirty.
Thanks, Jonathan.
If ya can't run with the big Dawgs STAY UNDER THE PORCH!
One Shot, One Kill---
If the Army and the Navy ever looked on heavens scene, they will find this country's guraded by the UNITED STATES MARINES!
SEMPER FI AND OOOORAH...
Am I gung Ho or what? lol Sorry Eric, now that we are retired, I miss the USMC life!
Syb.. USMC WIFE!
Umm, I didn't say that the troops were war criminals (???), nor did I say that I thought there was any other way of dealing with the terrorists in Iraq. I'm not a moron, I know that they have to be dealt with using force.
I simply wondered why Eric was so excited about it. In my humble opinion, Christians should not be so excited even about legitimate force, since it is still violence regardless of which shade of red you use to paint the blood.
It's one thing to see that it's necessary. It's another thing to start cheerleading and saying, "I wish I was there," especially when I'm sure there are quite a few who wish they weren't.
Nathan...
It's a "Marine" thing! When my husband deployed year and a half ago, they interviewed him in the paper. He had a tad over a year left to retire with his 20.
He had never went to Gulf I- he was in norway with NAto..
Anyhow, he compared it to this..
"it's like playing football professionally your whole life and never getting to the superbowl"
Marines train for this everyday- ready willing and surely able. It's in their blood.
And I suppose it's in Erics too.. that's what makes em one of the Few and proud.
In this case, pride is not a sin..lol
Pride really is a sin in all cases. Look, I'm extremely thankful for what the Marines -- including Eric -- have done for the country and for me as an individual. But I simply don't think that violence, justified or not, is something to be proud of.
Nathan,
As long as I have been a usmc wife (18 years).. it has always been..
GOD, COUNTRY, CORPS
Read more about what Catholic Military folks go through. Being a soldier, sailor airman or Marine is completely in accord with church teaching.
Is it easy? Heck NO!
You are sounding like Pax Christi and seem to not see the other side of what miltary men and women go through.
see what +Archbishop Sheen has written..
www.catholicmil.org
I think you're all putting words in my mouth that I didn't say. I did not say, nor do I believe, that there's anything wrong with being a Catholic and being in the military. I simply said that I thought it was wrong for Eric (or anyone else) to get as excited as he seemed to about violence, even if it's justified. Do it, yes, but get excited about it? I see nothing Christian in that.
Nathan: Try looking at this issue through the prism of this word: professionalism. A professional relishes doing his or her job well. Wouldn't you prefer that all those icky, nasty, gory details of national defense are handled with a professional bearing? Thank a soldier, sailor, airman, or Marine today for your freedom.