Understanding Grandpa(part 4)

A smile came across my face as a thought entered my brain. A thought that allowed me to understand what grampa was saying. And in seeing that smile grampa smiled back as he waited to hear what I had learned.

“ Grandpa, I think I know what you are saying now. It all goes back to what you taught me of morality, that is, that the end never justifies the means."

Grandpa just smiled again as he nodded his head, “Go on, boy” he whispered.

“Well, you taught me that it isn’t what you gain that is important but how you go about getting something that determines whether or not you are justified in claiming that gain. If the reasons used are not justified then you are not justified in the possession of that gain or if how you go about getting something cannot be justified then you are not entitled to the gain, beneficial or not. And this would be the foundation of those who seek to pull our troops out of Iraq.

The pacifists and neo-pacifists believe that the President misled Congress into declaring war on Iraq. They also cite how we treated prisoners once they were captured. In addition they cite the civilian losses that have been the result of this war, lives that they believe would not have been lost except for this misguided act of war. Given these facts the only conclusion that could be declared is the conclusion that the coalition does not deserve to win but only deserve to lose. To them this would be the only honorable outcome of this war. To the pacifist every soldier lost in this war is a life lost for an unjustifiable end.

By pulling our troops out of Iraq we would, implicitly, be declaring that we were unjustified in going into Iraq and toppling the Iraqi government in the first place. Also, by pulling our troops out we would be aiding the insurgency in their quest to win because we would be eliminating 140,000 troops from the battle. By doing this we would be aiding the insurgency because they no longer would need to do this themselves if they sought to win this war militarily. And they would lose no combatants in the process, thus, making their quest to regain control of Iraq easier to achieve.”

Grandpa just continued to smile as he said, “You’re on a roll, boy, and what else would be achieved in the minds of the pacifists?”

I thought on this question a bit before answering. "It would also justify their outcry of not being patriotic because what greater patriotism is there than seeking justice in this country where we declare justice is for all not for just the few."

Grandpa just reached out his hand and ruffled my head as he said, "Tis time we do justice to the cows now by getting down to the barn and relieving them of their bags of milk." He then got up turned, taking one last look at God's creation and started walking towards the barn without even looking to see if I was following him.