Part 5: "We are a peaceful people-yet we're not a fragile people"
By Roanna Shebala
Our government is on heightened watch against these dangers.
You will come back, a relentless machine set in combat mode.
Just as we are preparing to ensure victory… we are taking further actions to protect our homeland.
The service will turn you into a product that turns ordinary men into killing appliances.
Among other measures, I have directed additional security…
you can’t manage the difference between reality and memory.
Should enemies strike our country, they would be attempting to shift our attention with panic and weaken our morale with fear.
You will see yourself tainted with Stains that soap can’t wash clean,
In this, they would fail.
you will be scared to touch the women in your life,
No act of theirs can alter the course or shake the resolve of this country.
We are a peaceful people --
with such dirty hands,
we will not be intimidated by thugs and killers.
You will fight for a government that will take
…our enemies dare to strike us, they and all who have aided them, will face fearful consequences
Your blood, sweat, weeping; mothers, sisters, daughters, and lovers.
We are now acting because the risks of inaction would be far greater.
you will come home with scars, itchy trigger fingers,
In one year, or five years,
bad dreams that walk in broad daylight.
We choose to meet that threat now, where it arises, before it can appear suddenly in our skies and cities.
Living or dying is not a matter of question,
The cause of peace requires all free nations to recognize new and undeniable realities.
It’s only to serve in the brotherhood of “Uncle Sam’s Misguided Children”
In this century, when evil men plot… a policy of appeasement could bring destruction of a kind never before seen on this earth.
Not your ordinary individual anymore.
Terrorists and terror states do not reveal these threats with fair notice, in formal declarations --
conformed into a product of nightmares, flashbacks, and triggers.
and responding to such enemies only after they have struck first is not self-defense; it is suicide.
Which was a Direct Post-Traumatic Stress DisOrder.
As we enforce the just demands of the world, we will also honor the deepest commitments of our country.
see you watching others and their daily lives.
We believe the Iraqi people are deserving and capable of human liberty.
Have conversations with civilians, and do not see them Eye to Eye.
And when the dictator has departed, they can set an example to all the Middle East…
visions of dirt, scorching sun, and the sounds of bullets and explosions.
The United States, with other countries, will work to advance liberty and peace in that region.
I have this to say
Our goal will not be achieved overnight, but it can come over time.
Give us back our men
The power and appeal of human liberty is felt in every life and every land.
Give us back our men, you have taken
And the greatest power of freedom is to overcome hatred and violence,
washed away their minds with combat detergent.
and turn the creative gifts of men and women to the pursuits of peace.
Only returning toy soldiers to our homes.
That is the future we choose.
but with real guns and real grenades,
Free nations have a duty to defend our people by uniting against the violent.
exploding memories into their hands.
And tonight, as we have done before, America and our allies accept that responsibility.
But instead brought us walking ashes, with shaky hands and raspy voices,
Good night,
To our men;
Who have walked across wastelands
filled with sand, snow, and the deepest part of the jungle
To only come back with partial pieces of your soul,
Good night,
We still love you.
Know you deserve happiness.
That your everyday life should not be filled with
anger, sorrow, or shame.
Good night,
I say this not to the hollow man who is walking away
I say this to the spirit that is far away,
and far away is just too far away,
come home.
Good night,
Calm yourself with the water that the women who love you
set in front of you.
Breathe in the air, exhale all those toxins of
gunpowder and explosive residue, and stop wondering.
This is where you will find your strength again.
in the arms of where you are always safe.
and may God continue to bless America.