DOVER AIR FORCE BASE, Del. -- Standing in the pre-dawn darkness,
President Barack Obama saw the real cost of the war in Afghanistan:
The Americans who return in flag-covered cases while much of the
nation sleeps in peace.

In a midnight dash to this Delaware base, where U.S. forces killed
overseas come home, Obama honored the return of 18 fallen Americans
Thursday. All were killed in Afghanistan this week, a brutal stretch
that turned October into the most deadly month for U.S. troops since
the war began.

The dramatic image of a president on the tarmac was a portrait not
witnessed in years. Former President George W. Bush spent lots of time
with grieving military families but ***never went to Dover to meet the
remains coming off the cargo plane.*** Obama did so with the weight of
knowing he may soon send more troops off to war.

For all the talk of his potential troop increase - maybe 40,000, maybe
some other large figure - Obama got a grim reminder of the number that
counts: one.

His name was Dale R. Griffin, an Army sergeant from Terre Haute, Ind.
He was the last fallen soldier to come before Obama. And his remains
were the only ones to be honored in full view of the media with the
permission of his family. An 18-year ban on such coverage was lifted
this year under Obama's watch.

The president led a team of officials onto the gray C-17 cargo plane
carrying Griffin, and then back off, where they stood for several
minutes in a line of honor.

Story continues below It was not quite 4 a.m. The sky was black and a
yellowish light came from poles flanking the flight. The only sounds
were a whirring power unit on the plane and the clicking of cameras. A
blue vehicle carrying members of Griffin's family pulled up.

The president saluted as six soldiers in camouflage and black berets
carried Griffin's remains into a waiting white van.

The military calls the process a dignified transfer, not a ceremony,
because there is nothing to celebrate. The cases are not labeled
coffins, although they come off looking that way, enveloped in flags.

On a clear fall night, the president zipped to Dover in about 40
minutes. He immediately spoke privately in a chapel with all the
family members.

The solemn process of transferring remains of 15 soldiers and three
Drug Enforcement Agency agents unfolded in four separate movements.
Obama took part in all of them. A chaplain offered prayers for the
fallen, the crews that brought them home, the families who lost a
loved one, and a nation embroiled in war.

By 4:45 a.m., the president had touched back down on the South Lawn,
where even an active White House was sleepy.

He walked inside, alone.

A president of two inherited wars, Obama is winding down U.S.
involvement in Iraq, but the troubled war in Afghanistan is only
widening. It has become the dominant foreign policy change of his
early presidency. The stability of Afghanistan remains in doubt while
the support of the American people is waning.

At least 55 U.S. forces have been killed in October. That's the
deadliest month of the war for U.S. forces since the 2001 invasion to
oust the Taliban.

Obama is faced with a crucial moment: How to keep al-Qaida terrorists
from taking root again in Afghanistan without sinking more American
lives and money into a war that isn't working. He is in the midst of
an intense review of his war strategy. Aides say he is weeks away from
making an announcement.

The president apparently wanted to go to Dover now given the enormous
blow to U.S. forces just this week.

On Monday, a U.S. military helicopter crashed returning from the scene
of a firefight with suspected Taliban drug traffickers in western
Afghanistan, killing 10 Americans including three DEA agents. In a
separate crash, four more U.S. troops were killed when two helicopters
collided over southern Afghanistan. On Tuesday, eight soldiers were
killed when their personnel vehicles was struck by roadside bombs in
Afghanistan's Kandahar province.

Obama has upped the U.S. commitment in Afghanistan to 68,000 troops
and is considering sending a large addition next year, but fewer than
the 40,000 troops requested by his commander there, U.S. officials
tell The Associated Press. He holds his next war council meeting with
the Joints Chiefs of Staff on Friday.

Bush once said that he felt the appropriate way to show his respect
was to meet with family members in private.

The lifting of the ban on media coverage of bodies returning to Dover
was done to keep the human cost of war from being shielded from the
public.

Obama saw it directly.



Read more at:
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2009/1..._n_337930.html

On 10/29/09 1:33 PM, jps wrote:

DOVER AIR FORCE BASE, Del. -- Standing in the pre-dawn darkness,
President Barack Obama saw the real cost of the war in Afghanistan:
The Americans who return in flag-covered cases while much of the
nation sleeps in peace.

In a midnight dash to this Delaware base, where U.S. forces killed
overseas come home, Obama honored the return of 18 fallen Americans
Thursday. All were killed in Afghanistan this week, a brutal stretch
that turned October into the most deadly month for U.S. troops since
the war began.

The dramatic image of a president on the tarmac was a portrait not
witnessed in years. Former President George W. Bush spent lots of time
with grieving military families but ***never went to Dover to meet the
remains coming off the cargo plane.*** Obama did so with the weight of
knowing he may soon send more troops off to war.

For all the talk of his potential troop increase - maybe 40,000, maybe
some other large figure - Obama got a grim reminder of the number that
counts: one.

His name was Dale R. Griffin, an Army sergeant from Terre Haute, Ind.
He was the last fallen soldier to come before Obama. And his remains
were the only ones to be honored in full view of the media with the
permission of his family. An 18-year ban on such coverage was lifted
this year under Obama's watch.

The president led a team of officials onto the gray C-17 cargo plane
carrying Griffin, and then back off, where they stood for several
minutes in a line of honor.

Story continues below It was not quite 4 a.m. The sky was black and a
yellowish light came from poles flanking the flight. The only sounds
were a whirring power unit on the plane and the clicking of cameras. A
blue vehicle carrying members of Griffin's family pulled up.

The president saluted as six soldiers in camouflage and black berets
carried Griffin's remains into a waiting white van.

The military calls the process a dignified transfer, not a ceremony,
because there is nothing to celebrate. The cases are not labeled
coffins, although they come off looking that way, enveloped in flags.

On a clear fall night, the president zipped to Dover in about 40
minutes. He immediately spoke privately in a chapel with all the
family members.

The solemn process of transferring remains of 15 soldiers and three
Drug Enforcement Agency agents unfolded in four separate movements.
Obama took part in all of them. A chaplain offered prayers for the
fallen, the crews that brought them home, the families who lost a
loved one, and a nation embroiled in war.

By 4:45 a.m., the president had touched back down on the South Lawn,
where even an active White House was sleepy.

He walked inside, alone.

A president of two inherited wars, Obama is winding down U.S.
involvement in Iraq, but the troubled war in Afghanistan is only
widening. It has become the dominant foreign policy change of his
early presidency. The stability of Afghanistan remains in doubt while
the support of the American people is waning.

At least 55 U.S. forces have been killed in October. That's the
deadliest month of the war for U.S. forces since the 2001 invasion to
oust the Taliban.

Obama is faced with a crucial moment: How to keep al-Qaida terrorists
from taking root again in Afghanistan without sinking more American
lives and money into a war that isn't working. He is in the midst of
an intense review of his war strategy. Aides say he is weeks away from
making an announcement.

The president apparently wanted to go to Dover now given the enormous
blow to U.S. forces just this week.

On Monday, a U.S. military helicopter crashed returning from the scene
of a firefight with suspected Taliban drug traffickers in western
Afghanistan, killing 10 Americans including three DEA agents. In a
separate crash, four more U.S. troops were killed when two helicopters
collided over southern Afghanistan. On Tuesday, eight soldiers were
killed when their personnel vehicles was struck by roadside bombs in
Afghanistan's Kandahar province.

Obama has upped the U.S. commitment in Afghanistan to 68,000 troops
and is considering sending a large addition next year, but fewer than
the 40,000 troops requested by his commander there, U.S. officials
tell The Associated Press. He holds his next war council meeting with
the Joints Chiefs of Staff on Friday.

Bush once said that he felt the appropriate way to show his respect
was to meet with family members in private.

The lifting of the ban on media coverage of bodies returning to Dover
was done to keep the human cost of war from being shielded from the
public.

Obama saw it directly.



Read more at:
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2009/1..._n_337930.html



At 4 a.m., the previous president of the United States was most likely
sleeping off a buzz from the night before.

"jps" wrote in message
...

DOVER AIR FORCE BASE, Del. -- Standing in the pre-dawn darkness,
President Barack Obama saw the real cost of the war in Afghanistan:
The Americans who return in flag-covered cases while much of the
nation sleeps in peace.

In a midnight dash to this Delaware base, where U.S. forces killed
overseas come home, Obama honored the return of 18 fallen Americans
Thursday. All were killed in Afghanistan this week, a brutal stretch
that turned October into the most deadly month for U.S. troops since
the war began.

The dramatic image of a president on the tarmac was a portrait not
witnessed in years. Former President George W. Bush spent lots of time
with grieving military families but ***never went to Dover to meet the
remains coming off the cargo plane.*** Obama did so with the weight of
knowing he may soon send more troops off to war.

For all the talk of his potential troop increase - maybe 40,000, maybe
some other large figure - Obama got a grim reminder of the number that
counts: one.

His name was Dale R. Griffin, an Army sergeant from Terre Haute, Ind.
He was the last fallen soldier to come before Obama. And his remains
were the only ones to be honored in full view of the media with the
permission of his family. An 18-year ban on such coverage was lifted
this year under Obama's watch.

The president led a team of officials onto the gray C-17 cargo plane
carrying Griffin, and then back off, where they stood for several
minutes in a line of honor.

Story continues below It was not quite 4 a.m. The sky was black and a
yellowish light came from poles flanking the flight. The only sounds
were a whirring power unit on the plane and the clicking of cameras. A
blue vehicle carrying members of Griffin's family pulled up.

The president saluted as six soldiers in camouflage and black berets
carried Griffin's remains into a waiting white van.

The military calls the process a dignified transfer, not a ceremony,
because there is nothing to celebrate. The cases are not labeled
coffins, although they come off looking that way, enveloped in flags.

On a clear fall night, the president zipped to Dover in about 40
minutes. He immediately spoke privately in a chapel with all the
family members.

The solemn process of transferring remains of 15 soldiers and three
Drug Enforcement Agency agents unfolded in four separate movements.
Obama took part in all of them. A chaplain offered prayers for the
fallen, the crews that brought them home, the families who lost a
loved one, and a nation embroiled in war.

By 4:45 a.m., the president had touched back down on the South Lawn,
where even an active White House was sleepy.

He walked inside, alone.

A president of two inherited wars, Obama is winding down U.S.
involvement in Iraq, but the troubled war in Afghanistan is only
widening. It has become the dominant foreign policy change of his
early presidency. The stability of Afghanistan remains in doubt while
the support of the American people is waning.

At least 55 U.S. forces have been killed in October. That's the
deadliest month of the war for U.S. forces since the 2001 invasion to
oust the Taliban.

Obama is faced with a crucial moment: How to keep al-Qaida terrorists
from taking root again in Afghanistan without sinking more American
lives and money into a war that isn't working. He is in the midst of
an intense review of his war strategy. Aides say he is weeks away from
making an announcement.

The president apparently wanted to go to Dover now given the enormous
blow to U.S. forces just this week.

On Monday, a U.S. military helicopter crashed returning from the scene
of a firefight with suspected Taliban drug traffickers in western
Afghanistan, killing 10 Americans including three DEA agents. In a
separate crash, four more U.S. troops were killed when two helicopters
collided over southern Afghanistan. On Tuesday, eight soldiers were
killed when their personnel vehicles was struck by roadside bombs in
Afghanistan's Kandahar province.

Obama has upped the U.S. commitment in Afghanistan to 68,000 troops
and is considering sending a large addition next year, but fewer than
the 40,000 troops requested by his commander there, U.S. officials
tell The Associated Press. He holds his next war council meeting with
the Joints Chiefs of Staff on Friday.

Bush once said that he felt the appropriate way to show his respect
was to meet with family members in private.

The lifting of the ban on media coverage of bodies returning to Dover
was done to keep the human cost of war from being shielded from the
public.

Obama saw it directly.



Read more at:
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2009/1..._n_337930.html


He should have stayed in the White House bunker and made ill-conceived
decisions.

--
Nom=de=Plume

nom=de=plume wrote:
"jps" wrote in message
...
DOVER AIR FORCE BASE, Del. -- Standing in the pre-dawn darkness,
President Barack Obama saw the real cost of the war in Afghanistan:
The Americans who return in flag-covered cases while much of the
nation sleeps in peace.

In a midnight dash to this Delaware base, where U.S. forces killed
overseas come home, Obama honored the return of 18 fallen Americans
Thursday. All were killed in Afghanistan this week, a brutal stretch
that turned October into the most deadly month for U.S. troops since
the war began.

The dramatic image of a president on the tarmac was a portrait not
witnessed in years. Former President George W. Bush spent lots of time
with grieving military families but ***never went to Dover to meet the
remains coming off the cargo plane.*** Obama did so with the weight of
knowing he may soon send more troops off to war.

For all the talk of his potential troop increase - maybe 40,000, maybe
some other large figure - Obama got a grim reminder of the number that
counts: one.

His name was Dale R. Griffin, an Army sergeant from Terre Haute, Ind.
He was the last fallen soldier to come before Obama. And his remains
were the only ones to be honored in full view of the media with the
permission of his family. An 18-year ban on such coverage was lifted
this year under Obama's watch.

The president led a team of officials onto the gray C-17 cargo plane
carrying Griffin, and then back off, where they stood for several
minutes in a line of honor.

Story continues below It was not quite 4 a.m. The sky was black and a
yellowish light came from poles flanking the flight. The only sounds
were a whirring power unit on the plane and the clicking of cameras. A
blue vehicle carrying members of Griffin's family pulled up.

The president saluted as six soldiers in camouflage and black berets
carried Griffin's remains into a waiting white van.

The military calls the process a dignified transfer, not a ceremony,
because there is nothing to celebrate. The cases are not labeled
coffins, although they come off looking that way, enveloped in flags.

On a clear fall night, the president zipped to Dover in about 40
minutes. He immediately spoke privately in a chapel with all the
family members.

The solemn process of transferring remains of 15 soldiers and three
Drug Enforcement Agency agents unfolded in four separate movements.
Obama took part in all of them. A chaplain offered prayers for the
fallen, the crews that brought them home, the families who lost a
loved one, and a nation embroiled in war.

By 4:45 a.m., the president had touched back down on the South Lawn,
where even an active White House was sleepy.

He walked inside, alone.

A president of two inherited wars, Obama is winding down U.S.
involvement in Iraq, but the troubled war in Afghanistan is only
widening. It has become the dominant foreign policy change of his
early presidency. The stability of Afghanistan remains in doubt while
the support of the American people is waning.

At least 55 U.S. forces have been killed in October. That's the
deadliest month of the war for U.S. forces since the 2001 invasion to
oust the Taliban.

Obama is faced with a crucial moment: How to keep al-Qaida terrorists
from taking root again in Afghanistan without sinking more American
lives and money into a war that isn't working. He is in the midst of
an intense review of his war strategy. Aides say he is weeks away from
making an announcement.

The president apparently wanted to go to Dover now given the enormous
blow to U.S. forces just this week.

On Monday, a U.S. military helicopter crashed returning from the scene
of a firefight with suspected Taliban drug traffickers in western
Afghanistan, killing 10 Americans including three DEA agents. In a
separate crash, four more U.S. troops were killed when two helicopters
collided over southern Afghanistan. On Tuesday, eight soldiers were
killed when their personnel vehicles was struck by roadside bombs in
Afghanistan's Kandahar province.

Obama has upped the U.S. commitment in Afghanistan to 68,000 troops
and is considering sending a large addition next year, but fewer than
the 40,000 troops requested by his commander there, U.S. officials
tell The Associated Press. He holds his next war council meeting with
the Joints Chiefs of Staff on Friday.

Bush once said that he felt the appropriate way to show his respect
was to meet with family members in private.

The lifting of the ban on media coverage of bodies returning to Dover
was done to keep the human cost of war from being shielded from the
public.

Obama saw it directly.



Read more at:
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2009/1..._n_337930.html


He should have stayed in the White House bunker and made ill-conceived
decisions.

Thats almost as stupid as Harry's remark. It's way out of character for
a "pretty smart", "Pretty" little girl, such as yourself.

On Oct 29, 12:33*pm, jps wrote:
DOVER AIR FORCE BASE, Del. -- Standing in the pre-dawn darkness,
President Barack Obama saw the real cost of the war in Afghanistan:
The Americans who return in flag-covered cases while much of the
nation sleeps in peace.

In a midnight dash to this Delaware base, where U.S. forces killed
overseas come home, Obama honored the return of 18 fallen Americans
Thursday. All were killed in Afghanistan this week, a brutal stretch
that turned October into the most deadly month for U.S. troops since
the war began.

The dramatic image of a president on the tarmac was a portrait not
witnessed in years. Former President George W. Bush spent lots of time
with grieving military families but ***never went to Dover to meet the
remains coming off the cargo plane.*** Obama did so with the weight of
knowing he may soon send more troops off to war.

For all the talk of his potential troop increase - maybe 40,000, maybe
some other large figure - Obama got a grim reminder of the number that
counts: one.

His name was Dale R. Griffin, an Army sergeant from Terre Haute, Ind.
He was the last fallen soldier to come before Obama. And his remains
were the only ones to be honored in full view of the media with the
permission of his family. An 18-year ban on such coverage was lifted
this year under Obama's watch.

The president led a team of officials onto the gray C-17 cargo plane
carrying Griffin, and then back off, where they stood for several
minutes in a line of honor.

Story continues below *It was not quite 4 a.m. The sky was black and a
yellowish light came from poles flanking the flight. The only sounds
were a whirring power unit on the plane and the clicking of cameras. A
blue vehicle carrying members of Griffin's family pulled up.

The president saluted as six soldiers in camouflage and black berets
carried Griffin's remains into a waiting white van.

The military calls the process a dignified transfer, not a ceremony,
because there is nothing to celebrate. The cases are not labeled
coffins, although they come off looking that way, enveloped in flags.

On a clear fall night, the president zipped to Dover in about 40
minutes. He immediately spoke privately in a chapel with all the
family members.

The solemn process of transferring remains of 15 soldiers and three
Drug Enforcement Agency agents unfolded in four separate movements.
Obama took part in all of them. A chaplain offered prayers for the
fallen, the crews that brought them home, the families who lost a
loved one, and a nation embroiled in war.

By 4:45 a.m., the president had touched back down on the South Lawn,
where even an active White House was sleepy.

He walked inside, alone.

A president of two inherited wars, Obama is winding down U.S.
involvement in Iraq, but the troubled war in Afghanistan is only
widening. It has become the dominant foreign policy change of his
early presidency. The stability of Afghanistan remains in doubt while
the support of the American people is waning.

At least 55 U.S. forces have been killed in October. That's the
deadliest month of the war for U.S. forces since the 2001 invasion to
oust the Taliban.

Obama is faced with a crucial moment: How to keep al-Qaida terrorists
from taking root again in Afghanistan without sinking more American
lives and money into a war that isn't working. He is in the midst of
an intense review of his war strategy. Aides say he is weeks away from
making an announcement.

The president apparently wanted to go to Dover now given the enormous
blow to U.S. forces just this week.

On Monday, a U.S. military helicopter crashed returning from the scene
of a firefight with suspected Taliban drug traffickers in western
Afghanistan, killing 10 Americans including three DEA agents. In a
separate crash, four more U.S. troops were killed when two helicopters
collided over southern Afghanistan. On Tuesday, eight soldiers were
killed when their personnel vehicles was struck by roadside bombs in
Afghanistan's Kandahar province.

Obama has upped the U.S. commitment in Afghanistan to 68,000 troops
and is considering sending a large addition next year, but fewer than
the 40,000 troops requested by his commander there, U.S. officials
tell The Associated Press. He holds his next war council meeting with
the Joints Chiefs of Staff on Friday.

Bush once said that he felt the appropriate way to show his respect
was to meet with family members in private.

The lifting of the ban on media coverage of bodies returning to Dover
was done to keep the human cost of war from being shielded from the
public.

Obama saw it directly.

Read more at:http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2009/1...-dover-air-_n_...

The "real" men of honour are now enjoined in the ranks described by
authors, Charles Sorley and Robert Service.

The sock puppet only observed their enlistment parade.