August 24, 2005

Remarks for President Bush

Mr. Pres. My son, is Spc Joseph Michael Blickenstaff, otherwise known as #461 of the fallen in Operation Iraqi Freedom. He was KIA on 12-08-03 near Ad Dulujah in an accident caused entirely by poor planning, untested vehicles and complete lack of regard for his future. A future that is now gone, a future, a life TAKEN not GIVEN. He was only 23 years old.

Mr. Pres. My son would never have volunteered to invade a sovereign nation which posed no threat to us.

Mr. Pres. My son wanted to pursue the capture of Osama Bin Laden and help bring the terrorists responsible for 9-11-01 to justice. He wanted to cripple their efforts so that they could never again deliver the kind of attack which Americans suffered on that day.

Mr. Pres. Because your administration was eager to engage Saddam Hussein in war before there was adequate preparation and supplies for such an ambitious endeavor, over 2000 brave, wonderful American young lives were TAKEN by your command. You held the key to their futures, and you squandered their lives. You squandered Joe’s dreams of being a father, one of his dearest wishes. You laid waste to the future he had with his wife, his parents, his siblings, many aunts, uncles and cousins and countless friends.

Mr. Pres. I taught my children to love and respect this country and to uphold our leaders. I taught my children great respect for all life. You took from them the high level of respect they had for our leaders the day you decided to invade Iraq.

Mr. President, in place of the high respect you had from millions of people, you now have an increasing number of people heart-broken by the actions you took on behalf of our great Nation. You have millions of people all over the world doubting if America is indeed a gem, a miraculous system won by fighting to keep our own freedoms intact.

Mr. President, very few of your advisors have ever served in the military. You took your opportunity as Commander In Chief of this great Nation, to callously change military and foreign policy. Without the advice of people who could have given sound and accurate counsel, you blindly pushed my son, Joe, into a role he would never have chosen. You pushed hundreds of thousands of innocent people into the path of the war machine your administration designed for purposes which were never clear or proven to the people of the world.

Mr. President, you put wonderful, talented young Americans in the position of having to kill innocents just in case they were dangerous. You sentenced tens of thousands to live with permanent and total disability mentally and/or physically
because of things that were required of them—things no one should ever be asked to do, especially in the name of Christianity.

Mr. President, now America is in the position of having created more terrorists than we can ever bring to justice. We had a chance to make a real difference and become a Nation highly regarded around the world by effectively shutting down the terrorists who did harm us. You squandered the good will of people to our Nation. You squandered tax dollars which could have made a lasting change for our poor in this country.

Mr. President, you broke the hearts of many, many Mothers. You did look into my eyes in June of 2004 and tell me you were sorry for my loss. You told me that my son did not “die in vain”. This I know: Joseph, my gentle and sweet and lovable young son would NEVER want one more person to die just because he did.

Mr. President, I pray for you everyday. I pray that you will have the courage to admit mistakes and use your influence in the world to try to bring about an end to this senseless cycle of war.

Georgia Schilz, proud Mother of Spc. Joseph Blickenstaff, #461, KIA 12-08-03 in Operation Iraqi Freedom.

The other thing I would want mentioned is that my
family grew up blocks away from Moneith, we went to
concerts in Monteith park with Joe, walked our dog at
night there. On sep 26th he should be turning 25,
instead I will light a candle for him and imagine what
could have been had he not gone to Iraq. I want the
soldiers home now, as by the pentagon’s own reports
there are only more insurgents now after 2 years
there….

Thanks,
EB